Sound and Innocence

Faulkner and the Theme of Innocence Author(s): Lawrence E. Bowling Source: The Kenyon Review, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Summer, 1958), pp. 466-487 Published by: Kenyon College Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4333892

The first thought provoking quote from my article:
" As Benjy, narrator of the first section, personifies the human- ist view of innocence as "want of knowledge and intellect," so Quentin, narrator of the second section, personifies the puritan view of innocence as "moral purity." From the earliest to the latest of his recorded experiences, Quentin is obsessed with the idea that the perfect state which one should strive to preserve or achieve is absolute purity."

It doesn’t take much persuasion to convince someone that Benjy represents innocence; however, it is slightly harder to prove this for Quentin. However, Mr. Bowling does a great job of that in his subsequent discussion of Quentin’s character. First, he cites Quentin’s obsession with cleanliness. This reasoning makes sense when the reader remembers how often Quentin tries to keep things clean. He gets angry when Caddy may get her clothes dirty in the water when they were young, Herbert leaves his cigar on the mantel, or when he gets angry after a fight because there’s blood on his clothes. Also, Quentin is obsessed with cleanliness and order before he commits suicide. Next, there’s not much explanation needed about why Quentin detests Caddy’s promiscuity. He believes that losing one’s virginity is a stain on his purity. I guess I never thought of Quentin's idiosyncrasies as being an attempt at purity––I became convinced. According to the author, Quentin dislikes girls because he believes them to be impure, frequently associating them with “shadows.” Then, the author gets to a similar point that was made by one of the members of the class: “Although Quentin's obsession with innocence does not lead him exactly to idiocy, the result is essentially the same.”

However, other portions of the article were less agreeable:
"The third section of the book is presented from the point of view of Jason, who is at the same time both guilty and innocent. He is guilty in the sense that he wilfully commits innumerable actions which he knows to be immoral and vicious; but he is innocent in the sense that he remains ignorant of basic human principles...Unless moral knowledge is achieved, the "child" does not "know," and in- nocence has not truly been lost. Jason suffers great travail. But out of his suffering comes no important discovery, no truth. Like Benjy, Jason "blunders on" in his own "cluttered obscurity." As a result of all his actions, Jason acquires nothing worth acquiring, learns nothing worth knowing"

I think the author here is trying to make a "square peg fit into a round hole." The problem with articles like this, in my opinion, is trying to take the metaphor, analogy, or example to far. I do not see how Jason would fit under any standard definition of "innocent." I believe he's smart enough to realize when he's being downright cruel. For instance, he knows how badly Luster wants to go the play, yet he still is able to burn the tickets right in front of his face. The author tries to cover himself through the analysis that coming upon truth is key to innocence of basic human principles. There is no reason why Jason would not know what he is doing is downright despicable; he does know this but does it regardless.

However, later in the article I find more to cheer about:
"In Faulkner's writings, the center of the family circle (and the source of its love) is the mother. What is wrong with the Compson family is that it has no center, no mother, no love. Consequently, the family falls apart before achieving integration. As soon as Mrs. Compson has performed the animal function of giving birth to a child, she sees that it is kept out of her sight and outside the house as much as possible."

During our class discussions, the topic of Mother has been broached on a few occasions. However, I do not remember Mother as being directly blamed for the demise of the entire family. It does seem to fit that the lack of any love or affection from mother may have been the cause. Rather than just not being a positive influence, Mother is an entirely negative influence with her spiteful manner and nature. Also, from this quote, the author tells of how disengaged Mother truly is. Another important factor in the story of this dysfunctional family.

Getting A-head: With Herbert

Herbert Head is probably one of the least developed characters in the novel. We are introduced to him in the second chapter, but Quentin's mind repeatedly wanders to memories of Mr. Head. At first, he is portrayed as a decent guy; we are told that he offers a job to Jason in his bank and gives Caddy a car. Then, Herbert and Quentin argue at Caddy's wedding. Finally, Quentin reveals to us that Herbert cheated at Harvard on both exams and cards. What is your view of Herbert? What do you think his role was in Quentin's suicide? Are Quentin's descriptions of him biased fabrications or genuine truths?

Short Story Update

I started my research in the Brewster library. I did not have much remaining time in that particular free, however. Once at home, to my surprise, I learned that my family had a copy of “Unaccustomed Earth” by Jhumpa Lahiri in the library. I was already familiar with her because of her descent and my family’s subsequent appreciation for her writing, but also because I was essayist for the short story by her that we had read earlier. After having discovered the book, I now had to decide which stories in the collection I would read, if I ultimately decide to choose a story by her.

I started to read two of the stories in the book. The first, “Hell-Heaven” was a nice read. It was a story about a man’s desire to return to his homeland for a very simple reason––food. The story then became about the person whom he meets. However, I read another story. “Once in a Lifetime” was also very culturally oriented. It deals with the first-person account of an immigrant girl recounting her experiences with a nomadic lifestyle.

After browsing the New Yorker’s website, I read another story, this one by Tim Gautreaux. It was about a man who inherits a mansion from his grandfather only to run out of money after making so many renovations.

I have not been able to make a final decision yet. Maybe over the course of the next couple of days I will be able to finalize a selection, but as of now I am still a short story free-agent.