Dilsey was treated very poorly by Mrs. Compson. Mrs. Compson caused all this trouble and always wanted Dilsey to be doing work by pretty much throwing a fit when Dilsey wouldn't take care of Benjy, even though Benjy was asleep. Dilsey is an African-American servant, which would be common for the Old South. This shows that Mrs. Compson is still in the Old South.
Dilsey brings Benjy to church with her every sunday. Frony tells Dilsey that the people don't like having a white boy at their church. This seems like Faulkner was trying to prove a point that African- Americans were even in the new southern ways because they stayed away from the whites.
Dilsey was a very clear and straightforward voice in this book. Faulkner chose to write this book from a confusing, mentally- handicapped person to a very clear and concise African- American servant to show give us bits and pieces of the novel at a time and really make us put all the pieces together. He starts by writing the book in almost all human senses, then moves to stream of consciousness, then dialogue, and then a third person narrative. He distances the book from the very personal Benjy to the impersonal Dilsey. He wanted to prove a point that the south was moving from the family values and everyone being knowing each other really well, like the readers go to know Benjy, into the servant that was narrating events that she wasn't even a part of.
This book is really just about change. In this particular book, the change is Old South to New South, but it is happening all over the world. People are changing and our generations are changing. Mrs. Compson wanted to stay in the traditional Old Southern lifestyle, but her children were the New Generation. Her children, besides Jason, had a higher respect for African- Americans. Her children had less of a traditional view of family and they didn't think that family was necessarily the most important thing. This book is basically a closer, personal glimpse into a certain circumstance of change.
This is not directly related to the book, but we have change nationwide between generations. The teenage generation nowadays has more tech skills. We have had a phone and computer our whole lives. This is how we are different. Faulkner really just wanted to capture that change between generations, and at that time, these generations of the New and Old South were the largest gap in values.
Faulkner told his story four times to represent the change. There are four seasons and these seasons change the way the world look. Our generations change just as the seasons do.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Jason's Chapter
Jason's blog was hard at times for me to read. The way that he was so vulgar and how he put women and African Americans down was horrendous. He even starts out the chapter with the line, "Once a bitch always a bitch, what I say." He continues his story in a very resentful way and he is a representation of the greed of society.
Jason starts by addressing most women as "she", meaning that he does not see them as an individual person, but instead as women. He threatens to slap this "she" and grabs her arm being very aggressive with her. He tried to show that he is dominate because he is a male, and he threatens this girl, who turns out to be Quentin from another generation. His mother cries and he provides no comfort to her at all. An example of his harsh writing on women is, " ..Up there in her room, gobbing paint on her face and waiting for six ni**ers." Gobbing has a negative connotation and he is saying how women basically try so hard to be pretty.
Jason is a complete racist against many different types of people. When talking of African- Americans he says, "Six ni**rs that can't even stand up out of a chair unless they've got a pan full of bread and meat to balance them." He represents the old South still by treating African- Americans in such a harsh way and acting like they are less important than whites. He believes that African- Americans are still just meant to be servants. He also blames the Jewish people for the stock markets prices being so high.
Jason thinks that he is better than his whole family and actually separates himself from them. He shows this by providing an excessive amount of dialogue; unlike Quentin, who talks as though he has become other people. Jason quotes other people to show that he would never say the things that the rest of his family says. He also says that he is not really of his own blood, he claims that he is better. He is really just trailer park trash in the eyes of the readers.
This chapter is filled with Jason's resentment towards how his life played out. He says, "I never had time to go to Harvard or drink myself to the ground. I had to work. But of course if you want me to follow her around to see what she does, I can quit the store and get a job where I can work at night. Then I can watch her during the day." He is saying that Quentin went to Harvard and got to live the high society life and he was stuck working and watching after a girl.
Overall, Jason represent the old, greedy southern ways. He was big on investing money in the stocks and did all he could to get as much money for himself as possible. He always goes back to talking about money and I think it is because he thinks that money will make him look like a better person. He is the "loser" of the family and he just wants to prove his worth through money, which is a common quality of many Americans today.
Jason starts by addressing most women as "she", meaning that he does not see them as an individual person, but instead as women. He threatens to slap this "she" and grabs her arm being very aggressive with her. He tried to show that he is dominate because he is a male, and he threatens this girl, who turns out to be Quentin from another generation. His mother cries and he provides no comfort to her at all. An example of his harsh writing on women is, " ..Up there in her room, gobbing paint on her face and waiting for six ni**ers." Gobbing has a negative connotation and he is saying how women basically try so hard to be pretty.
Jason is a complete racist against many different types of people. When talking of African- Americans he says, "Six ni**rs that can't even stand up out of a chair unless they've got a pan full of bread and meat to balance them." He represents the old South still by treating African- Americans in such a harsh way and acting like they are less important than whites. He believes that African- Americans are still just meant to be servants. He also blames the Jewish people for the stock markets prices being so high.
Jason thinks that he is better than his whole family and actually separates himself from them. He shows this by providing an excessive amount of dialogue; unlike Quentin, who talks as though he has become other people. Jason quotes other people to show that he would never say the things that the rest of his family says. He also says that he is not really of his own blood, he claims that he is better. He is really just trailer park trash in the eyes of the readers.
This chapter is filled with Jason's resentment towards how his life played out. He says, "I never had time to go to Harvard or drink myself to the ground. I had to work. But of course if you want me to follow her around to see what she does, I can quit the store and get a job where I can work at night. Then I can watch her during the day." He is saying that Quentin went to Harvard and got to live the high society life and he was stuck working and watching after a girl.
Overall, Jason represent the old, greedy southern ways. He was big on investing money in the stocks and did all he could to get as much money for himself as possible. He always goes back to talking about money and I think it is because he thinks that money will make him look like a better person. He is the "loser" of the family and he just wants to prove his worth through money, which is a common quality of many Americans today.
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