Let There be Hope

Faulkner provides closure in The Sound and Fury thorough the setting of the last section, and the last scene itself. The fact that the last section takes place on Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrections and a symbol of rebirth, provides hope for the Compson family. While Jason is trying to find Quentin and mother is ill in bed, Dilsey takes the true structure of the family, Luster, Benjy, and herself to church. I think that they are the only connecting characters in the story keeping the Compson family, a true family, because they are the only morally sound people in the family, not causing any trouble. It is also significant that all the others have been weeded out to go to church; Faulkner is trying to show that only the faithful are left, which gives the reader hope that even though most of the family has crumbled, maybe this structure will live on as a healthy family. This notion of a movement towards stability is also exemplified in the last scene. In an effort to show off to his friends, Luster goes let around the statue in town, as apposed to right, the way in which Benjy is accustomed to seeing the world. This change disturbs Benjy greatly, because he cannot cope with any disturbance of order in his life. After being yelled out by Jason, Luster turns around and the last sentence of the book explains that everything went back to its ordered place. The barely visible motifs of hope and order, suggest that the structured part of the Compson family will come together in the future. (270)