This book has a lot of historical meaning. It holds data about how people in the past thought, their culture, life, and so on. This book also shows how people lived at that time.

 ‘The Sound and the Fury’ was written by William Faulkner who was a great American writer, and was awarded a Nobel prize for literature as well as 2 Pulitzer prizes. He wrote a satirical novel about the downfall of the south of the United States. There are many masterpieces like 'Absalom, Absalom!', 'Sartoris' and so on.

 ‘The Sound and the Fury’ is considered to be one of William Faulkner's best works, which is why I am introducing it in this article. It is set in the south of the Unites States in the 19th century. That time period saw a lot of change in the south. People from the north entered the south for entertainment etc. This caused some trouble and confusion for the southern people due to the differences in culture.

 We can read about this period by following the Compson family in the novel. Through the Compsons’ story we can see the how the south culture fell.

 This story is composed of four other main characters. Three are brothers in the Compson family and the other is the Compson's maid, Dilsey. The story begins on April 7, 1928. This part's protagonist is the idiot brother, Benjy. He just cries everywhere when he can't see his older sister Caddy. He also has a speech-impairment.

 Unfortunately for him, Caddy doesn’t live with the family anymore. She has already married and lives with her husband. Benjy is still looking for her, and constantly thinks of the past when he and his sister lived together.

 In this section you can see the miserable affection toward his sister, and you can also concentrate on how Benjy describes his voice and feeling. His expression is simple and sensible. This sensible monologue will give some unusual reading.

 The second part involves Quentin. The day is June 2, 1920. It is the only part of the novel dealing with the past. He is the first-born son in the Compson family, and a Harvard university student. He has an obsession about time, and he is plunged into philosophical thoughts especially based on past time.

 The biggest reason for this is Caddy. She lost her virginity to a man who came from the north of the United States. This makes Quentin’s life feel painful, and finally he destroys himself. He suffered from a time in the past and broken honor (his sister’s virginity). As a result, there was some racial discrimination and misogyny during that time.

 In the third part the main protagonist is Jason, the real head of the Compson family. He is promised a bank job by Caddy's husband, but later he knows that Caddy became pregnant with another man's child, and she is kicked out of the house. Jason also loses his chance at the bank job.

 In additional, his father wouldn't help him. There isn’t enough money because of Caddy's wedding and Quentin's tuition. Finally, although he had received nothing from the family, he earns money for them since he becomes the head of the Compson family.

 An interesting part of this section is the statement 'Once a bitch, always a bitch'. He thinks that the reason he didn't have a chance with the high-earning job is due to Caddy and her pregnancy. Due to this, he doesn't like Caddy's daughter also and regards her as a promiscuous girl. It also makes it impossible for Jason to give some love to another woman. Therefore, he scores with a girl by having money (becoming a sugar daddy) in another country instead of marriage.

 The last part occurs on April 8, 1928. Deilsy is a warm-hearted person who has black skin. She knows all about the Compson story. This part represents the author's thoughts. Under the difficult Compson circumstance, she was the only one who knew about real love and the importance of honor.

 She is kind and dutiful to the Compson family, but she is strict with her son and grandson. We can see what the real south person's ideal slave at that time.

 After reading all parts of the novel, you can understand the previous summaries entirely. Each story is chained together and unfolds gradually. You can become interested in the different thoughts and sights regarding the same situations. Even though it is about the same situation, they represent different ways and feelings.

 This novel involved various problems about the south of the United States in the 19th century. They take for granted the control of women's sexuality by men, and the ideal slaves acting with obedience. William Faulkner speaks satirically about the downfall of the south of the United States in ‘The Sound and the Fury’.

L.L.F reporter Hye-Jin Jeoung