Author Archives: Eileen Medina

Annotated Bibliography: Faulkner’s Things

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The primary sources I’ll mainly use are The Sound and the Fury and Light in August. I’m still debating on whether to also incorporate As I Lay Dying or not. Most of my secondary sources come from JSTOR and the MLA International Bibliography. Apart from these I’ve used Google Scholar, OneSearch and Project Muse. I try to use keywords that connect Faulkner to things, or I’ll search for a character such as Quentin and “watch” to be more specific. Sometimes, it’ll work, other times it doesn’t. I’m also greatly incorporating thing theory into my paper, and connecting it to how objects function in Faulkner’s work. I’ve been searching the databases for thing theory, Bill Brown, and anyone who has had an approach on Brown’s theory. 

Brown, Bill. “Thing Theory.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 28, no. 1, 2001, pp. 1–22. JSTOR, 

This theoretical piece discusses the connection between people and objects. The biggest takeaway from this is that objects are not solely defined by their materiality, time and space. They also impose meaning on their surroundings and in turn acquire meaning from their surroundings as well. 

Andrews, Karen M. “The Shaping of Joanna Burden in ‘Light in August.’” Pacific Coast Philology, vol. 26, no. 1/2, 1991, pp. 3–12. JSTOR

Andrews’ work does a great job in critically analyzing Joanna Burden’s character. She especially focuses on Burden’s ancestral past in connection to the larger encompassing theme of the novel: race. Burden’s actions are also analyzed as being a product of her upbringing, and her relationship with Christmas is examined in three phases. 

Feldman, Robert L. “IN DEFENSE OF REVEREND HIGHTOWER: IT IS NEVER TOO LATE.” CLA Journal, vol. 29, no. 3, 1986, pp. 352–367. JSTOR

Feldman critically analyzes Gail Hightower and his metamorphosis into life. This journal piece focuses on Hightower’s long philosophical discourse. Hightower’s upbringing is also analyzed as it is the apotheosis in Hightower’s chapter which helps the reader’s understanding of his character.

Moore, Aaron. “Faulkner’s Closest to God in The Sound and the Fury.” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, vol. 13, no. 1/2, 2011, pp. 77–86. JSTOR

Moore’s piece is very interesting, he opens up with an overview of Jean-Paul Sartre’s take on time and objects in TSAF (Sartre’s piece is one we read for class). He also explains Sartre’s two modes of being which heavily explores object as either being or becoming (liminal state). Moore then goes on to analyze Quentin’s character and his fixation on time. The best part about this piece is that Moore directly discusses the watch and its significance.  

Harpham, Geoffrey Galt. “Things and Theory.” Raritan: A Quarterly Review, vol.25, no. 2, 2005, pp. 134-145. 

Harpham’s Journal is in itself a take on Bill Brown’s thing theory. Harpham explores objects and asserts that things are not merely things devoid of identity, things have an individuality that emits from themselves to their surroundings. We ourselves recognize ourselves through things and transform ourselves through them.

Simple Bibliography

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I attempted various methods of research, but ultimately ended up primarily on JSTOR. I”m having a hard time finding sources that directly speak about objects in Faulkner (i.e Burden’s gun, Hightower’s coat), the easiest one to find was Quentin’s watch. I might have to focus on character analysis while weaving in the objects and the role they play in the novels or in Faulkner’s world. I may also end up having to rely heavily on theory (which is something I love) but I fear that this may be too broad and not specific enough. I’ve greatly enjoyed Bill Brown’s “Thing Theory” and will most definitely rely on it, I’m trying to find more theoretical work to amplify my potential arsenal of evidence. Overall, I would like to have more outside textual evidence on things in Faulkner’s work, but I also recognize that there are many potential pathways to approach my research question.

Andrews, Karen M. “The Shaping of Joanna Burden in ‘Light in August.’” Pacific Coast Philology, vol. 26, no. 1/2, 1991, pp. 3–12. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1316550.

