The Sound and the Fury

Unresolved Problems Leads to Fury in the Heart

There is no such thing as a perfect family, or a perfect person for that matter, but the Compson family from Toni Morrison's The Sound and the Fury has endless problems. The Compson's situation becomes so tragic that it leads to anger, remorse, animosity, and even death because instead of joining together to prevent the problems from growing, they blame each other for causing them. It is impossible to say exactly where the Compson's go wrong in their pursuit of a content and healthy family. However, it is safe to say that each family member builds on the mistakes or misfortunes of others, causing terminal problems for the family as a whole.

Benjy is the most innocent character in The Sound and the Fury because of his mental state. At one point Benjy is described as a being, "three years old thirty years," and because he is disabled, he clearly does not have the same psychological capacity as the other characters (17). Benjy is the only character that does not make any mistakes in this book; he does exactly what he is capable of. However, his misfortune as a disabled man is one of the primary problems for the Compson family. Benjy is as dependent on his family members in adulthood as a baby or child would...

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