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What Time Is It? Faulkner's Representation of Time Faulkner's representation of time in As I Lay Dying, Light in August, and The Sound and the Fury is tangled and inconsistent. He switches back and forth between the distant past, the recent past, and the future, so it is sometimes difficult for the reader to keep track of the events happening within the novel. Why does Faulkner make the reader reach so far just to understand a story? Why do people read Faulkner if it is so dense and far-reaching?
When you have to invest so much of yourself into the reading, you can become more involved with a book and its characters. The best example of time confusion is in The Sound and the Fury. The past is represented in short bursts that are often distorted. In Benjy's section, it is hard to tell when he is talking about past or present events. The only real clue we have is when the type changes from Roman to italics, and even then it can be tricky. Since Benjy thinks differently than everyone else, his words are further distorted.
For the first 75 pages of The Sound and the Fury, we dont know what time it is, or what has happened and what has not. Quentin has a further obsession with time that is complemented by Faulkner's time confusion. The beginning of his section demonstrates his lifes obsession: When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight oclock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfathers and when Father gave it to me he said I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. (Page 76) This statement, made by Quentin's father, gives Quentin's battle words.
Quentin actually spends his whole life fighting against time and losing the battle. Quentin's section of the novel takes place on the day of Harvard's commencement. This is an important day for Quentin, because it reminds him of his failures. It is fitting that he would commit suicide on this day, especially after reflecting on the things that he did do in his life. Quentin and Benjy both have a distinct yearning for the past. They long for things to be as they were before now.
Benjy doesnt want things to change, and Quentin would like to change some of his lifes decisions. Benjy reminisces about times when the surrounding land was undeveloped and Caddy was still nurturing him. Quentin would like to finish college and take back some of the mistakes that he has made, especially with Caddy. They both feel that they have lost Caddy to time. Before, Caddy was there for them, but over time, with Caddy's maturing and growing up, they have lost her. Lena, in Light in August, also has some issues with time.
She constantly compares the past with the present. In the first paragraph of the book, she is comparing where she is now to where she was: although I have not been quite a month on the road I am already in Mississippi, further from home that I have ever been before. I am now further from Doanes Mill that I have been since I was twelve years old. (Page 3) Lena has a slow rhythm about her that takes her through her pilgrimage. She reflects on the past through flashbacks. Her story is rich with references to time, yet it is timeless. She seems to have all the time in the world to get where she needs to go, but in reality, she doesnt.
She embodies Nature. She doesnt worry about time, but time affects her in ways that she cant immediately see. She ends the story with: My, my. A body does get around. Here we aint been coming from Alabama but two months, and now its already Tennessee. (Page 507) As I Lay Dying has many instances of time obsession. The main theme of the story is getting things done in time to arrange for Addies body to be buried in Jefferson.
Some members of the Burden family care about this time pressure more than others. Some only care about money or reputation. However, throughout this novel, time is an issue. Darl is very impatient, and he is always making comments on how things wont be done in time, everything wont be ready. However, is Darl really impatient for his mothers sake, or is he more concerned about money? Ironically, Addie is the one voice in As I Lay Dying that is the most concerned about time.
She has a short but impacting chapter, and she spends all of it talking about the past, tying up everyone elses stories. She simplifies time, making it seem much easier to deal with: I gave Anse Dewey Dell to negative Jewel. Then I gave him Vardaman to replace the child I had robbed him of. And now he has three children that are not his and not mine. And then I could get ready to die. (Page 176) This sums up almost her entire life in just a few sentences. In this way of time simplification, she makes a world where time is not a pressure, but it is something that can be manipulated.
When asking the question of why to read Faulkner, this is the answer I came up with. It is important to look deeply into a Faulkner novel to see its true life. Faulkner's works demand a lot of thinking from his readers. His issues with time are complex, but in the end, he is dealing with a complex world that can be reflected on. He makes his readers think long and deeply to understand his stories.
He portrays the conflict with the old south and the new south, so time is always an issue for his characters. His experimentation with sporadic segments of time, multiple narrators, and stream-of-consciousness passages come together to create a complex drama. His multifaceted plots may alienate some readers, but those who have journeyed through it are rewarded with a somewhat satisfying view of the south and its shadowy characters. 349
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