Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

† Jay Gatsby, the main character in The Great Gatsby, rises from rags to riches. He comes from a small town in North Dakota, but his lifestyle has changed completely since his teenage years.

† Imagine that at the age of thirty you inherit a fortune. Name five ways in which your lifestyle would change. For example: I'd throw big open-air parties for hundreds of people every weekend during the summer.

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† The 1920s was the jazz era in the big cities of the United States. It was an era of high living and all-night parties to the rhythm of the sax and trumpet. It was an era of gangsters, prohibition and of ostentatious new-found wealth. Scott Fitzgerald was part of that world, and with his glamorous wife, Zelda, he became a pin-up personality of the time. The main character in his best-known novel, The Great Gatsby, is a man who, like his creator, climbs the ladder of social success. The foundations on which this success is built are fragile, and consequently his fall into obscurity is almost as rapid as his rise to meteoric success.

† The story. Nick Carraway, the narrator, lives beside the magnificent mansion that is owned by Gatsby. Nobody knows the origins of Gatsby's wealth nor where he comes from. Nick is invited to a party at his house where he meets the great man for the first time. From then on, through his contacts with Gatsby's acquaintances, Nick follows the twists and turns of his fascinating neighbour's life.

One of his main sources of information is his cousin, Daisy. Gatsby fell in love with her many years before, but she has since married Tom Buchanan. Tom comes from an old, established family and does not like the new-rich as epitomised by Gatsby. Daisy still lovesGatsby, but not enough to leave her husband permanently.

One evening, in a freak car accident, Daisy kills Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Tom tern Myrtle's husband, George, that Gatsby, who was in the car with Daisy at the time of theaccident, is responsible for his wife's death. In a blind rage George kills both Gatsby andhimself.

In the meantime, Nick has discovered that Gatsby's real name is fames Gatz and that hecomes from a lower middle-class background in North Dakota, and not from a rich San Francisco background as he had always claimed. Henry Gatz, his father, and Nick attend the funeral while all the people he knew in his glory days, including Daisy, stay away. His wealth and success had bought him neither love nor friendship.

 

† Characters:

• Nick Carraway, the narrator

• Jay Gatsby

• Daisy Buchanan, Nick's cousin

• Tom Buchanan, her husband

• Jordan Baker, a friend of Daisy's

• George Wilson, a garage owner

• Myrtle Wilson, his wife

 

“ I'm Gatsby ”

Nick has been invited to a party at Gatsby's house though he has never actually met thatgreat man. He is sitting at a table with Jordan Baker and some other people in the garden. It is a beautiful summer's evening.

Chapter 3

There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden; old men pushing young girls backward in eternal graceless circles, superior couples holding each other tortuously, fashionably, and keeping in the corners – and a great number of single girls dancing individualistically or relieving the orchestra for a moment of the burden of the banjo or the traps. By midnight the hilarity had increased. A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian, and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz, and between the numbers people were doing “stunts.” all over the garden, while happy, vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky. A pair of stage twins, who turned out to be the girls in yellow, did a baby act in costume, and champagne was served in glasses bigger than finger-bowls. The moon had risen higher, and floating in the Sound was a triangle of silver scales, trembling a little to the stiff, tinny drip of the banjoes on the lawn.

I was still with Jordan Baker. We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl, who gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter. I was enjoying myself now. I had taken two finger-bowls of champagne, and the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental, and profound.

At a lull in the entertainment the man looked at me and smiled.

“Your face is familiar,” he said, politely. “Weren’t you in the Third Division during the war?”

“Why, yes. I was in the Ninth Machine-gun Battalion.”

“I was in the Seventh Infantry until June nineteen-eighteen. I knew I’d seen you somewhere before.”

We talked for a moment about some wet, gray little villages in France. Evidently he lived in this vicinity, for he told me that he had just bought a hydroplane, and was going to try it out in the morning.

“Want to go with me, old sport? Just near the shore along the Sound.”

“What time?”

“Any time that suits you best.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask his name when Jordan looked around and smiled.

“Having a gay time now?” she inquired.

“Much better.” I turned again to my new acquaintance. “This is an unusual party for me. I haven’t even seen the host. I live over there –” I waved my hand at the invisible hedge in the distance, “and this man Gatsby sent over his chauffeur with an invitation.” For a moment he looked at me as if he failed to understand.

“I’m Gatsby,” he said suddenly.

“What!” I exclaimed. “Oh, I beg your pardon.”

