Sanity and Insanity in Faulkners The Sound and the Fury :: Faulkner Sound and the Fury Essays

Sanity and Insanity in Faulkners The Sound and the Fury   Quentin Comp news, the oldest son of the Compson family in William Faulkners novel, The Sound and the Fury, personifies all the key elements of insanity. Taking place in the imaginary town of Jefferson, Mississippi, the once high class and wealthy Compson family is origin their downfall. Employing a stream of consciousness technique narrated from four points of view, Benjy, the idiot child, Jason the rude liar, cheat, and misogynist, Quentin the introvert, and the author narrating as a detached observer, Faulkner creates the situation of a wholly dysfunctional family. Faulkner shows that failure to cope with the natural changes in the passage of m will drive one out of his mind. Despite what many critics believe, Quentin is indeed insane, as well as every other member of the Compson family, with the expulsion of Benjy.   Quentin is seriously mentally ill and does many stupid things to lead up to se rious harm, his suicide. His inability to live normally in society results in the drowning of himself. Quentin is an anachronism he is out of his time and place. His passion in upholding the laurels of womanhood is ironic in his questionable incest with his sister. Incest, notwithstanding, simply trying to tiller his father believe that such actions did occur is pure madness. Quentin is disgusted with heart and feels that nil can help anyone. He says, Its not when you realise sic that nothing can help you- religion, pride, anything- Its when you realise sic that you dont need any aid (80). When Quentin uses the script aid, he is referring to the daily things in disembodied spirit that help make invigoration bearable. Things like friends, family, compliments, and self-esteem. These are all types of aid. To think that no one needfully any of these things to deal with the hardships in life is senseless. Certainly one mustiness be lunatic to believe that nothing can help someone, that life is simply a free for all. As a Harvard student, Quentin should at least(prenominal) have some pride in his accomplishments. Certainly it was no calamity for Faulkner to choose a suicidal man as the most insane character for his novel.