Question #1 The Presence of the Past

In The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner uses the concept and understanding of time as a tool to mold the characters. Benjy is unable to grasp the concept of time due to his disability. The past is meshed in with the present to him due to his inability to distinguish between the two. His section was the most difficult to read because of the fact that he constantly referred to past memories in a way that made them seem as though they could be the present- because this is the way that he thinks. It is all the same to him. He goes back to the past frequently but really to him- it is the present. Quintin frequently goes back in time like Benjy, but is actually aware that his flashbacks are just memories. He is obsessed with time (shown by all of the clock refrences)- the past especially. He is driven to suicide essentially because of his obsession with Caddy's promiscuous conduct and distruction of the family. This obsession of past events takes over him. While Benjy flashes back to the past a lot making it confusing to the reader he is actually stuck in the present while Quintin is stuck in the past. Jason, on the other hand is totally stuck in the present. He does refer to the past some- like how Caddy got him his horrid job- but he mainly refers to the present and how he can get wealth for the future. He is extrordinarily selfish and caught up in his own personal gain- even if it is done by stealing from his own family. He is a miserable and greedy character and could probably benefit from spending some more time in the past rather than slefishly and miserably in the present and future. He is the total opposite from his brother Quintin who would GREATLY benefit if he could spend less time dwelling in the past and being a little more concerned about himself rather than constantly concerned about Caddy and the family. Without having the aspect of time in the novel, the reader would not be able to grasp the essence of these characters. While Quintin is stuck in the past, Jason is stuck in the present/future, and Benjy is stuck with having them meshed together- the relationship each of the characters has with the past helps to mold not only their character, but the entire novel.