“I thought you knew, old sport. I’m afraid I’m not a very good host.”

He smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced – or seemed to face – the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanished – and I was looking at an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care.

Almost at the moment when Mr. Gatsby identified himself, a butler hurried toward him with the information that Chicago was calling him on the wire. He excused himself with a small bow that included each of us in turn.

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/chapter3.html

 

† General understanding

1. In the opening paragraph, Nick describes the scene at Gatsby's party. What are people doing to entertain themselves and others?

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2. Who is sitting at the table with Nick?

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3. Why does the man sitting at Nick's table recognise his face?

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4. What does the man invite Nick to do the following morning?

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5. Why does Nick find the party 'unusual'?

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6. What transforms Gatsby from an 'elegant young rough-neck' into a charismatic figure?

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7. Why must Gatsby excuse himself from the company?

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† Literary analysis

1. Consider the description of the party.

a. Underline words or expressions with negative connotations in the description of the dancing and put them down below:

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b. Which details convey the extravagance of the party?

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c. Which details suggest that some of the guests are exhibitionists?

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d. What does the use of the adjective 'vacuous' to describe the laughter suggest?

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e. The final sentence of the first paragraph contains two striking metaphors. What is the reflection of themoon in the sound compared to? What expression is used to describe the sound of the banjos? In your opinion, do the comparisons have positive or negative connotations?

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f. Which of the following adjectives would you use to describe the atmosphere of the party?

 Happy  Superficial  Impersonal

 Extravagant  Intimate  Other:.........................................

2. Focus on the character of Gatsby.

a. Find evidence in the text that he is:

- polite:

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- generous:

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- unassuming: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. What expression does Gatsby use when addressing Nick? In what sense is it unusual? (Consider that the two characters have just met.)

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c. What qualities does Nick attribute to Gatsby's smile? Where is it suggested in the text that Gatsby uses his charismatic smile to hide behind?

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d. Which aspect of Gatsby does Nick find unconvincing?

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e. Is Gatsby presented as a simple, straightforward character or is there an element of mystery in the way he is introduced? Is he the type of person you would expect to throw a lavish, extravagant party?

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The vibrant party scene was one aspect of American life between 1920 and 1930, a decade which is known as the'Roaring Twenties'. Find out as much as you can about one of the following topics associated with the period: – Jazz music – Prohibition – Gangsters

'The Poor Son-of-a-Bitch'

Jay Gatsby (his real name is fames Gatz) has been killed by an infuriated husband who thought he had killed his wife. Henry Gatz, Jay's father, has come to New York for the funeral. He is showing Nick a book that Jay wrote in as a boy.

Chapter 9

“Look here, this is a book he had when he was a boy. It just shows you.”

He opened it at the back cover and turned it around for me to see. On the last fly-leaf was printed the word Schedule, and the date September 12, 1906. and underneath:

Rise from bed..............................	6.00 a.m.
Dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling..........................................	6.15-6.30 ”
Study electricity, etc....................	7.15-8.15 ”
Work............................................	8.30-4.30 p.m.
Baseball and sports......................	4.30-5.00 ”
Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it………………….	5.00-6.00 ”
Study needed inventions..............	7.00-9.00 ”

General Resolves: No wasting time at Shafters or [a name, indecipherable]. No more smoking or chewing. Bath every other day. Read one improving book or magazine per week. Save $5.00 {crossed out} $3.00 per week. Be better to parents.

“I come across this book by accident,” said the old man. “It just shows you, don’t it?”

“It just shows you.”

“Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He was always great for that. He told me I et like a hog once, and I beat him for it.”

He was reluctant to close the book, reading each item aloud and then looking eagerly at me. I think he rather expected me to copy down the list for my own use.

A little before three the Lutheran minister arrived from Flushing, and I began to look involuntarily out the windows for other cars. So did Gatsby’s father. And as the time passed and the servants came in and stood waiting in the hall, his eyes began to blink anxiously, and he spoke of the rain in a worried, uncertain way. The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn’t any use. Nobody came.

About five o’clock our procession of three cars reached the cemetery and stopped in a thick drizzle beside the gate – first a motor hearse, horribly black and wet, then Mr. Gatz and the minister and I in the limousine, and a little later four or five servants and the postman from West Egg in Gatsby’s station wagon, all wet to the skin. As we started through the gate into the cemetery I heard a car stop and then the sound of someone splashing after us over the soggy ground. I looked around. It was the man with owl-eyed glasses whom I had found marvelling over Gatsby’s books in the library one night three months before.

