The Function of Time

Throughout the novel the concept of time comes up again and again imparting different messages that are linked to this motif. In fact, Faulkner’s representation and use of time was what made his novel so modern and revolutionary. Faulkner suggests that people can relate to the concept of time in different ways and it is not an objectively understood concept. I believe Faulkner seems to suggest that for some, time does not work in a linear fashion starting with a beginning point continuing straight to an end point. Rather, Faulkner suggests that time is more like a circle, where one can access the past and different points on the timeline regardless of whether those instances already happened.

This idea is evident through his writing style, especially the Benjy section, which jumps from the present to numerous time periods in the past and back to the present. Faulkner chooses to put us in the mind of a mentally disabled individual, who does not have a concept of time as a function of past, present, and future, in order to teach us this new approach to time. Instead Benjy does not consider specific instances as part of a timeline but thinks about different time periods based on how they relate to other things such as smell and sound. For example, in the very beginning of the novel Benjy’s mind goes from his 30-year-old self to a time when he was younger, when he hears the sound of his sister’s name, Caddy. For Benjy, it doesn’t matter if something happened in the past or is currently happening, all thoughts are in his mind and come up as they are evoked by the world around him. Furthermore, Benjy’s disability enables him to draw connections between the past and present that others may not see, permitting him to escape the other Compsons’ obsessions with the past greatness of their name, which haunts them.

In great contrast to Benjy is his brother Quentin, who seems to be trapped by time and cannot move past his memories of the past. One of the key scenes in the Quentin section depicts his attempt to break from time. Quentin tries to escape time’s grasp by breaking his watch, which was a gift from his father. Every time he sees his watch, it most likely reminds Quentin of his father and the legacy he is expected to continue. Even once he breaks the watch, Quentin is unable to escape from his preoccupation with time. Instead Quentin is haunted by the watch’s incessant ticking even without its hands, reminding him of the passing of time. Perhaps Quentin’s suicide was a final attempt to part from time because if he is no longer alive at least he can no longer be bound by time.