Final Reaction

After reading the final chapter of the Sound and the Fury, I have a better idea of what Faulkner was trying to get across. I thought that having Faulkner narrate the final chapter from Dilsey's point of view in the present tense was a good way to end the book, because it gives the reader some closure about the story overall. Throughout the book, there are so many time shifts and confusion, so I thought that the last chapter was was very clarifying. I think Dilsey was a great character to focus on since she knows the Compsons but is not as involved in their drama as the other characters, and she is not nearly as judgmental. She gives us a different perspective on things such as Jason's reaction to the thief than we would get from any other character. Her head is so level that she can see what is going on with the Compsons clearly without anything else getting in her way. It is only through her point of view that we can see that the Compsons are doomed and they will not succeed in the New South because of their old mindset.