(Quentin) June Second, 1910
Quentin’s chapter begins with his internal thoughts about time and clocks, which has a significant purpose throughout the rest of his story and his chapter. Quentin writes in the beginning of the chapter telling how he hears his watch ticking away the seconds and remembers when his father first handed him a watch. As his father said, the watch is a present that will hopefully allow him to forget time every now and then. Quentin is not mentally challenged like his brother Benjy (limited physically in expression) (Quentin who's smart and is a student and is pressured at Harvard), he is constantly taken back to old memories, only in a slightly more coherent way than Benjy. His tendency to remember the past is told towards the end of the chapter as the day of June 2, 1910 unfolds. Quentin does tie up several loose ends from Benjy’s chapter, such as the fact that the day that Caddy is in the river, he pulled out a knife and threatened to kill her, yet Quentin’s narration stirs up confusion.
Quentin proves to be a more complex character than Benjy because he thinks more complexly than Benjy. While Benjy says exactly what he sees or does, Quentin has the mental stream to feel much more complex emotions, which means that Quentin’s thoughts and actions are more profound in how they are written in the book. On top of that, Quentin increasingly thinks of past events without much explanation, and readers are left to make assumptions themselves based on previous information from Benjy’s chapter.
Quentin, aside from other characters, posses a strong ability in having a predominant stream of consciousness. A quote that really expressed at how his conscious works, thematically has a gut feeling, happens when Quentin thought, “I know and he I think you'd better go on up to Cambridge right away you might go up into Maine for a month you can afford it if you are careful it might be a good thing watching pennies has healed more scars than Jesus.” His stream of consciousness expresses how Quentin was feeling at this moment. He was not sure what location would best suit him – as he tries to find a place to belong he acknowledges going away on a vacation, fleeing, taking a break from the stress. But then, one of his greatest anxieties, money (using his parents/brothers fortune) comes into the picture.
Now, I do admit that the situation that Quentin is in is stressful. Harvard obviously is a lot of pressure – especially when it is being paid for under those circumstances and he is worried about his distraught brother and sister. However, the fact that he compares this to Jesus dying on the cross shows how he has truly built up his stress to a unnecessary magnitude, showing a spike in his paranoia.
The question asked in class, “Was it getting into Harvard difficult, and what qualities helped you in getting “easier” than others in this time?” It was answered that back in the time surrounding 1910, what made a difference in a person getting into a school like Harvard was money, a relationship with a powerful old wealthy family, and being smart did something of course but didn't have much of a impact like it does now.
This story comes together as Quentin’s day progresses, but as his day progresses, Quentin seems to lose his sanity more and more, which makes following the story much harder. We can see H owever, learn more about Quentin himself, as he seems to stay true to himself throughout the story.
Another example, Quentin gives readers the description of a girl that smells like roses in a veil, and readers must assume that he is describing Caddy’s wedding. Quentin also remembers telling his father that he has committed incest, which comes as a shock to readers because there is not any prior mention of this, nor explanation when he says it.
We later find out that Quentin told his father that he committed incest to try to “save” Caddy from marriage. This is one example of Quentin’s respect of women and his desire to preserve their honor. Furthermore, Quentin calls all girls “sister,” which shows that he desires this for all women, not just his sister. He also recalls a time when he got into a fight because he defended some girls. He found a little girl (who he called “sister”) and tried to return her home because he genuinely wanted her to be safe. But he ends up being arrested for attempting to steal another man’s sister. This causes him to go into hysterics. This all shows that Quentin is a respectful man, at least to woman, and he would do almost anything to defend their honor, especially for Caddy. So, while he starts to loose his mind, he still keeps a good sense of who he is in this chapter.
These present thoughts shows to his way of dealing with the past and time, along with his seemingly crazed writing style, shows that Quentin is not in the best mental state. This sets the stage for his suicide.
Quentin proves to be a more complex character than Benjy because he thinks more complexly than Benjy. While Benjy says exactly what he sees or does, Quentin has the mental stream to feel much more complex emotions, which means that Quentin’s thoughts and actions are more profound in how they are written in the book. On top of that, Quentin increasingly thinks of past events without much explanation, and readers are left to make assumptions themselves based on previous information from Benjy’s chapter.
Quentin, aside from other characters, posses a strong ability in having a predominant stream of consciousness. A quote that really expressed at how his conscious works, thematically has a gut feeling, happens when Quentin thought, “I know and he I think you'd better go on up to Cambridge right away you might go up into Maine for a month you can afford it if you are careful it might be a good thing watching pennies has healed more scars than Jesus.” His stream of consciousness expresses how Quentin was feeling at this moment. He was not sure what location would best suit him – as he tries to find a place to belong he acknowledges going away on a vacation, fleeing, taking a break from the stress. But then, one of his greatest anxieties, money (using his parents/brothers fortune) comes into the picture.
Now, I do admit that the situation that Quentin is in is stressful. Harvard obviously is a lot of pressure – especially when it is being paid for under those circumstances and he is worried about his distraught brother and sister. However, the fact that he compares this to Jesus dying on the cross shows how he has truly built up his stress to a unnecessary magnitude, showing a spike in his paranoia.
The question asked in class, “Was it getting into Harvard difficult, and what qualities helped you in getting “easier” than others in this time?” It was answered that back in the time surrounding 1910, what made a difference in a person getting into a school like Harvard was money, a relationship with a powerful old wealthy family, and being smart did something of course but didn't have much of a impact like it does now.
This story comes together as Quentin’s day progresses, but as his day progresses, Quentin seems to lose his sanity more and more, which makes following the story much harder. We can see H owever, learn more about Quentin himself, as he seems to stay true to himself throughout the story.
Another example, Quentin gives readers the description of a girl that smells like roses in a veil, and readers must assume that he is describing Caddy’s wedding. Quentin also remembers telling his father that he has committed incest, which comes as a shock to readers because there is not any prior mention of this, nor explanation when he says it.
We later find out that Quentin told his father that he committed incest to try to “save” Caddy from marriage. This is one example of Quentin’s respect of women and his desire to preserve their honor. Furthermore, Quentin calls all girls “sister,” which shows that he desires this for all women, not just his sister. He also recalls a time when he got into a fight because he defended some girls. He found a little girl (who he called “sister”) and tried to return her home because he genuinely wanted her to be safe. But he ends up being arrested for attempting to steal another man’s sister. This causes him to go into hysterics. This all shows that Quentin is a respectful man, at least to woman, and he would do almost anything to defend their honor, especially for Caddy. So, while he starts to loose his mind, he still keeps a good sense of who he is in this chapter.
These present thoughts shows to his way of dealing with the past and time, along with his seemingly crazed writing style, shows that Quentin is not in the best mental state. This sets the stage for his suicide.
This is written really well and you make some great points! But, I kind of disagree with your point that "Quentin told his father that he committed incest to try to “save” Caddy from marriage. This is one example of Quentin’s respect of women and his desire to preserve their honor." Personally, I don't see Quentin's strange obsession with caddy as respectful or honorable. Rather, I see it as obsessive and almost creepy.
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