"Edenic Images in 'The Sound and the Fury'"

Missing JSTOR Blog from week of October 26:
"Edenic Images in 'The Sound and the Fury'." The South Central Bulletin, Vol. 40, No. 4, Studies by Members of the SCMLA, pp. 142.

The image of Caddy climbing the tree to view her grandmother's funeral, is obviously important to the meaning of The Sound and the Fury because of Faulkner's frequent references to the event. This article shed an interesting light on the event that had never occurred to me before. This article refers to Caddy's climb as being before "the Fall" as in the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The article's writer says that Faulkner's use of Garden of Eden imagery is meant to foreshadow Caddy's moral "Fall" later in the novel. This moral dilemma is also see through a different climb made by Quentin, which in a sense continues Caddy's moral state.
The article's interpretation of Benjy as the biblical Adam, the personification of innocence, is also very interesting. I see this as a very understandable interpretation. Benjy is the only constant member of the Compson family. He is unable to understand the moral turmoil of many of his relatives and therefore is able to retain his youthful innocence all his life.

Evolution of the Narrator

I was very surprised by the amount of change the novel’s narrator undergoes in section one. For the whole first section of the novel, the narrator seems to contrast all other male characters, especially the Colonel. The Magistrate is initially disturbed by the “interrogation” techniques of Colonel Joll. He appears to be the only compassionate man present: he displays great concern for the captive boy and his condition. The Magistrate is the embodiment of good thus far in the novel; however, as a subordinate to the Colonel he is unable to openly act upon his moral standards. He also cannot stop the Colonel from taking action against the so-called barbarians. Even after the Colonel blunders in sending back the fishing people, the Magistrate cannot contradict his superior’s actions. The narrator’s interest and appreciation for history and forgotten artifacts heighten his likeability and appeal to readers, but even these redeeming qualities are negated by his thoughts later in the section.
This negation is most apparent in the closing paragraphs of section one. These paragraphs are also the disappointing pinnacle of our narrator’s character shift. He reveals his hope that “this obscure chapter in the history of the world were terminated at once” and that these “ugly people were obliterated from the face of the earth.” His reference to exterminating the captives, having “them dig, with their last strength, a pit large enough for all of them to lie in,” was quite a shock. After following the thoughts of a sound, caring man, this turn towards death and destruction is unsettling. Just prior to this change in perspective, he comments on how he does not understand why all of the soldiers seem to love and follow the colonel despite his cruel actions. This statement turns out to be an ironic one, because the narrator himself falls victim to the negativity of the Colonel, and by association the negative views of the Empire.

My Own Image of Africa

• Africa as a foil to Europe.
• Article is Achebe's response to Conrad's novel, which he believes exemplifies this idea.
• Believes if Africa is the antithesis to Europe it it the antithesis to civilization.
• Achebe resents that Heart of Darkness is considered a "permanent novel."
• Considers Conrad's writing style "unerhanded activity" and full of "trickery."
• Achebe sites many passages from the novel to support his point of view.
• I interpreted all passages Achebe sites differently than he did. What do you think?
• Comparison of African woman and English woman
• I believe Conrad, through Marlow, was being truthful about what he saw. Not saying that it was correct or moral. Turn perspectives around interpretations may be similar.
• Achebe and my own differences in perspective also may be affecting our interpretations.
• Marlow tossing out "bleeding-heart sentiments."
• Accusing Conrad of not promoting an equality in his novel. p. 343.
• Analyses responses of students
• Do not know what to think of Conrad's preoccupation with the word "black." p. 345.
• Native's attack on Marlow and crew
• p. 348. Achebe claims that Conrad makes Africa a place to be avoided. Why does Marlow go there?
• p. 349. Comment on language.
• I do not believe by any means that Conrad's book is not racist, and does not looking poorly on African people. If this novel were written in our time period I would comdemn Conrad myself.

Shedding Light on Prejudices or Tolerance?

Marlow is a character who views the world around him in an objective manner. We find out in the novel's first chapter that to him truth is the most important of virtues, which only serves to support his reliability as a narrator. Although Marlow relays events and his surroundings dependably, his observations, specifically concerning Africa's native inhabitants, are sometimes contradictory. In chapter two, Marlow discusses the "remote kinship" he feels between the white race and the supposed savage race, and comments on their undoubtable humanity. However, several paragraphs later, he remarks on the simlarities between the steamboat's fireman and ". . . a dog . . . walking on its hind legs." Marlow later describes how the workers on the steam boat have been literally starving for the past months, but have showed enough restraint not to revolt. The narrator seems to hold this restraint in high respect, but through his language still shows disdain for those who he calls savage. Because of Marlow's contradictory thoughts and observations, the line between prejudice and tolerance is blurred. Do you think Conrad intended Marlow to be a racist character? How does the time period and culture in which the novel was written affect how it deals with race? What do you think Conrad intended; was he attempting to unearth the horrors of British colonization or was he emphasizing a need to "humanize" Africa's indigenous peoples?