The Sound and the Fury Blog 1

In first section of "The Sound and the Fury", Benjy acts as the moral reflector of the novel and helps the reader evaluate the other characters. Although Benjy is mentally handicapped, his primary attribute is that he is able to sense emotional changes in any of the character’s behavior. Benjy is unable to communicate his feelings to others around him, but he can feel the deviations in his companion’s emotions. Benjy has an acute sense of the situations that surround him although he cannot fully understand them. He simply knows when his companions are in trouble and can sense their uneasiness. Benjy knows when Caddy has been promiscuous, when his family members are sick, and is able to read peoples emotions and true feelings through their tone and body language. Because Benjy can only understand the characters on a very primitive standpoint, we are able to analyze the character’s actions at their most basic level. Through Benjy’s honest interpretation of the events that surround him, the reader is able to evaluate the other characters in a way that is unique to Faulkner’s novel.

Since Benjy thinks on such a simple level his interpretations of his companion’s actions are broken down to the most basic understanding. Although he cannot communicate and has a terrible mental handicap, Benjy can interpret the mood of the characters around him. When Mr. Patterson intercepts the letter intended for his wife, Benjy can sense the tension between the two characters by reading their body language, "Mrs. Patterson came across the garden, running. When I saw her eyes I began to cry. Mr. Patterson climbed the fence. He took the letter. Mrs. Patterson’s dress was caught on the fence. I saw her eyes again and I ran down the hill" (13-4). In another scene involving an argument between Caddy and Quentin, Benjy again is able to sense the tension between the two characters even though he cannot understand what they are fighting about, "I’ll run away. Caddy said. Yes you will. Quentin said. I’ll run away and never come back. Caddy said. I began to cry" (19). When Caddy comes home after losing her virginity Benjy again can sense the emotional turmoil, "We were in the hall. Caddy was still looking at me. Her hand was against her mouth and I saw her eyes and I cried. We went up the stairs. She stopped again, against the wall, looking at me and I cried and she went on and I came n, crying, and she shrank against the wall, looking at me" (69). Because Benjy cannot communicate through speech, the only way he can express himself if by crying. Whenever he senses a situation with any tension, as little as it may be, he begins to cry until the situation is corrected.

Aside from highlighting especially tense scenes in the novel, Benjy’s innocent interpretation of the characters helps the reader to see their true nature. When characters are alone with Benjy they know that he cannot fully understand what they are saying. During this time the reader is able to see what the characters true personality is like. Benjy is to an extent acting as an omnipresent observer. The only characters that seem to care for Benjy are Caddy and Dilsey. Most of the other characters in the novel abuse Benjy and mock his mental handicap. Jason is one of the coldest characters towards Benjy and blames the family troubles on Benjy. After Benjy is accused of raping the girl outside of the gate Jason says that, "Do you think I wanted anything like this to happen. This family is bad enough, God knows. I could have told you the entire time. I reckon you’ll send him to Jackson, now (52). Although Luster takes care of Benjy when he is older, Luster also treats Benjy with disrespect and always tries to make him cry. After Caddy has been gone, Luster knows that Benjy loves her more than anything and uses it against him, "Beller. You want something to beller about. All right, then. Caddy. Caddy. Beller now. Caddy" (55). By seeing how most of the characters treat Benjy the reader is able to see how compassionate the characters truly are. When they are with Benjy, they do not need to pretend to be anything they are not because they know that Benjy cannot understand the things around him. The uncaring characters treat Benjy with disrespect because they know he cannot protect himself. In contrast, we see the Caddy and Dilsey both constantly treat Benjy with the proper respect he deserves and protects him at every chance they get. Through Benjy’s eyes, the reader is able to see into how each character acts when they think no one else is watching them.

Without Benjy, "The Sound and the Fury" would not be able to analyze the characters on such a unique level. Since the other characters know that Benjy cannot fully understand the events that go on around him, they often let their guard down when interacting around him. We can then see the characters true personality traits and if they have any compassion for anyone but themselves. Benjy’s acute sense of emotional change helps us to determine when critical moments develop in the novel between the characters. Benjy’s innocence and simple perception of the characters and events in the novel help us to analyze the novel on its most basic levels. (904).