Brown, Bill. “Thing Theory.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 28, no. 1, 2001, pp. 1–22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1344258.

Feldman, Robert L. “IN DEFENSE OF REVEREND HIGHTOWER: IT IS NEVER TOO LATE.” CLA Journal, vol. 29, no. 3, 1986, pp. 352–367. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44321908.

Fowler, Doreen. “‘I Am Dying’: Faulkner’s Hightower and the Oedipal Moment.” Faulkner Journal, vol. 9, no. 1/2, 1993, pp. 139–148. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24907660.

Moore, Aaron. “Faulkner’s Closest to God in The Sound and the Fury.” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, vol. 13, no. 1/2, 2011, pp. 77–86. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41328513.

Swiggart, Peter. “TIME IN FAULKNER’S NOVELS.” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, 1955, pp. 25–29. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26276865.

TULLY, SUSAN HAYES. “Joanna Burden: ‘It’s the Dead Folks That Do Him the Damage.”.” The Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 4, 1987, pp. 355–371. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26475418.

Research Question: Faulkner’s Relics

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Faulkner’s world features various characters who possess ancestral relics which are loaded in terms of symbolism and literal meaning. Quentin Compson’s watch, Joanna Burden’s gun, and Gail Hightower’s coat are all inherited objects that connect these characters to their ancestral past which looms over them throughout their respective sections in the novels. I’m curious as to what function they play in the text, how do they connect to the broader theme in the text (i.e race and time), and perhaps a close textual analysis that helps decipher their meaning especially in relation to the Southern historical past which appears to greatly influence the present.

4. Joe Christmas’ Racial Two Way Street

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Despite Joe Christmas’ loneliness, the question of his identity and his zig-zagging paths through both whiteness and blackness, he clings onto identity markers which are perhaps unknowingly deeply important and integral to him. While his name is one of the two pieces that he determinately latches onto at a very young age, the other interesting piece is his racial identity. This in-betweenness of racial identity that envelopes Christmas fuels his idea of race which is essentially a two way street always to be kept separate so that he can justify his existence and use it to his advantage. 

Upon reading the way that Christmas traverses through towns, his rejection of both whiteness and blackness is apparent. This movement through space is evidently seen when he roams through Jefferson. He begins in the white section where he is a, “Phantom, a spirit, strayed out of its own world and lost” (LIA 114). Then he finds himself in Freedman Town where, “They seem to enclose him like bodiless voices murmuring talking laughing in a language not his” (LIA 114). His movement and refusal of any stagnancy in one place or the other is akin to his negation of both white and black spaces, on the other hand, the narrative description likening Christmas to a ‘phantom’ or as linguistically illiterate leads to the belief of white and black spaces rejecting him as well. Nonetheless, his negation of both racial spaces is interesting, because it connects to his liminal occupancy of both, his perceived (or perhaps unperceived) identity and is important when he uses either racial space to his advantage in various instances in the novel.

Carolyn Porter addresses Christmas’ negation of race and connects this to his identity when she writes, “…he has fully internalized the opposition between black and white, so that his identity is secured precisely by that opposition” (Porter 95). This racial opposition is comforting to Christmas because besides his last name, it gives him the only other sense of who he is. He knows who he is, by knowing who he is not: not fully white or fully black, but in-between. On the two way street of race, he is in the middle of the double yellow lines and is able to cross, or access both sides. In the beginning of the novel, he appears in Jefferson and obtains a job at the white planing mill, in the middle of the novel we learn how he, “…lived with negroes, shunning white people” (LIA 225). He blends into one place or another and never both at the same time, because the racial segregation is somewhat  important to him. 

