Quentin Chapter

Faulkner’s second chapter of the Sound and the Fury was from the point of view of Quentin. Coming right on the heels of Benjy’s disorienting but honest chapter, Quentin’s account is given with real-time updates, as well as memories that are triggered by occurrences around Quentin. As Quentin walks about town and talks with people, he is constantly reminded of events in his past, most notably those involving Caddy. The memories are given to the reader in the italics, and are choppy and usually never completed. This shows that Quentin has a lot on his mind and there are a lot of things he can’t quite get over. Quentin often talks about Caddy and how he can’t get over her being with other men.

Over the course of the chapter, Quentin does many odd things. He first breaks his watch and rips the hands off. However, the watch continues to tick, symbolizing that even though he can’t see the time he is still bound by it. He walks around a clockmaker’s shop for a while, and decides not to get his watch fixed. Later, he finds a young girl on the street, and he tries to find her family and spends some time walking around with her. A man named Julio approaches Quentin, furious that he has kidnapped his sister. The two sort out the misunderstanding at the police station, and Quentin is off with a small fee for disrupting the Juilio’s work. Quentin can’t stop laughing during the encounter, showing a growing discomfort and detachment from the world around him. The chapter ends with a lengthy exchange with Caddy and how he almost kills her then himself. She eventually goes home, with Quentin saying he is going off to the woods and will catch up later. Quentin’s character seems certain on suicide, but unsure on the motives. Quentin’s detachment from time is shown as he constantly flashes back to memories of his past, but he is still bound by time as he can’t postpone his suicide.