Jason Grudge

Jason Compson’s inability to get over the grudge that he has for Caddy, proves that one must forgive what has happened in the past to be happy in the present. Similar to Quentin and Benjy, Jason is an unreliable narrator as he does not accurately give a representation of what is going on around him. Although Jason understands the difference between past and present, certain details are muddled and twisted by his point of view. An example of this is when Jason is asked to show a customer “a churn or a nickel’s worth of screen hooks”. Both of these items are extremely unalike and would never be asked for as a substitution for one another. This shows that Jason confuses minor details and is never actually focused on what is going on around him. Jason’s primary center of attention is his grudge against Caddy. Jason

Jason’s grudge and hate not only prevents him from living in the present but, also causes him to believe that the world is out to get him. He uses epithets such as “bitch” to describe women and “nigger” to describe african americans. This shows the lack of respect that Jason has for other people and how self centered he is. In addition to this Jason only cares about money, causing him to steal from the checks that Caddy send to Quentin. He does this because he believes “that money can displace grief, frustration, and deprivation”(Matthews). Jason is stuck in the past and cannot move forward because of the hate that he has for Caddy. He becomes “a laughing stock in the town” and does nothing productive to improve his life. Jason holds onto the grudge he has for Caddy and thinks that blaming her and stealing from Ms. Quentin will improve his life in some way. Jason is never able to become successful and is stuck in his current situation because he cannot forgive Caddy. Jason’s anger in his past prevents him from being productive and doing something that will improve his life in the