Caddy Compson watches her family fall apart under various societal pressures in Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. In three diary entries, Caddy reflects on her dysfunctional family including her brother Benjy whom she cared for, her brother Quentin who was obsessed with time, and her bitter brother Jason who stole money from her. Caddy feels disconnected from the world as she ages alone, having been rejected by society for her actions and watching her family members die or become empty over time.

1. Lynn Tsai
AP English Aᵒ
Mega Essay
The Sound and the Fury
Women are emotional; men are aggressive; Asians are smart; African Americans are athletic—
society stereotypes. Women should be thin; men should be tall; incest is wrong—society dictates. From
the moment people are born to the moment they die, peoples’ lives are created, shaped and destroyed
from the desires and expectations of those around them. In Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Caddy
Compsonwatches her family fall apart under various societal pressures; in the process, she fell apart as
well.
April 7th, 1945
Oh hell. Sometimes the world just doesn’t get it. I mean, yeah, values are great and all but really
we ought to redo them someday; rewrite the story.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just clothes,” I says.
“I’m going to tell mammy on you all,”1Versh told me.
“The water’s nice, come on. You know you won’t.”
He won’t. He doesn’t have the guts to do anything about it. Plus who cares if he does, anyway?
Worst case scenario I get the hell out of here. Get away from this place, doesn’t seem too bad.
“I’ll run away and never come back” (19), I tell them all.
No sir, I couldn’t leave Benjy; that’s what I thought at the time. After all, ain’t no one else
carefor him. I know he’s not totally right in the head, but I couldn’t just let people pick on him. He can’t
lie, he can’t harm. He’s the best out of the bunch of us, kept his purity—not that he had much option.
He’s lucky to see everything as it is. I wonder if it’s crystal clear inside his mind. Or, maybe he has no
sense of clarity, nothing to hold on to. Can he claim innocence if he knows of none other? People treat
1
Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury.(New York: Modern Library, 1992) 18.

2. Lynn Tsai
AP English Aᵒ
Mega Essay
The Sound and the Fury
him like trash, and he does not react. The absence of reaction, though, makes me wonder if he is even
capable.
I think Quentin liked him, too, least he had a soft spot for him. Maybe. Sometimes it seemed like
he was only nice whenever I walked around. Sometimes it seemed like he didn’t mind Benjy. Sometimes
I just didn’t know what he was thinking—most the time, actually. Mainly it seemed like he was nice
because people expected him to be. Didn’t matter what he was thinking—or any of the boys for that
matter—I always took care of them. Can’t believe that Jason told but I suppose it didn’t do much in the
long run.
We’d all be in the same place, anyhow. Some gone, some dead, some just as empty as the day
they were born.
I always thought Father’d care more. Way back when I got into a mess, carrying Quentin and all.
Odd how he cared most; I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise, though. Always with the questions and the
spying. Every guy I would be with he’d ask and ask and ask. Even when he wasn’t asking, I could see the
questions in his eyes, churning through that big brain of his.
I like to think he was happy; he was happy least ‘til he started thinking too much. Started talking
about stopping time, how he wanted to change the unchangeable things in the past.
“What’s done is done. Nothing you can do is gonna change that,” I says.
“Women are never virgins. Purity is a negative state and therefore contrary to nature” (116).
He always sounded so smart. Didn’t get what he was saying at the time, but now I do. Guess he
couldn’t bear the pain of me not being the perfect gal. But hey he wasn’t perfect either. I loved him and
all but that little Italian girl just struck me the wrong way. Turns out I was right, with her getting him into
a ton of trouble with the law.

