JSTOR Article Response

The article that I read from JSTOR is entitled “The Language of Chaos: Quentin Compson in the Sound and the Fury.” My reason behind choosing this article is that, of the sections of the novel that we have read thus far, I have found Quentin’s to be the most interesting, with potentially the greatest amount of meaning, both visible and hidden. The article reflects on the idea that all of Quentin’s actions through the course of the section are in some manner tied to his “obsessions with the past and with virginity as the equivalent of family honor” (546). The article discusses the scene with the young Italian immigrant girl whom he refers to as a “sister.” This, according to the article, is an attempt by Quentin to redeem himself as a brother by acting as the guide and protector for the immigrant girl, in all the ways that he failed as a brother to Caddy. However, just as he feels that he has failed Caddy, he fails the Italian girl in actuality when he is accused of molesting her and is resultantly arrested. Another element that is discussed by the article is the omnipresence of water in Quentin’s sections, and its possible ties in Quentin’s mind to sexuality, because many of his sexual memories are tied to water. This can also be tied to Benjy’s association with the purifying powers of water, and the power of water to purify Quentin by killing time.