Quentin Chapter

Quentin is the oldest Compson son and is the smart one, the Harvard son, the one the whole family is proud of. Despite a seemingly perfect appearance, Quentin and his chapter are no more perfect than Benjy and his chapter. Quentin is mentally ill, and his chapter displays this with Faulkner’s constant changes in writing and unpredictable flashbacks. Personally, Quentin’s chapter was difficult to read because of his senseless views. Both he and Benjy are obsessed with their sister, Caddy, but Quentin’s obsession is extremely disturbing. Benjy truly loves Caddy, and they share such a special bond because she is the only character who is always willing to help Benjy understand and is selfless with the tender patience, care, and love she shows him. On the other hand, although he does love his sister, Quentin does so quite absurdly. He is consumed with sexual thoughts about Caddy. He believes that in order to protect her, he needs to have sex with her (thus committing incest) to save her from being with other men who would corrupt her. He views every woman as a sister like Caddy, which has extreme repercussions on his social life and interactions with both men and women.
During one passage (specifically page 99 in my book), Quentin arrives at a train station to meet up with Deacon. This scene takes place during his time at college. There, they talk for a minute before Quentin asks Deacon to do him a favor – deliver a letter he has written to Shreve tomorrow. I interpreted this as a suicide letter, one that will be delivered after Quentin has already died. At this time, Quentin is thinking mostly of himself, and probably of Caddy, but not much about how much his family is depending on him to succeed.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 24, 2017 at 7:39 AM

    I interpreted Quentin's relationship with Caddy, not as lustful or sexual, but rather protective. Quentin feels as if Caddy is the only thing left in their family that is close to meeting the high expectations he holds for them. Quentin is obsessively trying to bring success back into their family and Caddy is one of the only things left that would ever bring success back into the family. Therefore, he is protective because he wants to preserve the perfection in Caddy because she is the only perfect thing in their family in his eyes.

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  2. UnknownMarch 24, 2017 at 8:18 AM

    The way you worded his "obsession is extremely disturbing" is a great way to conclude on the difference between Benjy and Quentin. Benjy truly loves his sister and admires her, while Quentin has strange, obsessive thoughts. Obviously, he fantasizes about Caddy and thinks of her sexually. I think this has a lot to do with his mental illness and scattered brain.

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  3. UnknownMarch 27, 2017 at 6:34 PM

    I loved your comparison between Quentin and Benjy, even though on the surface the two are almost incomparable. I agree that his obsession with Caddy is disturbing, but I think it is largely warped by the influence of the rest of his family, even though none feel quite the same as him. His entire personality is completely tainted by those who have raised him, and the values he's been introduced to, so he can't quite fully understand the impact of the intention behind his thoughts and desires regarding Caddy. His disturbed mind isn't all internal, but rather can be greatly blamed on his external environment.

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  4. UnknownMarch 30, 2017 at 10:00 PM

    I would disagree that Quentin has a sexual thoughts of Caddy, the example you used of Quentin claiming Incest with Caddy had happened because Quentin at that point was more concerned about the Compson family value towards society. Quentin did love Caddy because she was the most sensible out of the siblings, but I believe that Quentin was more worried about family status. Good blog overall

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