3. Lynn Tsai
AP English Aᵒ
Mega Essay
The Sound and the Fury
I still keep the paper with that article of him. It’s the only thing I have left of him. I don’t think I’ll
ever full understand what he did, though. It seems like such a scary way to go. Must have been slow. I’ll
be gone soon, too. So will everyone else. Guess it doesn’t matter much what we do in life, we all end in
the same place.
I sure didn’t think it was anything at the time, his obsession. I remember when we were children
I’d see him look at the clock, over and over. Mesmerized by the constant
tick…tock…tick…tock…tick…tock…He used to ask us to play a game. This game where we’d try to run
from our own shadows. Couldn’t win, really, but it was funny, watching us all chase ourselves ‘round the
streets. I think he knew it, knew that no one could win. I think he liked it too, seeing that we were equal.
Somehow I think it’s Father’s fault for pushing these other ideas onto him, not noticing. Quentin
followed these rules, rules made up by a group of people who decided that nothing should be
something. Father just made Quentin confused; he just couldn’t understand. Didn’t make no sense to
him then and it don’t make no sense to me now, either.
Mother did the same thing. Can’t be all Father’s fault, it’d take more than that to break
someone. All that talk about dirtying the family name, how it’s my fault and how Miss Quentin’s just a
symbol of shame. Makes them feel bad ‘bout being a Compson. Sometimes I think Mother wishes she
weren’t a Compson, then she wouldn’t have my stain on her name.
I look back now and I see a poor child, too smart for his own good.
Jason thought he was being all smart too. I know he took her money. I know he hated her.
Figured it out too late, though; let him cheat us outta a lot of money. He said, “I wouldn’t lay my hand
on her. The bitch that cost me a job, the one chance I ever had to get ahead, that killed my father and is
shortening my mother’s life every day and made my name a laughing stock in the town. I wont do

4. Lynn Tsai
AP English Aᵒ
Mega Essay
The Sound and the Fury
anything to her” (304). Didn’t have an option at that point, though. Whatever she got was better than
nothing. Didn’t have an option. Sometimes I get it, maybe he has the right to be bitter but don’t we all?
Doesn’t everyone have a reason to be bitter? Hell, I got kicked out of my own home—but least I got my
own life.Made somethin’ good outta nothing.
I got a decent paying job, enough to keep me and Quentin afloat least. I reckon there’s no need
to take it out on everyone around you. It don’t need to be like that, I mean it’s only gonna make
thewhole thing worse, taking it out on everyone around you. I ought to get her out of there, Quentin.
She won’t wannasurvive long in that hell of a place, with no one to take care of her and no one to raise
her right. Mother’s no use—never was, never will be. All she seem to care ‘bout is how Uncle Maury is
“the last Bascomb” (225) and all, and that when “we are gone, there won’t be any more of them” (225).
All I remember are those days where Father would be all tipsy and—at the time I was told he was
dancin’—outta his mind and we’d all stay a ways distant from him. Mother just sat there, much too
absorbed in whatever the hell her mind was occupied with to realize what the hell was happening. Only
good that ever came outta her was the days when she was too occupied to know
I’ll get her out soon. I wanted to get her out before she was 18, it just never happened. The
money I made before the incident could cover the both of us just fine, and it’d be even better without
someone’s sticky fingers getting in the way. It’s too bad, what happened…
“No sir,” I says.
“You took it, you dirty bitch, gimme back ‘fore I hurt ya,” he kept saying.
“No sir, I ain’ttake your money. I take what I earn, no more no less.”
I tried explaining but ain’t nothing I say would convince him. Can’t walk properly anymore, went
out of business. Nobody wants a woman who can’t even walk straight. Nobody wants a broken toy.

