Dilsey And Faulkner

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Living between 1897 and 1962, William Faulkner passed after a literary career marked with many influential books in the Western canon. Based around the fictional Yoknapatawpha County in Mississippi, Faulkner’s work captures the essence of the deteriorating Southern-American aristocracies and lifestyle in the wake of the Civil War. Blending masterfully with intricately designed thematic elements, Faulkner executed experimental writing techniques that strayed from traditional form, commonly writing with a stream-of-consciousness style, shifting perspectives, and obfuscated chronology. Receiving little critical praise or attention until several years afterward, Faulkner published his 1929 novel The Sound and the Fury. The narrative concerned …show more content…
Following three other chapters narrating the decline of the Compson household—Benjy’s mental capacity remains insufficient to properly interact with society, Quentin’s obsession with his sister leads him to suicide, and Jason’s cruelty and monetary fixation reflects poorly on the expectation of Southern hospitality—Dilsey’s metaphorical link to the strength and preservation of the Compson household shines against the disgrace the family endures and perpetuates. She becomes a symbol of hope and structure in a larger commentary on the post-Civil War deterioration of Southern American life, proving that what remains may provide the foundation for reconstruction of favorable ethical and moral …show more content…
At the forefront, she remarks on the Compson family—she raised the Compson children and remained in their service to see their status as an aristocratic Southern family crumble with them. She has endured erosion with time, remained strong and stable, observing the troubles of the Compson family members with an objective perspective. Just as Dilsey had been present at the beginning of the Compson greatness, so to speak, blacks had been present as a predominantly contributing factor to the construction of the American identity, and just as Dilsey endured, Faulkner believes the blacks in America will continue to

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