A Perspective on Time

The last section of the Sound and the Fury does a lot to wrap up the novel, but it does so in a way many are not accustomed to. I feel that the novel does not in any way wrap up the plot; in fact, I am still left with many unanswered questions that were not addressed before the conclusion of the story, but I feel that the last section does act as a suitable conclusion in terms of the theme of time, and how it affects the characters of the novel. In the first three sections of the novel, we are led through events through either, Benji, Quentin, or Jason. Each sections allows to see how each character views time. All of the Compson sons view time in a way that makes it difficult for them to live in the world. This is what brings each of them to their eventual downfall. The last section puts the other three sections into perspective. As we compare time as portrayed in each of the first three sections to time as portrayed in the last section, we realize that it is because of time that the Compson family died down. Dilsey, the only character we see who seems to view time correctly, is the one who has stood strong, from the past to the present, even when the Compson family has fallen. The last section concludes the novel because, as Faulker presented it, it gives us a new concept of time that we have not yet seen. It explains to us why the Compson family met its eventual downfall. (267)