Benjy has a different relationship with each character but to the family as a whole he acts as an unbiased observer since he has no personal agenda. He watches the family's life, without any sense of order, and seems to focus on the moments that are leading to the family's destruction. Though Benjy is unable to communicate he notices many things the others miss. Using Benjy's perspective we can conclude that the Compsons down fall is caused by their own actions.
Benjy has no sense of time so consistency is all he can have. As things begin to change more and more Benjy longs for the past when he could expect consistency. To Benjy his family was reliable in the past and that is why he is so nostalgic. Benjy is tied to his family by the memories of consistent experiences he has with them and not by communication. Benjy's love of consistency also applies to his very southern life where people have set roles, expectations, and values.
Though symbols are usually objects I believe benjy does the same function by symbolizing one single idea. Many of the compsons view him as an object rather than a character. He represent the family's lost. Lost of money, station, reputation, and one another.
Although on a very shallow level, Benjy interacts with the Compsons, I would argue that he doesn't have any relationship whatsoever with the members of his family with the exception of Caddy. This is the only character that he expresses complex emotions for. To him, all the other members of the family are just there
ReplyDeleteGreat blog but how is "consistency" all he has? Is perception of time is scrambled and jumps from past to present a lot . I totally agree how the composes view benjy as a object.
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