So I just read Benjy's section with no background info all

Quentin rapes his sister, Caddy.

>>7664640
Am I stupid or is Quentin alternately described as male and female? Someone calls him/her "young lady," then I'm looking at the part where Quentin tried to hit jason with the glass and there are clearly female pronouns used for Quentin.

>>7664640
>>7664640
Epic meme friend-o

File: 1393706658755.jpg (94KB, 604x603px) Image search: [Google]

94KB, 604x603px

>>7664630
>Was Uncle Maury the one that died, and that's why they changed the narrator's name to Benjy?
The name change is made more clear later on. I don't remember it being outright said, it is answered with a euphemism. However on my first read of that section I thought the same thing you were thinking.

>Am I supposed to have pieced together whatever's happening with the parents when the kids are trying to eavesdrop or will I understand that later?
Do you mean when Caddy is on the pear tree looking in? If so later, though it is possible to figure out who is dying in that room.
If it is some other scene then I don't know what you are referring to.

>How old, relatively, are all these siblings? Jason seems older in one scene then he randomly starts crying in scenes where Benjy is like ten.
Well their ages are changing because Benjy is remembering different parts of his life. Benjy is the only one who stays the same pretty much.

>Will things start to make sense in the next narrator's section or will the scenes continue to be 90% "I'm gonna whip you" followed by crying?
It gets better. After this is a pretty articulate narrator but he is pretty crazy. After that is another narrator who is simple and straightforward. After that is the last narrator who is articulate and straight forward.

Most people say that the second narrator, the one after Benjy, is the most difficult to understand because of him going crazy at points but honestly Benjy was the most difficult for me.

>>7664640
Nope.

>>7664653
Serious spoiler
There are two Quentins. One is name after the other, this is the old South after all

>>7664653
Caddy has a daughter named Quentin.

>>7664669
Thank you anon
>>7664674
Not sure if I should look or not
>>7664675
If you're serious I'm now even more confused

>>7664669
THAT PIC IS NEW SINCERETY.

>>7664710
It is serious. Keep going, it'll make sense, especially in Dilsey's chapter.

>>7664630
>Was Uncle Maury the one that died, and that's why they changed the narrator's name to Benjy?
Yeah, he's named the same as his uncle.
>Am I supposed to have pieced together whatever's happening with the parents when the kids are trying to eavesdrop or will I understand that later?
You will understand later. The most important scene is the one where they are watching a funeral and Caddy climbs on the tree branch to check things out.
>How old, relatively, are all these siblings? Jason seems older in one scene then he randomly starts crying in scenes where Benjy is like ten.
I forgot the exact years, but I think Caddy is the oldest, then comes Jason, then Benjy.
>Will things start to make sense in the next narrator's section or will the scenes continue to be 90% "I'm gonna whip you" followed by crying?
The next section is hard to comprehend too, but it's easier than the one you got through. After you read the whole book and reread Benjy's section again I will think you will understand it a lot more.

>>7664675
please use a spoiler filter . I knew I shouldn't have came to this thread

>>7664771
explain how its a reaction against irony

>>7664970
not a spoiler m8 no worries

OP, I promise you, as confusing as Ben is, reading through this rough, abstract history really comes together later. The first chapter gives you these quick snippets of history, disjointed and almost pointless. And the chapter after jumps back in time to someone who is dead. But I promise you, if there is ver something in literature that needs to be read, it is Quentin Compson's section of the Sound and the Fury.

There has never been a more emotional love, a more unrequited sensibility, than the love Quentin had for Caddy. Imagine, an abusive father who makes you terrible, and your own salvation your sister, who the love you have for her is far more than that of simple sibling bonds, and the entire future of the family becomes a burden to you. That is why Quentin does what he does. You learn all this through his eyes, through his emotions, and his experiences are told in such disjointed, abrasive manner. The punctuation is left to the dogs. It only gets in the was him. You are him. You become him in ways that no one possibly could. It is simply one of the most profound pieces I have ever read.

>>7664640
No he doesnt, retard. He lied to his dad so Caddy would get out of trouble from being pregnant with that other dude.

>>7664653
You have to understand that Benjy is a retard, so his narration is botched as fuck. (Note how he put periods instead of commas to punctuate dialogue, he has to "nail things down" because he can't keep hold of anything, which is exemplified in how shattered his perception of time is). So there are two Quentins, one Benjy's younger brother, and the other Caddy's daughter. Benjy can't distinguish the obviousness of this.

Another example of Benjy's perception is that he can't tell the difference between black and white. Look at Luster's and Dilsey's diction in Benjy's perspective compared to the rest of the book. They talk like everyone else to Benjy. But in the other chapters, they're Negro as fuck. Being a retard, Benjy doesn't see such differences. In other words, he's "colorblind."

It gets easier to understand the further you read. Though a lot critics tend to agree that even Quentin is a more unreliable narrator than Benjy, which I can't help but agree with.

>>7665820
>No he doesnt, retard. He lied to his dad so Caddy would get out of trouble from being pregnant with that other dude.
>>7664669
>Nope.
>Being THIS new

Lurk more and you wont' get meme'd next time.