I’d never seen him since then. I don’t know how he knew about the funeral, or even his name. The rain poured down his thick glasses, and he took them off and wiped them to see the protecting canvas unrolled from Gatsby’s grave.

I tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment, but he was already too far away, and I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower. Dimly I heard someone murmur, “Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on,” and then the owl-eyed man said “Amen to that,” in a brave voice.

We straggled down quickly through the rain to the cars. Owl-eyes spoke to me by the gate.

“I couldn’t get to the house,” he remarked.

“Neither could anybody else.”

“Go on!” He started. “Why, my God! they used to go there by the hundreds.” He took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in.

“The poor son-of-a-bitch,” he said.

 

† General understanding:

1. What does Gatsby's father show Nick on the day of thefuneral? What had Gatsby written on the fly-leaf?

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2.Why does Nick ask the minister to delay starting theservice by Yia\i an hour?

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3. Who initially attends the funeral? Who arrives late?

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4. Why is the man with the owl-eyed glasses surprised when he learns that nobody came to Gatsby's house to pay their respects?

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† Literary analysis

1. Find examples of non-standard English usage in Gatsby's father's speech. Which social class does he belong to?

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2. Which entries in Gatsby's 'schedule' underline his ambition to better himself?

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3. Which entry hints at a strained relationship between the young Gatsby and his parents?

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4. How does the incident recounted by his father confirm the notion that Gatsby was not happy with his family/social background?

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5. In the given extract Nick is unconvinced by Gatsby's way of speaking. How have his suspicions been confirmed by what Gatsby's father has revealed?

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6. Circle the expressions that refer to the weather and its effect on the mourners and the funeral. What atmosphere is created?

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7. Gatsby is mourned by Nick, whom he met not long before his death, and the man with owl glasses, who apparently was not a particularly close friend (‘I’d never seen him since then’). What conclusions can you draw about the type of social circles Gatsby moved in? Did he have any true friends?

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8. Having read the description of the party in the extract, are you surprised by the lack of affection shown for Gatsby at his funeral?

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9. First-person narrators fall into two main categories: first-person narrators who are narratorsare central characters in the story, and first-person narrators who are minor characters. Central character narrators and minor character narrators engage the reader in different ways.

When a central character tells his story, the reader has direct access to the main foci interest in the story. The ‘I’ narrator who tells his own story generally explain thoughts, analyses his emotions and motivates his action and, therefore, usually wins the reader's sympathy and involves him emotionally and intellectually in his tale. When the first-person narrator is a minor character, the reader does not have access to the thoughts and feelings of the main character of the story – what he learns he must piece together from the information that is provided. This narrative technique can be used to create an air of mystery and tension, and to engage the reader's attention by slowly allowing him to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

In Scott Fitzgerald's novel, the central character and the main focus of interest is Gatsby but because the story is told by a minor character, Nick Carraway, the reader does not have direct access to Gatsby's thoughts and feelings. For much of the novel Gatsby appears to be an enigmatic, contradictory character shrouded in mystery. Like Nick, the reader only slowly pieces together the puzzle that is Gatsby. Why do you think Scott Fitzgerald withholds information from the reader by using a minor character narrator in the story?

 To increase tension and mystery.

 Because Nick can provide an objective assessment of Gatsby.

 Because Nick truly understands the workings of Gatsby's mind.

 Because this indirect form of narration makes the reader speculate and interpret and therefore become an active participant in the story.

 

Write a short paragraph of introduction from the central character Gatsby's point of view. Mention the following points:

- family and social background;

- ambition to succeed;

- relationship with parents.

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As the central character, your first-person narrative should try to engage the reader's sympathies.

 

When Gatsby was rich, he threw lavish parties for hundreds of people, but how many of them were real friends? Why did none of them go to his funeral? In English, the phrase 'fair-weather friends' refers to people who are friendly when everything is going well but who disappear when problems arise. What, then, is real friendship as opposed to 'fair-weather friendship'? Write your own definition.

For example: Real friendship is dropping what you are doing to go and help a friend in need.

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William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury

Benjy, a character in The Sound and the Fury, is mentally handicapped and acts like a child rather than an adult. What is the general attitude towards mentally handicapped people today? Say whether the following statements are true or false and discuss each one.

