April 2010: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Your thoughts

How did you feel while reading this book? Did you enjoy the book?

The first narration

The first section moves between the past and present with little more than a change in typeface to signify time shifts. How did you learn to find your way through Benjy's chapter? What is Faulkner saying about time and memory by having Benjy introduce the Compson family story?

Reliable?

Although Benjy is mentally challenged, he is able to recall many conversations and significant moments from his family's past. Discuss some of the events Benjy is remembering. Do you think he is a reliable narrator?

Benjy's name

When Benjy was 5 years old his name was changed from Maury. For what reason was his name changed? What do you think this says about the Compson family values?

MacBeth

The title of the book is taken from the despairing speech in William Shakespeare's MacBeth: "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow/ Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,/ To the last syllable of recorded time/ And all our yesterdays have lighted fools/ The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!/ Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more. It is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/ Signifying nothing." At this point in the play, MacBeth has just learned that his wife has killed herself and their plans for seizing the throne will not work out. How are Benjy and Quentin represented in the MacBeth quote? Who do you think is "the idiot"?

Clocks

Why does Quentin refuse to look at watches and clocks? How is time an important theme in the novel so far?

the Italian girl

What does Quentin's incident with the Italian girl signify?

Quentin

Ultimately, why do you feel Quentin commits suicide? Why does Faulkner choose to have Quentin narrate his own section, even though he has been dead for nearly 18 years?

Emphasis on Caddy's life

Benjy, Quentin and Jason each put more emphasis on Caddy's life than can be considered healthy. How does each do this? What happens because of it?

Jasons prevention

Why did Jason prevent Caddy from seeing her own daughter, Miss Quentin? How would you describe Jason's mode of thinking and reasoning?

Mrs. Compson

Mrs. Compson says approvingly that Jason is more Bascomb (her family) than Compson (her husband's). Is this really such a compliment? How do you perceive Mrs. Compson's relationship with her children?

Caddy

While Caddy is presented as maternal and promiscuous, she is also unknowable, given that she can only be glimpsed in the rather unreliable narrations of her brothers. Does she appeal to you as a sympathetic character? Is Caddy's fall the cause of the family tragedy or is she just another child-victim of the abdication of parental responsibility?

Overlooked perspectives

Although this section isn't told from the first person, the third person narration favors Dilsey's perspective. It is also the closest we come to hearing a female voice in the novel. Why do you think Faulkner chose not to have Dilsey, Caddy, Caroline, or Miss Quentin narrate her own section? What do you think they might have said?

What is it about?

What would you say this novel is "about"? Think again about the Macbeth quotation—"[life] is a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing." What does Faulkner's tale, told four times, signify?

March 2010: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Your thoughts

What are your general thoughts on the book and the characters?

Animal personification

What other books have you read that use animal personification? (animals taking on human characteristics) Do you like that?

The mole's actions

Do you think Mole did the right thing by preventing Rat from leaving home to travel with the Sea Rat? At what point does helping a friend cross the line into controlling a friend's actions?

Moral lessons

What moral lessons do you think the author was trying to teach his son through these characters? Which, do you believe, is the most valuable?

Adventure

Discuss the author's point of view on adventure. What is its purpose? What type of adventure does he find most suitable?

Badger

What is it about the Badger's nature that makes him dislike Society

The best animal for a friend

Which of the characters in the book do you think would make the best friend? Why?

Toad's change

Do you believe Toad's change of attitude at the end of the book will last? Why or why not?

Food/Home

Discuss the symbolism of food in the book. What symbolizes home to you?