Foreordination of Quentin in The Sound and the Fury

Abstract

The Sound and the Fury is the masterpiece of famous American writer William Faulkner. It describes the decline of the Compson family, a once southern noble family. The outline of this story is the narration of the three sons of Mr. Compson and the black maid. Faulkner shows readers the necessity of the decline of the southern noble family. The author analyses the tragedy of Quentin. Based on the background of the age that the story describes, combined with the stream-of-consciousness and the symbolism to explore why the tragic destiny of Quentin cannot be changed and the necessity of the declining of the south.  

This essay is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the main content of the novel which includes the characters and scenarios. The second part introduces the background of the writer and the writing background of the novel. In the third part, the author discusses the reasons why Quentin suicides. This is the most important part of this essay. The deformed family, his Oedipus complex, the sense of disillusionment and the contradicted spiritual world make he chooses to escape the real world to find the fool’s paradise. The last part analyses the writing techniques that Faulkner used in this novel which includes the stream of consciousness and the time sequential reversal. 

Key words: Quentin, foreordination, old tradition