5. Lynn Tsai
AP English Aᵒ
Mega Essay
The Sound and the Fury
“Ten dollars for this week, ma’am.”
“There’s a light that’s gone out, sir. Been like that for a decade or two, back when I used to
work. Ought to get that fixed.” I was sick of that light not working. Wasn’t even working the job—well,
can’t anymore. Sometimes I just wanted that damn light to turn on when I want it to.
“I’ll see what we can do, you have a good day ma’am.”
Pressing against the entrance, I felt a push on my arm from the other side of the door while I
was holding the handle. Next thing I know, I got some blood on my hands and my nose hurts like hell.
“Oh lord! Ma’am are you alright? I’m terribly sorry, didn’t mean to open the door so quick,
shoulda checked first. Ma’am are you alright?”
“Think so. Hell my shirts ruined now.”
“Come ‘ere.”
She helped me up and led me back up the stairs I came from. Seemed like a nice gal, kept
apologizing over and over. Hope my nose is okay.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.”
I look up and there’s this funny looking dress, hanging in the closet. “What’s that?” I says.
“Ah, it’s a kimono. Got it back a days when I got money from my mother. Got into some trouble
for it too, people saying it was a waste of money. Probably was, but I didn’t know right from wrong.”
Never seen anything like it before, looked nice, though. Strangely, I see myself in her.
“Real sorry, again, ma’am. This’d be the second time I’ve smacked someone’s face with a door.
Once when I went to school, I did the exact same thing. Difference was, the girl bout took my head off
afterwards. Glared at me from then on, every time I seen her.”
“You like school?” I says, trying to make some conversation. She seemed lonely.

6. Lynn Tsai
AP English Aᵒ
Mega Essay
The Sound and the Fury
“Didn’t like it.Didn’t not like it. Didn’t see any point in goin’, though. Never really went. Ended
up runnin’ off with a circus man, biker. I knew people would be mad, but after a while I got sick and tired
of people tellin’ me how to live my life. Not just my family, everyone ‘round me too. Didn’t even have to
say anything, just the way they looked at me was enough for me to read their minds. Leaving seemed
like the best option, and he was someone I could leave with. ”
“Yea?” She reminds me so much of myself.“What happened with him?”
“Died.”
She didn’t add to it, so I didn’t ask. Feel like she didn’t really want to talk about it, maybe hit a
sore spot. My nose stopped bleeding, but it was throbbing like hell. “Could I get some ice, miss?”
“Course you can. I gotta go soon, though, got a customer waitin’ for me and can’t keep
‘emwaitin’ long or they get mad.”
“I’ll be outta your hair soon; don’t worry, I get it.” I knew what she was talking about. The
street’s a dangerous place to be. “You be careful out there, miss. It’s a dangerous job, I would know. Try
to keep safe or you ain’tgonna last long. I didn’t.”
“Thanks, ma’am.Real sorry again. I gotta go, real sorry.”
We left her room and I watched as she turned the corners, and listened as the sound of her
heels clicking on the stairs began to fade away.
“Don’t you trust me?” (204).
“No,” I says. “I know you. I grew up with you” (204). It’s true, I don’t. He was too selfish to do
anything for anyone else. Didn’t care who or how he hurt people, even his own damn sister.
He walked away, after he got his money. Sure, I saw her through the window. That’s all, though.
I wanted more. His footsteps faded and so did hopes of really seeing—maybe even holding—Quentin.

7. Lynn Tsai
AP English Aᵒ
Mega Essay
The Sound and the Fury
He cared so much about that bank job, but if he really wanted a good job he’d muster up some brains
himself and get to work. Make some good use of his time at home, for once. That bitter bastard just
can’t stand the fact that he’s worth nothin’, that people see him as the failure of the family because
nobody can find a reason to give him any respect. There’s no reason to, though. He hasn’t done much of
anything with his life but pick on others. Then he gets all bitter ‘bout the way people see him. I think
that’s why he gets so angry, why he’s so mad all the time. People expect people to be one way, then
they want them to be another way, then it changes all again and something’s right and something’s
wrong. The rules keep changing, but the pressure never does. It broke him. Sometimes I feel like it’s not
totally his fault he’s so bitter, but then I remember all the terrible things he’s done and I don’t really feel
it anymore.
I don’t really feel anything anymore. Days go by, weeks go by, years go by, and we’re all in the
same place. People change, society changes, but someone always wants something and sometimes you
just can’t give it. It’s one of those movies where if you stand still and just watch, time moves around you.
I don’t mean nothin’ to the world, but at the same time, the world don’t mean nothin’ to me.
“Happy 50th,” I says, but no one’s around to hear me.Wouldn’t make a difference if there were.