We see how he exploits his racial identity when he sleeps with white prostitutes in various towns. Christmas, “…paid them when he had the money, and when he did not have it he bedded them anyway and then told them that he was a negro” (LIA 224). As he did with Bobbie, he reveals his biraciality as a way to get out of having to pay. The women’s rage and disgust is a confirmation of his identity. However, when he finds himself in a Northern town with a northern gal and tries the tactic, she dismisses his racial identity by looking at him, “…without particular interest” (LIA 225). This triggers Christmas and he violently beats her to the point where the policemen, “…thought that the woman was dead” (LIA 225). In this moment, not only is he not able to get away without paying, but he subconsciously reads the woman’s nonchalant dismissal of the racial aspects as her disregarding a fundamental piece of his identity. Porter also discusses this particular scene by stating, “Joe beats her almost to death. He cannot tolerate the possibility that the racial line might not matter, as in that case he has no identity at all” (Porter 95). In many ways Christmas’ idea of race is that of a dual nature and any disregard of it is an affront to his person because it negates his existence. His need for the binary opposition of black and white defines who he is and without it he truly believes that he’s nothing and no one.

Darl’s Philosophy and Vardaman’s Fish

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While death is certainly a central theme in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, so is grief. The byproduct of Addie Bundren’s death are the various ways in which her children cope with it, which connects to what Peabody states, “When I was young I believed death to be a phenomenon of the body; now I know it to be merely a function of the mind-and that of the minds of the ones who suffer bereavement” (AILD 44). While each Bundren has their own coping mechanism, the two monologues which most juxtapose each other are Darl and Vardaman’s. 

Darl deals with his mother’s death internally and mentally, questioning his own and his mother’s existence. This ontological thinking is not secluded to Darl, as we also see Vardaman attempting to ponder his existence, and his mother’s aquatic form. The purpose which serves, as Carolyn Porter states, “…to reestablish both their individual identities and their family relations” (68). However, because Darl is older than Vardaman, we see how his inner monologue is notably more mature and therefore more pronounced in his metaphysical discourse. Darl reasons, “In a strange room you must empty yourself for sleep. And before you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are emptied for sleep, you are not. And when you are filled with sleep, you never were. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am or not” (AILD 80). As if he were a a philosopher, the death of his mother pushes him to question his existence and then reject his mother overall stating, “I cannot love my mother because I have no mother” (AILD 95). Both Darl’s questions of being and of his mother’s existence work to make his character powerful. As Porter writes, “Always uncertain of his own being, he is compelled to reach out and connect with the world through a vividly sensory imagination in order to know that he “is”” (70). In a similar fashion, Vardaman does the same.  

Vardaman is the youngest Bundren, and although Faulkner never explicitly mentions his age, one discerns that he is a child (probably in single digits in terms of age). Despite his age, Vardaman is aware of his mother’s death and is evidently affected by it. He copes both physically and mentally, but most notably by asserting that his mother is a “fish.” Because Vardaman is younger than Darl, his monologue is not as mature or pronounced and so his way of making sense of his mother’s death is through the image of the fish that he caught in the beginning of the novel. It is satirical, yet it also works to make us think about language and its limitations. Porter speaks of this when she writes, “Faulkner is deliberately dramatizing the gap between words and experience in the conventional realist sense, but in the interest of a more committed realism” (83). While we may find it sardonic for Vardaman to think of his mother as a fish, this assertion is due to his lack of sufficient language to express himself in a serious manner. This irony of language is explored by Porter when she states, “He may lack the vocabulary invoked here, but he does not lack a grasp of what he is experiencing-an “is different from my is,” a body that is alien to his. The brilliant metaphorical description here is born of terror and signals an unjustly accelerated introduction to being separate and alone” (84). Like Darl, Vardaman looks within himself and through his imagination he questions his being, as Darl questions his being, only in a childish way. This is not to invalidate or undermine Vardaman’s experience as he is just as philosophical as Darl is when it comes to his inner monologue. Thus when one compares both of their monologues, we see the faint similarities in their stream of thought and how they juxtapose each other.  

2. Order and Chaos in TSAF

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A notable element in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury is that of order and chaos as perceived in each part by their narrators. We see with each narration how these characters make sense of the world around them. In the case of the Compson brothers, their individual sense of order and chaos ultimately fails them. Yet, out of all the four parts that constitute TSAF, the only person who seemingly endures throughout the novel is Dilsey. Dilsey’s sense of order is the only one which is not deterred by the downfalls around her.  

