Alexandra Slaughter
Dr. Foss
English 384: Disability and Literature
April 30th, 2019
Disability and Literature Final Paper
Autism is not always portrayed in the best way. Autism is a topic that many people are uneducated in. Due to the current economic status of our country, we, as a society, have begun to capitalize everything, which led to people being raised to seek out a profit in everything. On account of this, society has made arguments that it is a waste of money and space to treat disabilities. After learning more about autism, many literary texts and their characters can be better analyzed and understood through the lens of autism.
Disability plays a large part in the infamous novel, The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner. The Sound and the Fury is one of the many literary texts that can be better understood when reading it through the lens of autism. As the reader progresses through the novel, it immediately becomes apparent that Benjy Compson is different from the rest of the characters in the book. Within the first couple of pages, the reader is able to tell that the speaker of the section is different, which we later learn is Benjy, who has a disability. After having a selected focus of reading and learning about autism, Benjy Compson can now be read as being on the autism spectrum. Throughout the novel, there is a variety of reactions to Benjy and interactions with him that separate and divide the several family members and characters within the book.
In the first section of the novel, the narrative is presented by Benjy Compson, one of the characters discussed the most out of the entire Compson family. Throughout his narrative, you can distinguish fairly easily which family members treat Benjy the best and which ones want to profit off of him. Caddy is the one family member that goes out of her way to comfort and care for Benjy. Early on in the narrative, we learn that Caddy is one of the few people that can calm Benjy down. “Caddy put her arms around me, and her shining veil, and I couldn’t smell trees anymore and I began to cry.” (Faulkner 40) When Caddy goes to hug Benjy and he resists, it causes slight confusion for the reader. However, upon further reading, it is revealed why the one person that could calm him down actually upset him, even if it was unintentional. “She put the bottle down and came and put her arms around me. ‘So that was it. And you were trying to tell Caddy and you couldn’t tell her.…’” (Faulkner 42) After Caddy takes a bath and completely changes, we learn that it was the perfume that Caddy was wearing that bothered Benjy. Benjy is used to Caddy smelling like trees, so when she tries to touch him and he can not associate her with the smell he considers safe, he freaks out. When Caddy finally figures out what was wrong, she understands that he could not have told her what was wrong and tries to make him comfortable again. Near the beginning of his narrative, an instance in which Caddy went out of her way to make Benjy more comfortable is illustrated. “‘Hush, Benjy.’ Caddy said. ‘Go away, Charlie. He doesn’t like you.’ Charlie went away and I hushed.” (Faulkner 47) In this instance, we see Caddy attempting to get rid of one of the triggers upsetting Benjy in order to calm him down and understand what is wrong and what he needs. For some people with autism, by getting rid of whatever is triggering them to act a certain way, it can be helpful in calming them down. Caddy is sacrificing her relationship and possibly her safety to make Benjy calm down.
Jason Compson IV is one of the more mean and negative family members of the family. Jason IV does not care much for his brother and sees him as a burden. He continually makes comments about how Benjy is a waste of space and how he is going to send him to an institution as soon as he can. “Why not send him down to Jackson. He’ll be happier there, with people like him.” (Faulkner 221) At this point, Jason IV is speaking to Mrs. Caroline Compson, his mother, about Benjy and how they should send him to Jackson, where it is implied that there is a mental hospital. When you first read this line, Jason IV seems like he is simply looking out for the family, as if he wants what is best for everyone. However, we soon learn that this is not how he feels at all. “But it don’t take much pride to not like to see a thirty year old man playing around the yard with a n*gger boy, running up and down the fence and lowing like a cow whenever they play golf over there.” (Faulkner 222) Jason IV immediately begins to reveal how he feels about Benjy and the way he acts, which he views as childish. As he states, Benjy is a thirty year old man, who Jason IV views as acting like a child. Jason IV also believes that Benjy should be acting more his age and not outside playing with one of the boys of the help.
Subsequently, Jason IV reveals what he truly feels with regard to Benjy being sent away to Jackson. “I says if they’d sent him to Jackson at first we’d all be better off today.” (Faulkner 222) When analyzing this statement, “they’d” could be a few different people. Since Jason IV is talking to Mrs. Compson here, he could be referring to the hospital or the doctor who delivered the baby. He might be blaming the hospital for sending a baby with autism home with them. On the other hand, Jason IV is not one to shy away from how he truly feels, nor does he hold back when expressing his emotions. With this outlook, Jason IV could also be using “they’d” in reference to his parents. If this is the case, then Jason IV blames his parents for all of the issues they have had to deal with since Benjy has been a part of the family. He sees it as being their fault for not immediately sending Benjy to the nearest mental hospital in Jackson as soon as they realized that Benjy was different from everyone else in the family.
Additionally, we see Jason IV attempt to fix his mistake of the way he addressed the situation regarding Benjy and what should occur. “I says, you’ve done your duty by him; you’ve done all anybody expects of you and more than most folks would do, so why not send him there and get that much benefit out of the taxes we pay.” (Faulkner 222) He previously said that they would essentially have been better off if they had sent Benjy to a mental hospital earlier in his life and gotten rid of him altogether. At this moment in time, Jason IV is trying to redeem himself slightly in his mother’s eyes by complimenting her. He says that she has done all she could have and more than anybody would have thought she would. He attempts to make it seem like it would not just be beneficial to Benjy, but it would be beneficial to the family, because they have already paid for it by paying taxes.
The Sound and the Fury is novel that can be read on its own, and you will be able to understand it if you read carefully. However, when read again or looked back on after learning more about autism and autism studies, a whole new perspective is created when reading the character Benjy Compson. When first read, the reader can figure out that Benjy has a disability. Although when looked at again through the lens of autism studies, the reader is more so able to see the signs that Benjy might be autistic and can better understand the book with this knowledge. Autism studies is very beneficial when reading classical literature and better understanding some characters.
Word Count: 1344 I pledge. Alexandra Slaughter
Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. Vintage International Books, 1990.
