Quentin's Predestination In The Sound And The Fury

William Faulkner holds that man's self-destructive complex will lead to their condemnation, and constructed the tale of the Compsons to illustrate how humanity will confront their demise. Caddy manifests stability so that the family may depend on her to keep its frail bonds from crumbling, despite her imminent lewdness depicted through water, and reminded to Quentin through honeysuckles. Quentin appears commonplace on the surface, however his inner soul rages with emulation, portrayed through the use of clocks and fixations of time. Shadows are used to forebode Quentin’s predestination, as well as characterize Benjy, who simply withdraws into himself. Finally, Jason becomes further encompassed with his cynicism and banking business to cloak the struggles of his relatives, and unconditionally scorns time. The recurring symbols found in The Sound and the Fury are more emblematic to the novel’s characters compared to any other work of classic American literature.
Carousing at the branch, Caddy initially epitomizes virtue. However, she muddies her underclothes, which indicates her subsequent promiscuity. After Caddy was free of celibacy, no extent of water could restore her, an ironic retraction of the traditional use of baptism. Quentin’s suicide is personified with water being symbolic of "returning-to-the-womb", as well as of mortality. The death conforms to Quentin's personality; he is a shadow of authenticity, and as he descends into the water, his shadow rises up to greet him. Thus, suicide by drowning absolves Quentin of all responsibility of living with the knowledge of Caddy's