Jason Compson

After some much needed R&R, basking in Salt Lake's incredibly warm weather this past week-- a.k.a snow storm after snow storm during a so called "Spring Break", I have finished another segment in this time twisting saga. In this chapter, we encounter Jason, another Compson, and not exactly the loveliest fellow.  From the first quote, "Once a bitch always a bitch" we are thrown into a world of resentment, narcissism, and belittlement of woman. All perfect adjectives to describe our dear Jason.

Jason's chapter takes place one day prior to Benjy's, meaning Quentin (the boy) is long gone. In the beginning there is much talk of a "she", no name is mentions until a page or two in. With this, we meet Quentin. You may be asking yourself, didn't Quentin commit suicide? Is there some weird incarnation thing going on? And the answer is yes, elder Quentin did take his life, and no, unfortunately there is no magical incarnation plot twist yet, but it's still early in the novel, so you never know! This Quentin is a generation younger and also a female. She is the ambiguous "she" discussed at the start. I think Faulkner led with the she, in order to not confuse his readers. If he had begun with Quentin followed by the pronoun "she", there would many more confused faces than there already are.

Quentin and Jason don't exactly get along, see, Quentin is your average teenage girl, she likes to get dolled up and go out with the boys and not attend school. This "free-spiritedness" does not exactly mesh well with Jason's bitterness and resentment with life and also his condescendment of women. You could Jason's a bit, or very, bitter about how the land was sold to pay for elder Quentin's tuition, and that he, Quentin, was the "golden-boy", the one hope for the quickly deteriorating Compson clan. But then he decides to commit suicide, in turn letting all the family's sacrifice go to waste.. Personally, I wouldn't be happy camper either.

Jason also has yet another flaw. He is very fixated with what people think of him. This being said, most people do care what others think of them but not to the point where they're embarrassed of their innocent, handicapped brother. Yep, you heard me, if it were up to Jason, poor little Benjy would not have a place in the Compson household. He lets many of his decisions be impacted based on how he thinks that the public around him will react. At some times this may be a good strategy, it keeps him from saying and doing stupid things but it also blinds from what's right under his nose.