The passage and oppressive nature of time in one of the most important themes of William Faulkner's Sound and the Fury. Throughout the novel, the men of the Compson family are affected by time in different ways. How they deal with this seems to dominate their lives and the plot of the novel. Each of the three men in the family's new generation, Benjamin, Quentin, and Jason, all struggle with this phenomenon, leading to the ultimate destruction of the family. Although the obsession varies between these men in terms of style and severity, it leads these men down the paths they take. Benjy is a slave to time and the past. Quentin is obsessed with it and can't move forward. Jason is completely unable or unwilling to see it and learn from it. The family is ultimately doomed long before the story begins, as this story is told in flashbacks or broken narratives. It takes timelines and very close reading to connect past events to the present. At some points, the story completely boils down to what seems like random thoughts. Also due to the fact that the only third person narrative exists in the last section, the reader might not be inclined to believe most of what Quentin or Jason might say. The two most trustworthy characters are Dilsey who is a step above a slave and Benjy who suffers from a major mental deficiency. These flashbacks, which may not be complete truths, make the novel what it is. As Faulkner said: “The past is never dead. It's not even in the past. » The Compson family was a prominent figure in the Southern lifestyle. Going back to a former governor, it ultimately ends with a bitter and greedy farm store clerk. Over time, the family has broken down into something... middle of paper... Quentin, the one most dominated by time, is so obsessed with the past and how it cannot control it or change it, that it ends up leading him to his own destiny. suicide while away from home. The old codes and ways of honor that defined the South finally died with this family. There is little hope that the family could have been saved. Unable or unwilling to change, they fall into darkness just as each second passes seamlessly and endlessly into the oblivion that is the past. Works Cited Fletcher, Mary D. "Edenic Images in 'The Sound and the Fury'" John Hopkins University Press 40.4 (1980): 142-44. Print. Faulkner, William. The sound and the fury: the corrected text. New York: VintageBooks, 1990. Print. Kartiganer, Donald M. “The Sound and the Fury and Faulkner's Quest for Form.” John Hopkins University Press 37.4 (1970): 613-39. Print.