A Letter of Remorse

Father,

When we are young we have yet to be exposed to how cold the world can truly be. Though this ignorance is a protective gift, it also makes us blind and seemingly uncaring. The pain you once felt has transferred to me, as I now understand how heavy and broken your heart and spirit felt many years ago. I now understand that even when both emotional and physical pain sat on your back and slowly crushed you, you still woke up everyday and did anything to make your indifferent and often angry family feel comfortable. You did not require a thank you or any loving gesture, and you never received one. In fact, you received the opposite and I am forever sorry.

Each day you worked and proceeded to return home with cracked hands that ached accompanied by a dejected look on your face. Your eyes were always cast downward. It has been said that the heart can heal physical pains, but I know this would have been hard for you. Your heart never received love from your family and therefore was damaged. What you received was silence, not only from me but also from your wife who never spoke to you but screamed. This is probably why you never looked up; there was nothing to look up to. Your life was devoid.

You worked everyday except for Sunday. Sunday was the only day you did not have to force your fatigued body to go through the motions, but you did not rest. Your heart was too big to rest. You are the only member of our family who ever truly felt the cruel cold. You would rise before the sun, and when the night was still black and unforgiving you forced your tired hands to create a fire to warm your hateful home. I would then rise, accustomed to the warmth, and I would greet you with silence. I would wake up and dress, I would grab my clothes and my shoes that you polished every Sunday morning without complaint, and I would proceed to focus my attention on people and things that I felt were meaningful. Sadly this did not include the only person that took care of me, the only person that would fight off the cold, and the only person that would sacrifice himself for my goodwill. Instead all I wanted to do was to escape that angry house, and your forlorn face that I never once appreciated. For I was young and naïve, and I could not understand your sacrifices and the pain you felt.

Mother would complain that you did not do everything you could for our family. She said you did not express love for our family. Apparently giving everything you had was not enough, but I now realize that she was both deaf and blind and so was I. Your saddened eyes, the bruises on your hands, and every action you took spoke the works, “I love you.” You were ok with being abused and miserable as long as you could care for your family that you loved beyond all else. I therefore thank you for every single day that you woke up and went through agony so your family could continue to live a comfortable life and proceed to take you for granted. We depended on you and to survive, and you never once let us down. For that I owe you all the love in my heart.

Sincerely,
Your son

Marlow and The Magistrate

Marlow sets off for an adventure as he enters the unknown or the darkness in the heart of Africa, and thought it was not his plan, he loses all his connections and any respect given to him within or by his company. It becomes apparent Marlow's personality does not fit with those around him as he first meets characters such as the manager or the brick maker. Marlow automatically spots the brick maker's corruption as he tries to get on Marlow's "good side" because he believes Marlow to be allied with Kurtz, and because nothing in the brick breaker's office is remotely connected to his given occupation. The point of the story when it becomes certain Marlow is no longer on the same page as his corrupt counterparts and no longer holds even a remotely respectable relationship with the manager, is when he describes Kurtz as a "remarkable man," directly after the manager makes a futile attempt to explain to Marlow that Kurtz is in fact illogical and unsound. Marlow is now unfairly placed under this category of being unstable because he cannot give into the corruption and agree with the manger, similar to how the Magistrate cannot agree with figures such as Colonel Joll. On returning home Marlow is not only physically sick but also psychologically unsound. Conrad never shows us Marlow's return to normalcy.

The Magistrate, on the other hand, is already settled into his community. Yet similar to Marlow he cannot side with corruption as his morals are strong, and though it starts off as being unintentional he ultimately alienates himself from those he is supposed to cooperate and work with, in his case the Third Bureau and society. The Magistrate's main turning point, which he admits as being one of his faults, is when he grabs his lantern and goes to check on the two prisoners, the grandfather and the younger boy, only to unveil a horror, as the old man's dead, mutilated body lies in the same room as his tortured grandson. Another turning point that is more apparent occurs when the Magistrate openly tells the Lieutenant who comes from the empire that the barbarians are harmless and he makes dangerous comments, that make him look not only crazy but an enemy, such as, "I wish that these barbarians would rise up and teach us a lesson, so that we could learn to respect them." Similar to Marlow he is now viewed as unsound, and later on as a complete lunatic and an animal when he is imprisoned. After being let out of prison, the Magistrate wanders the streets feeling isolated and empty, and even on returning back to his old apartment he is haunted by his thoughts of the barbarian girl. As the Magistrate approaches a group of children building a snowman he describes his desolate feelings as he explains, "This is not the scene I dreamed of. Like much else nowadays I leave it feeling stupid, like a man who lost his way long ago but presses on along a road that may lead to nowhere."

