Benjy- Our opening narrator

First, I am going to start off this post by introducing the character of Benjy. Benjy is the first narrator that Faulkner used to open up the novel. Benjy is a mentally handicapped man living in the Compson household. Benjy serves as a character at the very bottom of the social ladder in his family and even in the black servant family that assists him. Almost everybody in the family, and in the society, uses Benjy as a target. Benjy's pretentious mother is too concerned with herself to defend Benjy from all the bullying, and even is a main contributor, telling Benjy that he is a judgement on her. The black servant family is especially cruel to Benjy. They see his mental handicap as something that puts Benjy all the way at the bottom of the social ladder, giving them a chance to bully him and treat him like dirt. Because the time period is post civil war in the South, there was a lot of resentment between the blacks and the whites, and the servants seemed to take out there resentment on Benjy. The only person that puts Benjy under their wing is Caddy. Caddy is Benjy's sister. Benjy absolutely adores Caddy and becomes very upset when he see's her maturing. 

So the main question is, Why would Faulkner use Benjy as the first narrator in his novel? Well, being mentally disabled and always shut up behind the gate, Benji see's a lot that goes on inside the Compson household. His disability also gives him a purity and innocence that all the other characters seem to lack. He is even set up by Faulkner as a Christ figure because he was thirty three around Easter. Not only that, but Benjy seems to take the heat for a lot of the suffering and evil doings of those in his family, as Jesus did our sins. Except Benji is a symbol of doom and downfall for the family, because they changed is name and his mental retardation. Everyone thinks that they can just lash out everything they've been feeling onto Benji because they see him as such an inferior. Benjy's position 

allows the reader to see the true personalities and inner feelings of the other characters, based on the way that they treat him. Their treatment of Benji at the beginning of the novel dictates whether or not the reader will like or dislike a character. 

Benjy's section is also very disoriented. There is constant switching to multiple time periods. Faulkner does this to show an accurate depiction of Benjy's mind and his innocence. It also shows Benjy's true personality and thoughts. If Faulkner were to chronologically go through the time periods during Benjy's chapter, it would innacuratley portray Benjy's character.

 Also Benjy's innocence allows him to tell a completely bias free depiction of the family and all of his brothers. Benjy's sense of nostalgia is very interesting. He is obsessed with the past but not necessarily because he longs for it. Since he has no sense of time due to his mental illness, any smell could send him into another time period. Also with the unchanging values and character of the South, the time that the events occur don't really matter regarding the novel. Benjy's way of telling the story is through connections of thoughts to different time periods and events that occurred. Also, Benjy uses his sense of smell to show seasons and change. Benjy's narration was very interesting and a perfect starting point of view to the novel.