1. Some people feel ashamed if a member of their family is mentally handicapped.

 T  F

2. Everybody admires the strength and courage of the parents of handicapped children.

 T  F

3. Some people do not feel at ease in the company of mentally handicapped people.

 T  F

4. We can learn a lot from the mentally handicapped.

 T  F

In his acceptance speech when awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949, William Faulkner underlined the role of the writer and poet in a world that had not yet got over the physical and psychological trauma of two world wars: 'I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honour and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.'

In The Sound and the Fury the members of a family are called upon to display some of the qualities mentioned by Faulkner to overcome the numerous tragedies that befall them.

 

† Characters:

· Jason Compson

· Caroline Compson, his wife

· Their children: Quentin (a boy), Candace (Caddy, a girl), Jason and Benjy (two boys)

· Herbert Head, Caddy's husband

· Quentin (a girl), Caddy's daughter

· Dilsey, the Compsons' housekeeper

· Roskus, her husband

· T.P., their son

· Luster, Dilsey's grandson

 

† The story and the structure. The Compson family live in Mississippi. Benjy, their youngest child, is thirty years old but has the mental age of a five-year-old and cannot speak. He cannot distinguish past from present and howls uncontrollably at the slightest inconvenience. The only person who can relate to him is his sister Caddy.

Caddy is a livewire teenager and becomes sexually active at an early age. She even commits incest with her brother, Quentin, who subsequently kills himself. She marries a wealthy man, Herbert Head, and moves north, but Herbert leaves her because he is not sure that he is the father of her baby, who is born not long after their wedding. The baby girl, who is named Quentin like her dead uncle, is sent south to be raised by her grandparents. Caddy sendsmoney for the upkeep of the child but her mother does not use it because of the shame that Caddy has brought on the family.

The misfortunes of the family have turned another of Caddy's brothers, Jason, into a bitter, vengeful young man. He has no sympathy for Benjy and is resentful about family money that was invested in his brother Quentin's education. He has also never forgiven Caddy for ruining her marriage to Herbert, who had promised him a good job in his bank, and now he cannot see why his mother and father have to bring up Quentin. The novel ends with Jason's unsuccessful attempt to catch Quentin, who has run off with his savings.

The book is divided into four sections and the reader has to piece the story together, as it is not told in chronological order. Three of the sections relate events over a three-day period in April 1928, while one section is set in 1910 when Quentin, Caddy's brother, committed suicide.

This text is taken from the first section of the book, which is told from Benjy's point of view. Much of his time is spent thinking about his beloved sister, Caddy, who broke his heart when she left the family home to get married.

In this passage Benjy is thirty, but he remembers an incident from his childhood involving Caddy, who was fourteen at the time. He was being looked after by Caddy and Jason because their mother was lying ill in bed. He was upset but Caddy could not make out what was wrong with him.

 

April Seventh, 1928

‘Benjy’, Caddy said, ‘Benjy’. She put her arms around me again, but I went away. 'What is it, Benjy,’ she said, 'Is it this hat.' She took her hat off and came again, and I went away.

'Benjy.' she said, 'What is it, Benjy. What has Caddy done.' 'He don't like that prissy dress.' Jason said. 'You think you're grown up, don't you. You think you're better than anybody else, don't you. Prissy'

'You shut your mouth.' Caddy said, 'You dirty little beast. Benjy.'

'Just because you are fourteen, you think you are grown up, don't you.' Jason said. 'You think you're something. Don't you.'

'Hush, Benjy,’ Caddy said. 'You'll disturb Mother. Hush.'

But I didn't hush, and when she went away I followed, and she stopped on the stairs and waited and I stopped too.

'What is it, Benjy' Caddy said, 'Tell Caddy. She'll do it. Try'

'Candace.' Mother said.

'Yessum.' Caddy said.

'Why are you teasing him.' Mother said, 'Bring him here.'

We went to Mother's room, where she was lying with the sickness on a cloth on her head.

'What is the matter now,' Mother said. 'Benjamin.'

'Benjy' Caddy said. She came again, but I went away.

'You must have done something to him.' Mother said.

'Why won't you let him alone, so I can have some peace. Give him the box and please go on and let him alone.'

Caddy got the box and set it on the floor and opened it. It was full of stars. When I was still, they were still. When I moved, they glinted and sparkled.I hushed.

Then I heard Caddy walking and I began again.

'Benjamin,' Mother said, 'Come here.' I went to the door. 'You Benjamin.' Mother said.

'What is it now.' Father said, 'Where are you going.'

'Take him downstairs and get someone to watch him, Jason.' Mother said.

'You know I'm ill, yet you'

Father shut the door behind us.

'T.P.' he said.

