The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner deals with man's relationship with time and sequence. The complexities of the book, from the variety of its narrators to the order of its chapters, support Faulkner's primary experimentation with time. But The Sound and the Fury interweaves the temporal motif with other recurring ideas or elements, one of which is particularly strong being Christianity. This motif is less developed and less impressively executed. In fact, Faulkner's novel, as an exploration of man's relationship with time, is weakened by the inclusion of the secondary motif of religion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get the original essay The sheer volume of religious symbols and parallels is not clear at first (or just not apparent), but it becomes then more and more obvious, and even reaches the point where it becomes so obvious that it borders on the ridiculous, if interpreted in a non-ironic way. Of course, there is a basic level of religiosity that can be expected in any novel whose characters are Southern Americans in the early 20th century. Indeed, biblical verses are often quoted or mentioned, and a substantial part of the fourth chapter takes place in a church. But in addition to this foundation of Southern spirituality, Faulkner accumulates additional nuggets of religious significance to the point where it is egregious. The dates of the sections might need careful attention before realizing that the novel takes place between Good Friday and Easter. Sunday. Even Quentin's section, eighteen years earlier, takes place on Good Friday. The strong associations attached to these most important days in the Christian calendar create an undeniable feeling of allegory or parallel. Not only does the dating of the chapters suggest a deeper meaning, but the characters in The Sound and The Fury lend themselves to a good deal of speculation about religious parallels. Benjy Compson is thirty-three years old during the chapters of the book on Good Friday and Easter Sunday 1928. Thirty-three years old is the age of Jesus Christ at his crucifixion. On the other hand, the transparent strategy of giving a character the initials JC is also used in the novel, starring Jason Compson. There are inherent problems with both of these characters being suggested as Christ figures. Jason Compson is, of course, the closest character to an Anti-Christ in the novel. His antipathy, bitterness, and lack of meditation and memory (as shown, for example, by Quentin in his chapter) portray Jason as the most one-dimensional Compson child—he is in no way a convincing Christ figure. Benjy Compson is another imperfect child. candidate, clearly because he is an idiot. It can be argued that Benjy was referred to as the Christ figure by Faulkner, as a statement about modern times and the simple difference between the world that Christ lived in and the world of The Sound and The Fury. Such arguments would claim that Benjy exists in a reality that is completely alien to the other characters, just as Christ, if he existed in modern times, would have been just as misunderstood, his mind just as inaccessible. But that doesn't explain the fact that Benjy is simply the most passive Compson. He exists for much of the novel in the background, dependent on visceral stimulation and without any moral conscience. His lamentations are certainly comparable to the sufferings of Christ, but only in the most superficial way - both cause discomfort. Easter Sunday also arrives in thelast chapter, but without any semblance of “rebirth” for Benjy. He is just as boring as ever, and although the novel ends with a scene about him, the scene is appropriate in light of the simplicity of Benjy's mind: "Ben's eyes...were empty and blue and once again serene as a cornice. and the facade again flowed gently from left to right, post and tree, window and door and sign each in its orderly place. While it would be easy to say that everyone in the story is an idiot, each with their own difficult relationship with life, that doesn't elevate Benjy to any super significant status, even if he remains an idiot . his particular struggle is unique. The conjunction of this concept with the dates of the novel also complicates the question of the figure of Christ. The evidence of Faulkner's play with the concept of the Christ figure prompts the reader to associate him with themes of resurrection and resurrection. redemption suggested by the events that take place on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Neither Benjy nor Jason have any type of resurrection (or symbolic crucifixion, for that matter) during the actual time of the novel. Benjy's castration may be loosely linked to the crucifixion, but it is not accompanied by any resurrection. By elimination, the other main characters in the running are Quentin, Caddy, Dilsey and the woman Quentin. These certainly evoke interesting permutations and explanations. Quentin's suicide and the subsequent "rebirth" (in name) with the Quentin woman may seem convincing. But each Compson has a deceased nominal counterpart, so this meaning of rebirth was applied to each person and is more of a general theme of the novel than anything that may give Quentin any particular symbolic meaning. Dilsey is the most Christlike in terms. of behavior - she is compassionate, non-judgmental and extremely forgiving. But she is also a static character, resisting change during what Christians (and Christ) are the tumultuous days leading up to and including Easter Sunday. Caddy's symbolic crucifixion after being thrown out of the house, and her redemption during Quentin's ultimate escape on Easter Sunday, are structurally appealing to a reader attempting to decode the obvious religious significance of The Sound and The Fury. In fact, it is the most comprehensive argument for a Christ figure. This reading gains credence through the idea of ​​Jason as an anti-Christ or perhaps Satan-like character, without good qualities but also without internal scruples or questioning of his behavior. Of course, this is also flawed in that the “redemption” is on such a small scale. Although Jason receives his reward and Quentin only receives freedom and money, this is of little consequence to anyone. For a Christ figure, Quentin seems particularly interested. Additionally, his redemption consisting of an escape with the Man in the Red Tie is troubling in that Quentin may be leading a sexually permissive lifestyle, returning to the ground that Caddy trod and which led his brother, the man Quentin, to suicide. Nonetheless, this appears to be the most comprehensive argument for the existence of a Christ figure. The appeal of this reading, however, is itself a problem when we reconsider the presence of other contradictory signs such as Benjy's age and Jason's initials. All of these elements taken into consideration simultaneously create a mixture of religious symbols and parallels, all in conflict with each other and none strong enough to stand on their own. It is striking, then, that a novel with so many overt Christian elements and even more that are subtle and beneath the surface would fail to bring together these.