What is the significance of the title the sound and the fury

SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Character List Mr. Themes Motifs Symbols. Important Quotes Explained. Mini Essays Suggested Essay Topics. Literary Devices Symbols. Water Water symbolizes cleansing and purity throughout the novel, especially in relation to Caddy.

Check the quote out below. In fact, we recommend reading it out loud to yourself. Out, out, brief candle! Why does Faulkner choose to appropriate some of the Shakespearean magic for his own work? Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By William Faulkner. Previous Next. The problem was that no one else seemed to recognize this yet. Well, you could start by quoting the Bard himself. Sort of like Faulkner does. Caddy is stubborn, but loving and compassionate. Jason has been difficult and mean-spirited since birth and is largely spurned by the other children.

In the absence of the self-absorbed Mrs. Compson, Caddy serves as a mother figure and symbol of affection for Benjy and Quentin. As the children grow older, however, Caddy begins to behave promiscuously, which torments Quentin and sends Benjy into fits of moaning and crying.

Quentin is preparing to go to Harvard, and Mr. Compson sells a large portion of the family land to provide funds for the tuition. She is unable or unwilling to name the father of the child, though it is likely Dalton Ames, a boy from town.

He attempts to claim false responsibility for the pregnancy, lying to his father that he and Caddy have committed incest. Attempting to cover up her indiscretions, Caddy quickly marries Herbert Head, a banker she met in Indiana. Herbert promises Jason Compson a job in his bank. The Compsons disown Caddy from the family, but take in her newborn daughter, Miss Quentin. As the oldest surviving son, Jason becomes the head of the Compson household.

Miss Quentin grows up to be an unhappy, rebellious, and promiscuous girl, constantly in conflict with her overbearing and vicious uncle Jason. On Easter Sunday, , Miss Quentin steals several thousand dollars from Jason and runs away with a man from a traveling show. While Jason chases after Miss Quentin to no avail, Dilsey takes Benjy and the rest of her family to Easter services at the local church.

The novel is separated into four distinct sections. The first, April 7, , is written from the perspective of Benjamin "Benjy" Compson, a cognitively disabled year-old man. The characteristics of his impairment are not clear, but it is hinted that he has a learning disability. Benjy's section is characterized by a highly disjointed narrative style with frequent chronological leaps. The second section, June 2, , focuses on Quentin Compson, Benjy's older brother, and the events leading up to his suicide.

In the third section, April 6, , Faulkner writes from the point of view of Jason, Quentin's cynical younger brother. In the fourth and final section, set a day after the first, on April 8, , Faulkner introduces a third person omniscient point of view. The last section primarily focuses on Dilsey, one of the Compsons' black servants.

Jason is also a focus in the section, but Faulkner presents glimpses of the thoughts and deeds of everyone in the family. The term "stream-of-consciousness" refers to a technique of narration. Prior to the twentieth century, an author would simply tell the reader what one of the characters was thinking.

Stream-of-consciousness is a technique whereby the author writes as though inside the minds of the characters.