(493)

Colonel Joll's Heartless Motives

Colonel Joll is clearly a man after adventure and power, and a man devoid of morals, which is a trait that comes in handy as he asserts his dominance over the barbarians and the magistrate. Colonel Joll comes across the first set of prisoners, a young boy and his grandfather who were supposedly caught after a stock-raid, though the grandfather claims they were only traveling to see the doctor as his grandson has a soar to prove it, and treats them without any humanity. Even with the evidence of the boy's soar and the unthreatening nature of the prisoners, Colonel Joll persists on interrogating the prisoners, and when the magistrate volunteers to translate for him, the Colonel tells him the job will be too “tedious,” and would be better left to the guard. When the magistrate next sees the prisoners, the boy has been beaten and is sleeping in the same hut with his dead grandfather’s body, which is disgusting and crude. It is therefore apparent the magistrate already planned on torturing these prisoners, regardless of their guilt or innocence, and therefore needed a subordinate translator who he could perform his ruthless interrogations in front of, unlike the magistrate. The colonel is obviously lying when he claims the grandfather, an old and calm man, attacked his interrogators and was killed when he fell against a wall. It is apparent the man was tortured to death as the magistrate describes his body when he says, “the lips are crushed and drawn back, the teeth are broken. One eye is rolled back, the other eye-socket is a bloody hole.” The colonel is therefore not after the truth, but is after fulfilling the sense of satisfaction he gets by imprisoning, torturing, and killing the barbarians.

It also becomes apparent that the colonel does not have a clear-cut plan to find these “dangerous barbarians” he speaks of, and is overly eager to set out on his expedition to find prisoners. The fact that the Colonel’s first batch of prisoners are members of a fishing village, which includes old women and even a newborn baby, shows his only intention was to find any barbarians and imprison them, as the fishermen’s crime was hiding and trying to run from the Colonel and his men. The Colonel therefore proves himself to be heartless and already holding onto set beliefs about the barbarians, as he will imprison and torture any he comes across, regardless of the fact that they are peaceful and innocent of any crimes.

(409)

1910 Encyclopedia Britannica [European Reaction to Leopold's Abuses]

* Article explains how King Leopold exploited the natives of the Congo Free State through his control of the land.

* In 1891 when wealth in ivory and rubber were discovered in vast regions, a secret decree was made that state had control of the ivory and rubber monopoly in "vacant lands." Vacant lands=lands belonging to the state (disregarded natives).

*Trade between the natives and private trading companies was ruined, this goes against Berlin Act.

* Ended up giving some power to private companies though natives were still restricted (couldn't leave certain territories).

* Leopold II created The Fondation (most valuable rubber region) where natives were treated with the most severity.

*Charges against the state were brought at the end of 19th century: humanitarian charges and exploitation of land.

*Series of "reforms" in June 1906-no real change.

*King Leopold wrote a letter where he described his plan to restrict Belgium's liberty of action in the Congo State when it became a Belgian colony. Native restrictions (enslavement), and state's land control would be law.

*Great Britain intervened first. Sir Edward Grey said, " it will be impossible for us to continue to recognize indefinitely the present state of things without a very close examination of our treaty rights and the treaty obligations of the Congo State."

*Reform associations for the Congo in America, France, and Belgium also started reforming public opinion.

*In July 1907, the Belgian premier announced that negotiations with the Congo State would be renewed. Grey intervened and said the Congo State had "morally forfeited every right to international recognition."

*Forced to surrender The Fondation ("government within a government") though Leopold still received 155 sq. mi. in Africa and other subsidies.

