This novel is and has been from the start about Caddy. The book begins with Benjy who hears Caddy's name at the gold course and begins to bellow and cry. Although Caddy is not a narrator and has no chapter, she is the focus of the book. All four narrator's are connected to Caddy in some way. For Benjy, Caddy was the only one who really loved and cared about him. For Quentin, it is almost as if he and Caddy are one. They are very close. For Jason, Caddy is his "downfall." She is the reason for his disgrace and his lot in life (so he tells himself.) And Dilsey, well Dilsey raised Caddy. She is the second mother of Caddy. The book centers around Caddy, her actions, her choices, and how she affects others. The book starts off very jumbled and slowly makes it way to the traditional narration style's in Dilsey's chapter. The chapters are arranged in the specific order to show the reader the whole story. Slowly, but surely, the truth is revealed to the reader. The four chapter's represent the old south, with Caddy representing the new south. The unbiased beginning of Benjy allows the readers to figure it out. Then we are thrown into Quentin and Jason's stream of consciousness.Quentin's obsession with the past and his final demise at his own hands shows the wrongness of the past and how you can not live stuck in the past. It represents how the old south must move forward. Jason, himself, is a representation of the old south. Then the book is finished by Dilsey who can show us the truth. The book is telling us that progress is inevitable and that the future lies in those few are strong enough to not fear progress, Caddy (and Quentin the girl.) Over all, despite the confusion and the endless list of questions, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Also, for those of you who didn't go to the holocaust thing tonight, you missed out on an excellent movie and some delicious, home-made, chicken-noodle soup.

I'm going to have to say. Jason is a *cough, cough* to put it nicely. Such a resentful, hateful JERK! He makes me want to punch him. He treats nobody with respect or kindness. Not Dilsey, his employer, any of the African American workers, Quentin, Caddy, not even his own mother (who should always be treated with respect.)
These are the reasons Jason is a jerk:
1) He steals the money meant for Quentin (from Caddy.) Then lies to his mother about it and has her burn the false checks. He is stealing from Quentin and Caddy.
2) He won't even let Caddy see her daughter, until she offers to pay (a bribe of a substantial amount,) then he only lets her see Quentin for about 5 seconds before driving off.
3) He is so mean to Benjy. In the first chapter he cuts up Benjy's dolls purely out of spite. Throughout his chapter he talks about how he should just send Benjy somewhere else.
4)  His mother thinks he is an angel, which makes it even more awful considering that he REALLY is not a good guy, at all.
5) He threatens Quentin and chases her when she is with some guy. NONE of his business, if you ask me.
6) He may be the most resentful person ever. He is such a self centered little poo-head! He thinks he should be entitled to the world. He is so jealous. Jealous that Quentin went to Harvard and that he actually has to work for a living (poor, poor, poor Jason. Crying on the inside.)
7) He is cruel! His words always carry a sting and he never says anything nice. He uses his quick wit to put people down.
8) He blames Caddy for him not getting a good job. (When Caddy was marrying that one guy, Jason was promised a potion in the bank that the one guy owned. He would have gotten the job if Caddy hadn't gotten pregnant with Dalton Ames. He is pissed off about this. However he wouldn't have gotten the job because of anything he did, no good qualities or training, he would have gotten the job solely on family connections. When it was broken off and he had to work in a little grocery store in town, he blames Caddy.) It's not Caddy's fault he can't get a good job based on his own qualifications.
9) He is just plain and simple a brat. Nothing more needs to be added or said. Brat pretty much sums it up.
Thanks for reading my little tirade/vent right there. Throughout this chapter I was very angry. It was hard to read solely because I hated Jason so much the whole time. Faulkner does an excellent job in making his readers hate Jason. What a loathsome character!

I personally think that Quentin's chapter was even harder to read than Benjy's. I payed special attention to the things Quentin mentioned again and again. One was his obsession with time. Quentin counts the hour bells and constantly checks or asks for the time. I found this very interesting in comparison with Benjy where time is irrelevant. However just as Benjy lives both in the present and the past, so does Quentin. As Quentin's chapter progresses time becomes more and more befuddled. Quentin spends more and more time living in the past and quickly losses contact with the present.

I also noticed Quentin's longing for his father's approval. Quentin constantly talks about his father's advice, words, and actions. This leads to one specific piece of advice his father gives. Something about how, put simply, a man can't be a man and a virgin. SO then Quentin tells his father he has committed "incest" with Caddy. It is unclear if he really has or he is trying to protect Caddy. (because she had sex with other men who she wasn't married to and had a child.) Quentin maybe pretending to have incest, but I'm honestly not sure. Whether or not Quentin committed incest to save his reputation or save Caddy, Caddy does not like it. She refuses Quentin's attempts to help.

Caddy, to Quentin and Benjy, is the most important person in their lives. Caddy teaches Quentin how to treat women and Quentin refers to her as "his sister." However his sister theme runs throughout his life. He constantly acts men "If they have a sister?" And he thinks of all women as a sister to someone (which I quite like. The idea that everyone is someones sister or brother, mother or father, son or daughter is very poignant and could solve a lot of problems if we remembered that fact.)That's why he has to protect all the women.

Quentin's narration suggest that he is not in a good state of mental health. He is undone at the edges. Fraying quickly. Caddy's rejection and his overall personality make him quite unstable. (He actually reminded me of Haze from Wise Blood. (the way he talks and acts)) His sense of self also gets jumbled around. Often it is hard to discern who is speaking or why. Or even what time period. In Quentin's loss of time, he losses parts of himself. Quentin's flow of emotions, words, sights, scents, etc. gave a confused but important view of Quentin as a character. Quentin's chapter was so confusing and haphazardly arranged to show how Quentin is also like that. Over all I found this chapter confusing, yet compelling. It answered a few of my questions, but left me with dozens of unanswered and new questions, too.