Positional Memory

Question #4:
What do you think Faulkner is suggesting about memory and the process of memory? Is memory different for each person? Can several people see the past in different ways?

Faulkner's use of a ruling servant, an invalid matriarch, an observant idiot, and a brutally abusive end to the family's patriarchal line suggest that memory depends greatly on one's position in life. Dilsey, who is the family servant and therefore slightly further removed from the family's downfall, views the past with acceptance and understanding. She acts as the calming influence for Mrs. Compson. She reprimands Luster and disapproves of Jason's actions. She criticizes both on occasion, yet she does so without anger or bitterness. She remembers the past in a way similar to Benjy, who is separate from the Compsons because of his retardation. Neither one of them feels slighted over their positions in life. They do not place blame on other characters. Their memories are viewed with rose-tinted glasses.

On the other hand, Jason and Quentin are in the center of the family's downfall. Their experiences are tinted with anger, jealousy, bitterness, and an overwhelming sense of regret. Their reactions to memory provide the largest contrast between the two. Quentin obsesses over his childhood and the relationship with Caddy, and each of his memories is linked somehow with Caddy--whereas Jason lives very much in the present. Jason does not often reflect on the past, only the past that affects his money-making schemes or lack thereof. As the head of the family, he seems to have inherited the most sin in the form of character flaws. He remembers the fathers as struggling patriarchs. He does not have many memories of the women except for what his father has told him.

These memories are further enhanced by how widely they differ from each other. Dilsey and Benjy can again be grouped as people who remember Caddy's goodness as well as the faults. They quietly record the most accurate catalog of her life. Jason, on the other hand, hates her passionately and only remembers her broken promise and his petty revenge. Quentin's memories radiate guilt. Each picture of her and their childhood friendship is tinted with shame and regret that her story did not turn out differently. Every one of these differences serves to show how the past is remembered differently depending on the position from which the character views the family.

The Sound and the Fury- Second Generation

It is interesting to me to see how different characters and personalities react to the same events. For instance, what made Caddy such a loving protector for Benjy? Was she predisposed to act kindly toward him? Her character is extremely gentle, and she focuses all her love on Benjy--perhaps to make up for what both of them lack in the parental department. On the other hand, Jason takes his parents' attitudes to the opposite extreme. All their prejudice, stingy and mean behavior, and intolerance for less capable people show up in the way Jason treats not only neighbors, but his own family. He openly scorns and publicly castigates Miss Quentin, whereas Quentin privately argues with Caddy about her behavior. Both boys are obsessed with appearances like their mother, but Quentin objects quietly, and when that doesn't work, he ends his problem quietly. Jason acts out spitefully and loudly, threatening everyone he comes across- from the lazy, no good household help to his only niece. The only slight concession he makes is toward his mother, who depends on him and has always preferred him to his siblings. But he considers her stupid and annoying as well. At this point, as far as I can see, Jason has been affected the least by sins of the older generation. Caddy is forced to watch after her retarded brother and deliver illicit love letters from her uncle--this act, if nothing else may have pushed her to promiscuity. Benjy, of course, is an observer by nature- he does not react as obviously as his siblings, although he does sense events and actions. . . . Quentin, always pushed to succeed, is the reason Benjy's field must be sold--guilt over this contributes to his early death. But Jason? Who ever did anything to Jason? Does Faulkner reveal something later, or was Jason born mean and hateful?