Sister Act

Throughout my reading of William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, I was finding myself to be quite confused about the character Caddy. It is apparent in her relationships with her family, especially Bengy and Quentin, that she is full of love and compassion. Caddy appears to never want to cause them any pain and when she does, she deeply repents it. The cause of my confusion then is, as she gets older, her actions seem to become more and more emotionally harmful, both to her and to her family. If she cares about them so much, why is she making these awful decisions? Caddy’s promiscuity, marriage to a cheat, and illegitimate child all has a negative affect on the Compson family. The love and compassion she feels toward her family and, more specifically, towards Bengy and Quentin, are not in sync with her choices. I believe Caddy is the kind of character who does not think about how their actions affect others. She is selfish, but not in the typical sense. Caddy does not put her self above others, nor does she think her needs are more important. In reality, she always tries to please Bengy, removing her perfume (41) or washing off her lipstick (48) because she knows those things upset him. Yet, due to her own self-involvement Caddy cannot see that, like in most families, her emotions are contagious. When a child is upset, the parents become upset because their child is hurting. The emotions disseminate like dye in water. When Caddy is younger and is attempting to climb the tree (39) she does not take into consideration that if she got caught, Jason and Versh could potentially get into trouble as well for not keeping her out of the tree. Another example is when she finds out she is pregnant. Caddy’s pregnancy causes Quentin to cry incest, all to protect his little sister. This is not saying Caddy deliberately got pregnant, but is alluding to her loose relationships with multiple men, “ I don’t know too many” (115). She does not recognize the affect her scandalous behavior could have on her family. Caddy is like a domino, her actions affecting the bigger picture and everyone in it.


The problem is, if Caddy were to taken everyone into consideration before she made her decisions, she would be being unfair to herself. If she were to never kiss a boy or wear perfume again because it made Bengy upset, she would be denying herself many aspects of growing up. Early in the novel it is obvious that Caddy is no shrinking violet and does not want to spend her life thinking of different ways she can please people. Caddy represents and lose-lose situation. She too self-involved to see her actions hurting her family, but if she were to attempt to prevent her decisions from having a negative affect on anybody, her life would have been lived for others and not for herself. It is almost impossible to find some kind of middle ground in this situation. A person is either a little too selfish or a little too complacent.

(522)

All Alone in Shiloh

In the short story Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason, there were two main aspects of the story that remained in my mind after reading it. The first is the swapping of gender roles within the story, something almost everyone else picked up on as well. The story opens up with Leroy’s wife, Norma Jean, lifting weights (5). This is the first image the reader receives of Norma Jean and frankly, a very masculine one to that. My first mental image was Leroy as this small, skinny twig of a man with a super muscular wife in neon exercise spandex, complete with matching headband. Now that Leroy is incapacitated and no longer employed, it is Norma Jean who goes to work and supports them. Norma Jean is the one improving herself physically and mentally, while Leroy does needlepoint (35). Leroy’s overall image throughout the story is a weaker one compared to his wife. It seems that Norma Jean has the more dominant, powerful personality. Leroy comes off as more laid back than his wife, casually sitting on the couch smoking a joint while Norma Jean bustle around with her weights or the organ (15). Leroy’s nonchalant attitude and Norma Jean’s motivation and energy often clash, causing conflict, such as when Leroy joking threatens her with leaving out a joint for Mabel to see (60). As Norma Jean shrieks and freaks-out, Leroy attempts to ease her, “I’m just kidding. Here, play me a tune. That’ll help you relax” (60). I believe the differences between the two personalities play a significant role in the inevitable break-up of the marriage.

The character of Norma Jean is one I found to be very interesting. When I first read the story, I felt no sympathy towards her and even a little bit of contempt when she leaves Leroy. However, when we learned of her intentions when she got married and how that has affected her in the long run, she starts to become more human and less of a cruel woman leaving her lovesick husband. It is safe to assume the only reason Norma Jean married Leroy because she was pregnant and she felt the baby deserved a mother and a father. Yet when Randy dies, there is nothing left for her in the marriage. It’s as if she gave up her life for nothing and now she is trapped in this practically arranged marriage. When Leroy begins to spend more time at home, Norma Jean is forced to come to terms with her unhappiness and realizes that she needs to experience what is left of her life, “ . . . I have this crazy feeling I missed something” (15). Although we still feel sorry for Leroy when his wife leaves him, we know that it is for the best. It is unfair to Leroy and to Norma Jean if she stayed married to a man she did not love. Unfortunately the longer it took for her to figure this out, the more in love Leroy became. When Norma Jean announces her leaving Leroy, it hits him like a dull pain, one that he cannot fully comprehend (140). Norma Jean does eventually find her independence and is able to live her life to the fullest, but it was all at the expense of the man who truly loved her.

(558)