Benjy’s sense of order and chaos is perhaps quite evident through his physical sensations. Due to his psychological limitations, Benjy’s expressions are limited to that of whimpering and wailing. Most of the time that we see him crying, it reflects his view of chaotic imbalance and it is often the result of something being awry or out of his perception of order. Perhaps an important part which most clearly indicates Benjy’s ideas of order and disorder is in Dilsey’s part, where Luster takes him on a Surrey ride. Dilsey wants to ensure that he’ll take Benjy on his usual route, “Up de street, round de square, to  de graveyard, den straight back home” (318). But the very second that Luster turns left instead of the usual way we see his horrifying reaction, “Then he bellowed. Bellow on bellow, his voice mounted, with scarce interval for breath. There was more astonishment in it, it was horror; shock; agony eyeless, tongueless; just sound” (320). However, the instant that Luster returns to the usual course, “…at once Ben hushed” (320-321). His silence attributed to, “…post and tree, window and doorway and signboard each in its ordered place” (321) This strong scene is highly reflective of his notions of order and chaos, anything that deviates from his physical sensations or the patterns surrounding his memories is chaos to him. This fails him, because he is incapable of moving past his past. In the end his demeanor is that of agony and utter numbness, “…his eyes were empty” (321). 

Quentin’s sense of order and disorder relies on his idea of proper Southerness. The Southern code of conduct is order to him. It is also something he cannot let go of or escape, the end result being his death. This is mainly reflected in his obsession with time and his deep desire to restore Caddy’s virginity. Like the instance where he pictures himself as Dalton Ames’ mother, for the sole purpose of preventing him from ever existing at all to prevent Caddy from losing her virginity to him. He even goes so far as to say, “I have committed incest I said Father it was I it was not Dalton Ames” (79). This false admittance of incest is quite interesting, as if this occurance would absolve Caddy of her intolerable promiscuity. Linked to the notion of pure bloodedness, or perhaps it’s attached to the end of his section where he imagines both of them dead together in hellfire. There are also many instances in which he finds himself in physical altercations with other men such as Gerald Bland and Herbert Head to defend women and their honor. Despite his efforts he fails each time to make order of disorder, and the unbearability of it all leads to his suicide. 

Jason’s entire world revolves around his selfishness, he cares for no one but himself and his version of order is bound to personal gain and manipulation of others. His attitude is reflected when he states, “I dont owe anything to anybody that has no more consideration for me” (241). He cynically manipulates the people around him, creating an elaborate plan to cheat his niece out of money, in doing so he is content and enabled to play the stocks (he also brought his car in this manner as well). This monetary gain makes him feel empowered and in control, despite his constant self pity. In the last part of the novel, we see Jason angrily unravel and his world turned to chaos when his niece steals his money. His attitude and demeanor noted as being, “…the violent cumulation of his self justification and his outrage” (303). He also loses his sense of order when he is unable to manipulate the sheriff into doing his bidding. In the end he doesn’t recover the money and he goes back home filled with anger.

   Dilsey’s character is one who rolls with the punches day to day. No matter the time frame or the narrator, her values and attitude remain unchanged throughout the novel even with the Compson family’s demise. Her sense of order is seen in the homely duties she performs, the way that she treats family, Compson and her own, even her narration is indicative. While Benjy’s and Quentin’s narration are steeped in the past and the present, and Jason’s mainly in the present with some bitterness from the past, Dilsey’s is strictly honed onto the present. Her motherly conduct is seen when she holds Benjy to calm him down, “Dilsey led Ben to the bed and drew him down beside her and she held him, rocking back and forth” (316).  She also defends Benjy while attending Sunday service, “Tell um de good Lawd dont keer whether he bright er not. Dont nobody but white trash keer dat” (290). Being that Dilsey’s perspective is the last in the novel, it leaves the reader with a sense of relief, with its linear narration, especially after the tumultuous depressing narrations of the first three parts. Whether we read Benjy’s, Quentin’s, or Jason’s parts the only stability found in the entire novel is Dilsey in which there is no chaos, only order and motherly love. 

