Quote 1
"She tailed painfully up the steps. Shapeless, breathing heavily" (268).
Dilsey is climbing up the stairs to wait on Mrs. Compson. Dilsey is the servant of the Compson family. This scene shows her old because she is having a hard time doing her duties. However, it also shows how she has sustained throughout time. She is old with age because of time but time has not torn her down like the other members of the Compson family. The factor that is different between her and the family is that she does not dwell on the past. She does her job to take care of the family and doesn't ponder about her memories. Dilsey is the figure that survives the deterioration of the family.
Quote 2
"I've seed de first en de last... I seed de beginning, en now I sees de endin" (297).
Dilsey has witnesses the downfall of the Compsons without being directly affected. Dilsey has been with the Compson family since their children, Jason, Caddy, Benjy, and Quentin were little. Dilsey had to deal with the family falling apart. She has a sense of the time that has past. Unlike the other characters, the sense of time is sequential and is a normal way of life. Benjy does not have a sense of time and has multiple flashbacks. Quentin also has flashbacks but he is trying to stop time and forget the sense of time. Jason has flashbacks as well but only to justify his anger. Dilsey is the character that truly understands that life moves on with time.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
The Sound and The Fury: Book 3
Quote 1
"By the time I got the car stopped and grabbed her hands there was about a dozen people looking. It made me so mad for a minute it kind of blinded me" (188).
Jason is always angry in the novel, whether it be in the past or present. He always tries to blame things on other people and never himself. He is also obsessed with Caddy, but not like his brothers, he is obsessed about how she ruined his life. She was the reason why he didn't get the job Herbert promised him. Jason is capable of many things because of this anger. This hatred "blinded" him because when he is mad, the emotion acts for itself. He is no longer in control when he is furious. Because he is always mad, it portrays the message that he is rarely in control of his life.
Quote 2
"Once a bitch, always a bitch, what I say" (180).
Jason believes that people will always remain in fault. This is the first line Jason says in his part. It basically describes his personality. He is spiteful and believes that people will not change. He blames his job opportunity loss to Caddy because Herbert promised him a job as a banker but Caddy ruined it. Jason now has to look after Caddy's daughter, Quentin. Jason thinks Caddy's bad qualities have all transferred to Quentin because after all, Caddy was horrible and so is Quentin. He doesn't even consider the fact that Quentin is terrible is because she was raised by a terrible person like Jason. The reason why Jason has gone through so much misfortune is due to Caddy and he goes through more misfortune because of Quentin.
"By the time I got the car stopped and grabbed her hands there was about a dozen people looking. It made me so mad for a minute it kind of blinded me" (188).
Jason is always angry in the novel, whether it be in the past or present. He always tries to blame things on other people and never himself. He is also obsessed with Caddy, but not like his brothers, he is obsessed about how she ruined his life. She was the reason why he didn't get the job Herbert promised him. Jason is capable of many things because of this anger. This hatred "blinded" him because when he is mad, the emotion acts for itself. He is no longer in control when he is furious. Because he is always mad, it portrays the message that he is rarely in control of his life.
Quote 2
"Once a bitch, always a bitch, what I say" (180).
Jason believes that people will always remain in fault. This is the first line Jason says in his part. It basically describes his personality. He is spiteful and believes that people will not change. He blames his job opportunity loss to Caddy because Herbert promised him a job as a banker but Caddy ruined it. Jason now has to look after Caddy's daughter, Quentin. Jason thinks Caddy's bad qualities have all transferred to Quentin because after all, Caddy was horrible and so is Quentin. He doesn't even consider the fact that Quentin is terrible is because she was raised by a terrible person like Jason. The reason why Jason has gone through so much misfortune is due to Caddy and he goes through more misfortune because of Quentin.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
The Sound and The Fury: Book 2
Quote 1
"It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excruciating-ly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's" (76).
Quentin destroys his watch because it is really no use to him. The watch signifies the actual time. Each second passing by is the past. However, if you do not know the time or cannot see the seconds ticking by on the watch, you do not really know how much time has passed or whether it is the present or the past. Quentin does not like knowing the time because it reminds him of how much time has past. He specifically asks the man at the clock store not to tell him the time. The actual time is different from individual time. Time is perceived differently for different people. Time seems to pass by really quickly when you're distracted or occupied. But when you have nothing to do, time seems to drag on. Mr. Compson gives this watch to Quentin but he tells Quentin that it can "fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's" (76). Therefore, this watch is of nothing use because it does not measure an individual's perception of time.
"I could hear mine, ticking away inside my pocket, even thought nobody could see it, even though it could tell nothing if anyone could" (85).
Quentin wants to escape the sound of time. At first, he tries to ignore time. In contrast, he actually has a great sense of time because he'll feel like it's noon. He says he hears time ticking away like a clock. However, he broke his watch as an attempt to stop time. Quentin wants to leave the world because life is meaningless to him. He cannot escape the sound of the ticking clock in his life so the only way to truly escape is to end his life.
"It was Grandfather's and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it's rather excruciating-ly apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's" (76).
Quentin destroys his watch because it is really no use to him. The watch signifies the actual time. Each second passing by is the past. However, if you do not know the time or cannot see the seconds ticking by on the watch, you do not really know how much time has passed or whether it is the present or the past. Quentin does not like knowing the time because it reminds him of how much time has past. He specifically asks the man at the clock store not to tell him the time. The actual time is different from individual time. Time is perceived differently for different people. Time seems to pass by really quickly when you're distracted or occupied. But when you have nothing to do, time seems to drag on. Mr. Compson gives this watch to Quentin but he tells Quentin that it can "fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father's" (76). Therefore, this watch is of nothing use because it does not measure an individual's perception of time.
"I could hear mine, ticking away inside my pocket, even thought nobody could see it, even though it could tell nothing if anyone could" (85).
Quentin wants to escape the sound of time. At first, he tries to ignore time. In contrast, he actually has a great sense of time because he'll feel like it's noon. He says he hears time ticking away like a clock. However, he broke his watch as an attempt to stop time. Quentin wants to leave the world because life is meaningless to him. He cannot escape the sound of the ticking clock in his life so the only way to truly escape is to end his life.
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