Power And Privilege In The Commpson Men

Power and Privilege
1. How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?
2. Which social groups are marginalized, excluded or silenced within the text?
Intro: In the book the sound and the fury women - specifically the Compson women - are given a strong symbol of power, however in that specific time period, women as a whole had little power and privilege.
-Note the importance of Caddy’s character and her power over the Compson men.
-Mrs, Compson and her significance and privilege. She is weak but still has power.
-While the women in this text are often excluded or silenced, they still remain as the most important characters throughout the entirety of the text.
Paragraph 1: Focus in on how each of the sections narrated by one

The commentary revolving around the amount of power women hold is an apparent theme throughout each sector. One specific character in the novel holds a significant amount of power over all of the Compson men. In each section of the novel, Caddy is the center of attention of all the men’s narrations. Another key character is Mrs. Compson, and her control over Mr. Compson despite her weaknesses. While the women in this text are often excluded or silenced, they still remain as the most important characters throughout the entirety of the

Her importance in the other men’s lives represents just how much power she holds over each of them. The first day written about in the book is narrated by a character named Benjy. In Benjy’s chapter his thoughts are often very scrambled and incoherent, however, in most cases, the thought of Caddy brings him back to a more peaceful reality. Even if his mind is not thinking in the present, the mere thought of Caddy is calming to Benjy. A very significant quote said by Benjy was “Caddy smelled like trees.” (page 42). He says this multiple times in the chapter, and often after saying this, he continues on about an instant where Caddy had done something positive for him. Another narrator who relies heavily on the actions of Caddy is Quentin. This character fantasies about the promiscuous actions of Caddy and evaluates how these actions affect her femininity. In one of Quentin’s fantasies, he says “Have there been very many Caddy” (page 115). His questioning of the number of her partners is a jab at how pure she has been. It is apparent throughout the section that Quentin holds women to high standards, and most certainly does not see Caddy meet that standard. However, despite being viewed as lesser than and tainted, Caddy still floods the thoughts of Quentin on an average