An In-depth Analysis Of Characters And Their Psychological State In The Sound And The Fury

The Sound and the Fury is author William Faulkner‘s masterpiece.However,because,this novel is seemingly a personal account of the author‘s life,when it was initially published it failed to gain widespread attention from readers at the time.Faulkner said that this book was his ―most perfect failure‖.However,within the literary world,according to literary critic Morrison,it has been recognized as his pièce de résistance.Faulkner is one of the 20 th century‘s most influential writers,he was not only one the most prolific writers he also was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1949.The Sound and the Fury tells the story of the fallen aristocratic family,the Compsons.The novel‘s main characters are Caddie,Benjy,Quentin and Jason Compson as well as other members of the Compson family.The story of the Compson children is one of the world‘s greatest tragedies.The use of stream of consciousness narration style helps to aptly describe the feelings and true nature of the characters in The Sound and the Fury.It explores the changes in values and society from traditional values to modern views and the family‘s decline to immorality.The novel also discusses modern consciousness with the families continued decline and helps to demonstrate the family‘s confused terror at losing their once high social status.Images of the family toiling in a labyrinth of modernity and lost sense of being are ever apparent in the novel.This thesis will discuss these topics in five parts: the first section will lay out the introduction to the problems that the family is experiencing,a prologue,and the current research at home and abroad of this piece of literature,in addition to this,the research method and how these conclusions were drawn will be contained within section one.The second section will delve into the experiences of William Faulkner and the decline of the American South following the Civil War;it will also explore the changing religious beliefs of the American South,to analyze the background of this novel.The third chapter will discuss the main characters: Benjy,Caddie,Quentin,Jason and Delsey,their internal thought process and the relationships these characters have with each other.It will display the tragedy,suffering and confusion of the characters within the novel and their understanding of their own moral dilemmas in a rapidly changing American society.In the fourth section the repression of their humanity in Southern society.Furthermore,Faulkner technically uses the stream of consciousness narration style in flashbacks which help to make his masterpiece even more meaningful.In the fourth section,the structure of ―The Sound and the Fury‖ will be discussed as well as the artistic nature of this narration style.Including: an equal importance of all characters‘ views which is formed through each individual character‘s telling of the events in the novel,the polyphonic structure of the novel and the techniques of stream of consciousness and the reverse chronological narration style,which lays the foundation for the flashbacks and nonchronological order story telling.In the final section,the influence on literature and society that this novel has had will be discussed.As a successful modern novelist,Faulkner explores the social decline and the contradictory values of the American South following the Civil War.In addition,this section will also explore the novel‘s influence on modern Chinese authors and it‘s extraordinary literary meaning.