After finishing Sound and the Fury, I felt like a detective that had just navigated my way through the details that consume these people’s lives.
I find myself fixated with Jason. It is a fixation of pure hatred, but I have strong interest in his character. Psychologically, I feel as though Jason can not help the way the he turned out— he never fit in with the other children. One of the most interesting and somewhat understandable aspects of Jason’s being is the fact that he is unable to experience “true love”. Jason is unable to emotionally connect to a woman. He will not let himself get close enough. He expresses his cynical views towards women when he states, "I never promise a woman anything nor let her know what I'm going to give her. That's the only way to manage them. Always keep them guessing. If you cant think of any other way to surprise them, give them a bust in the jaw" (193). This pessimistic and somewhat distrustful view of women can only stem from the failure and hatred his has for the women that are already in his life. We get the notion that Jason hates Caddy from the very beginning of his narrative. He wants to bring Caddy down. In addition, even though Mrs. Compson cared for Jason, he does not treat her with the respect that a loved family member deserves. Jason steals the money that Caddy sends to Quentin and keeps it from his mother, Mrs. Compson. This nonchalant attitude of deceiving your family is understandable on a completely different level when Jason states, "I'm glad I haven't got the sort of conscience I've got to nurse like a sick puppy all the time." Maybe, with this lack of self reflection that a conscience provides, Jason has yet to realize that he truly is a cruel and twisted individual.
Another aspect of Jason’s characters that plagues me is his lack of accomplishments. He seems to be career minded, but he continues to steal money. Jason blames a lot of his misfortunes on the fact the he was not given what all of the other children were given. Jason is constantly preoccupied with the fact the he was not the one that went to Harvard. Jason is clearly a smart and witty man, but he seems to have no drive to apply his intelligence to anything. He wants a life that he does not have, but he does not know how to get there. Because he is unable to attain improvement in his life, I feel as though Jason just stews in his misfortunes and, out of pure frustration and distain, makes the worst out of the situation that he is in. (489)
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1 comment:
Abigail--good entry, and good insight into the dark and twisty mind of one Jason Compson (ever see Grey's Anatomy?)
I think you hit the nail on the head as you describe all the ways in which he doesn't understand what or who he really is and therefore spends a whole lot of time and energy pretending to be something or someone else.
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