Two Jimsonweeds in a Bottle

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It’s said that Christ was dead for three days before he was resurrected. Once he arose he shed any indication of the death that grappled him to the crucifix. Breathing life anew on a day in April which is Christianly referred to as Easter. The week leading up to it is commemorated as the Holy Week. April is the epitome of springtime, with the resurrection of nature from its previous decaying self. The blossoming of flowers, the vibrant colored leaves breathing life once again as Jesus did on his third day of being dead long ago. April 7th 1928: Benjy Compson’s 33rd birthday, also the day before Easter, yet throughout his piece there is no indication of life, joy, or purity. Only the non-linear windows of death, excruciating cries, and the loss of purity. The first part of The Sound and the Fury is encapsulated by the echo of springtime and signifying signs that serve to juxtapose the Compson family’s downward spiral. But most notably, its connection to the center of Benjy’s world: Caddy. 

Caddy herself is April, she is Benjy’s spring and will always be so. This may be why there’s a kind of simultaneity to Benjy’s thoughts and his memories. Caroline Porter sums this idea up quite nicely when she writes, “The opening section of the novel, in fact, is not a story at all, but a pastiche of moments as experienced by Benjy at various points in his life. There is no plot, no beginning or ending. Instead a dense array of images is established, centered around Benjy’s anguished loss of his sister” (Porter 40). We see in TSAF how within Benjy’s section, we can often trace his sensation of smell (in particular trees) and his touch as flowers which pop up everywhere intermitetly. Flowers and trees being emblems of springtime themselves. The association of the smell of trees is linked to Caddy physically being present and the flowers are often (but not always) connected to her absence. Both the smell of trees and flowers serve as a strong symbolic substitute for Caddy, the latter which helps calm him down when he’s “crying” or “moaning” when Caddy is no longer there. 

The earliest point where this can be seen is when Lester is flustered with Benjy’s crying and Falkner writes, “What are you moaning about, Luster said. You can watch them again when we get to the branch. Here. Here’s you a jimson weed. He gave me the flower” (TSAF 6). This flower is presumed to have calmed him down. The connection between Caddy and flowers is not something that is immediately discernible but there are instances that point to it. One of them being when Caddy and Benjy go to deliver Uncle Maury’s love letter together. Benjy notes, “She climbed the fence with the letter in her hand and went through the brown rattling flowers” (TSAF 13). In another memory where Benjy goes to deliver the letter without Caddy he observes, “Mr. Patterson was chopping in the green flowers…I began to cry” (TSAF 13). Two different instances, one with Caddy and the other without. The first flowers are associated with an auditory sensation while the second is associated with chopping.  

Periodically Benjy mentions how,“Caddy smelled like trees” (TSAF 6). Perhaps the most pivotal memory Benjy has is when Caddy climbs up a pear tree. “We watched the muddy bottom of her drawers. Then we couldn’t see her. We could hear the tree thrashing” (TSAF 39). This part not only foreshadows her impurity, but it also may symbolize the turning point through use of the word “thrashing.” A violent movement, or some sort of struggle, Benjy struggles excruciatingly after Caddy is gone. This is noted by Porter when she states, “…Benjy is in pain, continual and fundamentally irremediable pain” (Porter 44). 

Towards the midpoint of his section we see 33 year old Benjy, in a sad yearning gesture join two flowers in a bottle, “There was a flower in the bottle. I put the other flower in it…I tried to pick up the flowers. Luster picked them up, and they went away. I began to cry” (TSAF 54-55). His preoccupation with flowers serves to ease the suffering he’s in by the loss of the only person who loved him. Perhaps this gesture was his way of communicating his longing for his flower, his springtime, his April, his Caddy.