Benjy's chapter April 7, 1928 Post#2

This chapter was written from the point of view of Benjy. Faulkner created it very disorienting in that it would periodically switch between different time periods due to Benjy's flashbacks. This was done to fully express how disorienting it is for Benjy, how difficult his life is. He also lives off of his senses, mainly his sight, sound, and smell. In example he may here the word caddie and then have a flashback about Caddie. This was shown at the beginning of the novel when a golfer says "here, caddie" bringing to Benjy the memory of hearing her name being called (3). He then remembers a time with Caddy, "Caddy uncaught me and we crawled through…" (4). This is important because it proves how the way Faulkner wrote this chapter is just how Benjy's mind works, because sensations bring memories upon him. This happens with his other senses as well. For example when he sees something that reminds him of his past, a pillow or a fire, it triggers his memories from what he had seen in his past. His memories are also triggered from smells, for example when he smells trees it reminds him of Caddie because he thinks "she smelled like trees" (72). Therefore this chapter is disorienting because that is how Benjy's mind functions.

Benjy's need for his sister and his past shows the insensitivity of his family. When Benjy waits by the fence hoping for Caddy's return it shows that she was the only one who loved him. His moaning and crying every time he hears her name proves that they loved and took care of each other, and the fact that Benjy is 33 and still cries over her shows that no one else has loved him so since she left him. In fact his family is not only unloving but they are also embarrassed of him. He is also bullied by his caretakers, for example Luster will repeat Caddy's name just to make Benjy cry. This shows that family is supposed to love and support one another, but when they do not it is destructive. His family cares only about appearance and discredits love and compassion. This shows how, at the time, the south cared a lot about social standing, certain families in particular. These families were aristocratic, meaning they valued money and class. It was important for these families to keep their family name in such high standings, which is why Benjy's aristocratic family is embarrassed of him. These families were inadequate at loving one another which is shown in the way they treat poor Benjy. 

Benjy was born on the Saturday before Easter and is the age (33) of Christ when he died on the cross. Which means that he can be a symbol of Jesus. Benjy can represent Jesus because of his pure, innocent, lovable character. Everyone else in the novel does not see this just as Christ was not acknowledged by the people around him. Benjy is living a life of goodness, as Jesus did, but is being acted upon with hatred, just as Jesus was persecuted. The Easter weekend is a sign of death, which means there must be hope and resurrection to come. 

William Faulkner

William Faulkner knew the south very well because he spent most of his life there. This is seen in his writing when he talks about family, community, and the people he knew there. In 1949 he earned the nobel prize in literature and gave an amazing speech. He travelled to Europe after he wrote his first novel. One of his favorite places there was the Luxembourg gardens. He wrote a long description about them which he later incorporated into one of his novels, Sanctuary. He was scrutinized a lot by the public and tried to keep his personal life a secret. 

In the beginning of his career he published a collection of poetry in 1924 called The Marble Faun. He moved to New Orleans and published a lot of essays in The Double Dealer and the Times-Picayune which were literary magazines. After writing his first novel and traveling to Europe he returned and focused on writing novels. His second novel was called Mosquitoes and was a satire about his experience in New Orleans. This was one of his weakest novels. His next novel would not get published, so he had to trim it down and change the name. This novel, Sartoris, was finally published. While getting that novel published he was writing another one for pleasure. This novel was called The Sound and The Fury and was liked a lot by the publishers for being stylistic and for the character's growth. He wrote As I Lay Dying to make money for his family. This book is about the journey of a family that is taking their dead matriarch to be buried. In 1930 he went further into debt when he bought himself a house way too expensive.

 His novels slowly stopped selling so he began to write and publish lots of short stories for financial support. His publishers finally agreed to publish Sanctuary, which got him to revise it. It became his number one novel for 8 years. His first collection of short stories, These 13, was dedicated to his wife and dead child, Alabama. He went on to write Light in August. 

He then became a screenwriter in Hollywood. He received on screen credit for 6 screenplays. He needed more money so he sold Hollywood the rights to make Sanctuary into a movie. He published his second and last collection of poetry, A Green Bough. In 1934 he published a collection of stories called Doctor Martino and Other Stories as well as the novel Pylon. His brother's child died and he took the role to educate her. He had an affair with his secretary in Hollywood and later had to go to a nursing home due to his drinking. He published Absalom, Absalom! He bought a wooded area that he had his brother manage. In 1939 he was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1942 he published  Go Down, Moses and Other Stories. He then went back to his career on screen writing.