Dilsey

Dilsey clearly stands out as being the main force of love and motherhood in the last section of the novel, as she cares for Luster, Quentin, Mrs. Comspon, and Benjy. Though she often scolds Luster as any mother would do to a sometimes rebellious son, she stands up for him when she tells Jason, "Luster say he didn't do it," as Jason tries to figure out who broke his window. Mrs. Compson also shows her dependence on Dilsey as she cries out for help when she says, "you know I never let anyone take my keys Dilsey," as Jason pushes her aside, and takes her keys to enter Quentin's room. Dilsey therefore acts as a savior to everyone in the house excluding Jason, as she protects them and often repeats she will not let Jason hurt Quentin. Dilsey is also the only caring person present in Benjy's life, as she does not treat him with the disrespect the rest of the characters show him. When Fronny tells her folks talk at church when they see Benjy, Dilsey replies by saying, "Den you send um to me,"..."Tell um de good Lawd dont keer whether he bright or not." Dilsey therefore cares for each character, and often sacrifices herself to help any of the children. She helps to maintain some composure in the beginning of the section when Jason realizes Quentin is gone, as Dilsey reassures Mrs. Compson her daughter will be back, tells her to rest, brings Benjy to church, and calms down Luster.

Would the Compson family be able to function without her?
Do you think Dilsey acts as an obstacle towards Jason?

The Slipper and The Pear Tree

In "Meaningful Images in The Sound and the Fury," Eben Bass cleverly explains it is the physical objects such as, a "yellow satin slipper...now cracked and soiled," and a blossoming pear tree, that abstractly explain to us the relationships between the characters over time. Eben Bass describes the slipper as being to Benjy what a pacifier would be to a baby, as it calms him down and acts as a relic. Bass explains, "the daughter (Quentin) hates the slipper as a soiled, worn reminder of her mother's and her own disgrace." This is because after the wedding, where Caddy wore the slipper, Herbet Head figures out Quentin is not his child, and Caddy and Quentin are forever separated. The slipper therefore represents this separation, and the feelings of anguish Quentin feels when she sees her mother's wedding-slipper. Caddy's wedding (includes the slipper) along with Quentin's harvard tuition were paid for by selling Benjy's pasture, this is ironic because Caddy's wedding and Quentin's going to college were two events that lead up to them never coming back to the Compson household. We do not figure out the slipper was worn by Caddy at her wedding till the end of the story, which wraps up its significance because the wedding acts as a turning point for Caddy's relationship with her family, especially Quentin who never knew her mother.  According to Bass, the pear tree also holds extreme significance in the novel. We first witness the pear tree when Caddy climbs up it and soils her under garments. This foreshadows her future promiscuity. This is interesting because it is the same tree that her daughter Quentin climbs down from at night to meet her many lovers. Therefore the tree connects the mother and daughter's promiscuous ways. I thought it was powerful when Bass explained that as the tree blooms on Easter it represents Quentin's escape, using the same tree her mother climbed when she symbolically soiled her under garments. The point Bass makes throughout the article is that both these symbols appear in Benjy's section, but we do not fully understand their significance till the last section where they are able to show us relationships between characters that otherwise hard to understand. 

• Meaningful Images in The Sound and the Fury
• Eben Bass
• Modern Language Notes, Vol. 76, No. 8 (Dec., 1961), pp. 728-731
• Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• http://www.jstor.org/stable/3039942?seq=2
  

Time

Time is a huge factor in the second part of this novel. The first scene is introduced as Quentin is lying in bed listening to the ticking of his watch, which he then breaks on his dresser. The ticking of his watch seems to have control over Quentin’s head. On the way to get his watch fixed Quentin explains, “I could only hear my watch ticking away in my pocket and after a while I had all the other sounds shut away.” Yet when he arrives to get his watch fixed he changes his mind and leaves the store with his broken yet still ticking watch. Though before he leaves he inquires if the clocks outside say the correct time, though he does not wish to know the actual time. At the end of the section, Quentin listens closely to the bells chime and the affect is has on people around him. As the last bell of the hour sounds, Quentin describes the darkness as still once again. Therefore, though Quentin may not know the actual time, it is the ticking and sound of the bells that are always present in his head.

Why can’t Quentin ignore the ticking of his watch?

What does Quentin’s father mean when he says, “Only when the clock stops does time come to life?”