Benjy Chapter
What roles does Benjy play in the Compson family? What does his unique perspective show us about the Compsons?
I think Benjy plays a very pure role in the Compson family. Although he is frequently and predominantly perceived as burdensome, he has an undeniable innocence that all the other Compsons lack. He is a very unorthodox version of a reliable narrator in that he is highly observant. Being mentally slow, he tells what things plain as he seems them free of judgment, bias, or assumption. He likes certain people more than others, his sister Caddy in particular, but he does not tell what he sees and experiences based on his liking for the people or the situation. He simply says what is.
What might Benjy's need for consistency and his extremely strong nostalgia for the past say about the concept of family? About the South as a place?
Benjy has in his own way a strong sense of family. He relies on them solely for his own well-being. The only people Benjy really has a strong connection, or at least a strong sense of familiarity, with is his family. The vast majority of his memories, good and bad, involve his family. In the South there seems to be a higher value placed on the importance of family and it is especially evident in The Sound and the Fury with the closeness and constant involvement with one another within the Compson family.
Does Benjy fulfill a symbolic role in the novel?
In a sense Benjy, or the family's perception of Benjy, is merely a reflection of the other characters. The Compsons think of Benjy primarily as a burden and almost disgraceful and they treat him as such. The reality, however, is that Benjy is a fairly benign character whereas the others align much closer to their image of Benjy.
What might Benjy's need for consistency and his extremely strong nostalgia for the past say about the concept of family? About the South as a place?
Benjy has in his own way a strong sense of family. He relies on them solely for his own well-being. The only people Benjy really has a strong connection, or at least a strong sense of familiarity, with is his family. The vast majority of his memories, good and bad, involve his family. In the South there seems to be a higher value placed on the importance of family and it is especially evident in The Sound and the Fury with the closeness and constant involvement with one another within the Compson family.
Does Benjy fulfill a symbolic role in the novel?
In a sense Benjy, or the family's perception of Benjy, is merely a reflection of the other characters. The Compsons think of Benjy primarily as a burden and almost disgraceful and they treat him as such. The reality, however, is that Benjy is a fairly benign character whereas the others align much closer to their image of Benjy.
I think that Benjy loves his family not only because they take care of him for his well-being. I think he truly loves them, like how he loves Caddy, for example. She does take care of him, but this reveals a side of her that is very lovable, and Benjy would love her even if she didn't take care of him.
ReplyDeleteThat's not what I was saying, Chelsea. I was saying that they are solely responsible for his well-being because he is unfit to properly care for himself. This was really rude. I'm calling your mom.
DeleteNo, I still think you don't know what you're talking about. You obviously didn't read the book.
DeleteThe Sound and the Fury is my life, Chelsea. Maybe you should get to know me better before you make accusations like that.
DeleteI do know you, and you HATE reading. You are too lazy, so get a job or something or at least do the assignment. You're embarrassing me.
DeleteChelsea, you don't even know how to read. All you do is eat watermelon.
DeleteFAKE NEWS! I also eat other fruits and watermelon, unlike a certain girl I know (YOU) who only eats garlic bread.
DeleteWhile Benjy may simply observe rather than speaking, I do not think he "says what is". Just like anyone else, Benjy has biases, and I think he provides a viewpoint that favors certain characters and paints others in a bad light. Also, since his narrative is composed of many flashbacks, it is likely the gaps between memories would change our views of the characters.
ReplyDeleteThis statement was the most beautiful I've seen so far: "He is a very unorthodox version of a reliable narrator in that he is highly observant." Benjy is truly a beautiful narrator, and tells the story in full truth, as best as he can through his sensory gatherings. He describes things in a way that would be almost simple for a child to understand, but for adults who have progressed past the age of understanding solely through sense, the task becomes much more difficult. I also agree that perceptions, treatment, and opinions of Benjy are simply reflections of each character themselves. For example, Caddy is motherly and loving to him, and later on she herself becomes a mother to her own child.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that you brought up how much he relies on his family as a whole as apposed to just Caddy, because you're right, he does need his family but a whole lot more than his family needs him because he's an embarrassment to them. But on that , because Benjy and Caddy go hand in hand, how dependent do you think Caddy is on the family as a whole, because I would say that in a way she's sort of dependent on Benjy because he gives her something solid and constant that she's been taking care of since she was a kid.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Annie. The way you described Benjy really did him justice. My favorite statement was "Although he is frequently and predominantly perceived as burdensome, he has an undeniable innocence that all the other Compsons lack." Benjy's innocence makes him a good narrator because innocent characters are usually trustworthy because they see the world without the others' biases. Having this childlike perception helps us make our own opinions about each character because Benjy tells everything how it is since he is incapable of anything different.
ReplyDeleteI really love how you brought up Benji's strong sense of family. His family is the only thing he has and the only thing he'll ever have. Whenever I thought about family within this book, I didn't think of of the affect it had on Benji, I always thought that he didn't internalize the importance of family and their love, or lack-thereof. Also I agree how important his unbiased role is to the readers.
ReplyDelete