Exploring Quentin Compson’s neurotic mind in William Faulkner’s 'The Sound and the Fury'

摘要

This paper analyzes the character of Quentin Compson in William Faulkner’s novel "The Sound and the Fury". It aims to explain how Quentin Compson’s mental breakdown embodies and represents the decay that the South of the U.S. went through after the Civil War until the beginning of the 20th century. In order to do so, the weight that the element of tradition constitutes is placed at the center of the study and enables to explain the following aspects: how this tradition was transmitted to Quentin, how it affects and conditions him, and what the consequences are.