'Sir.' T.P. said downstairs.

'Benjy's coming down.' Father said. 'Go with T.P.'

I went to the bathroom door. I could hear the water.

'Benjy.' T.P. said downstairs. I could hear the water. I listened to it. 'Benjy.'

T.P. said downstairs.

I listened to the water.

I couldn't hear the water, and Caddy opened the door.

'Why, Benjy' she said. She looked at me and I went and she put her arms around me. 'Did you find Caddy again.' she said. 'Did you think Caddy had run away' Caddy smelled like trees.

We went to Caddy's room. She sat down at the mirror. She stopped her hands and looked at me.

'Why Benjy. What is it.' she said. 'You mustn't cry. Caddy's not going away. See here.' she said. She took up the bottle and took the stopper out and held it to my nose. 'Sweet. Smell. Good.'

I went away and I didn't hush, and she held the bottle in her hand, looking at me.

'Oh.' she said. She put the bottle down and came and put her arms around me. 'So that was it. And you were trying to tell Caddy and you couldn't tell her. You wanted to, but you couldn't, could you. Of course Caddy won't. Of course Caddy won't. Just wait till I dress.'

Caddy dressed and took up the bottle again and we went down to the kitchen.

'Dilsey.' Caddy said, 'Benjy's got a present for you.' She stooped down and put the bottle in my hand. 'Hold it out to Dilsey, now.' Caddy held my hand out and Dilsey took the bottle.

'Well I'll declare.' Dilsey said, 'If my baby ain't give Dilsey a bottle of perfume. Just look here, Roskus.'

Caddy smelled like trees. 'We don't like perfume ourselves.'

Caddy said.

She smelled like trees.

http://readbookforfreeonline.blogspot.com/2011/10/zzgh7ym.html

 

† General understanding

Is Caddy dressed in her usual clothes?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How does Benjy show that he is upset with Caddy?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Why is Jason critical of Caddy?

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What does Caddy's mother accuse her of doing?

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What does Caddy's mother tell her to do to calm Benjy down?

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Benjy stops howling while he is looking at the stars. What makes him start howling again?

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Benjy's father wants to send him downstairs to T.P. Where does Benjy go instead? What does he listen to?

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What is different about Caddy when she comes out of the bathroom?

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What does Caddy ask Benjy to smell in her bedroom? What is his reaction?

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What has been upsetting Benjy? What does Caddy do with the bottle of perfume?

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† Literary analysis

1 Focus on the character of Benjy.

a. Benjy cannot articulate his thoughts and feelings to the people that surround him. How does he express his emotions?

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b. Who is the centre of Benjy's attention? How does he show his attachment?

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c. Because Benjy's intellectual faculties are impaired, he experiences the world primarily through his senses. Underline or put down here those sentences which indicate what Benjy hears, sees and smells.

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d. Benjy is mentally handicapped, so he does not understand the world like a normal adult of his age. His description of what he sees is at times cryptic. For example: 'We went to Mother's room, where she was lying with the sickness on a cloth on her head'. What visual image is Benjy trying to communicate? Does he understand the concept of sickness? Find other examples which highlight Benjy's idiosyncratic way of interpreting the world around him.

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e. Do the comments made by those who surround him have any impact on Benjy? Is he hurt, offended or consoled by what they say?

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f. What is your personal response to Benjy in this passage? How do you find his behaviour?

 Amusing  Odd  Touching

 Sad  Shocking  Other:___________________________.

2 Focus on the character of Caddy.

a. Underline or put down here those sentences in which Caddy expresses her concern that she has upset Benjy.

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b. Find evidence in the text that Caddy believes Benjy is capable of communicating with her.

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c. How does Caddy try to console Benjy?

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d. Contrast Caddy's attitude towards Benjy with that of the other members of the family. Do any of the other family members talk directly to Benjy?

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e. Why does Caddy continually reassure Benjy that she will not go away and leave him?

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f. Benjy is happy when Caddy 'smells like trees'. How do you interpret this expression? She is natural smelling, i.e. not wearing perfume. She is perfumed and smelling like a tree in blossom.

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3 Focus on the relationship between Caddy and the other members of her family. How would you define Jason's and her mother's attitudes towards her?

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Interior monologue. A narrative based on interior monologue presents a highly subjective view of reality. The reader can never see events or characters as they really are, but only as they appear to the mediating consciousness. When evaluating reality presented through interior monologue, the reader must take into careful consideration the prejudices and degree of awareness and perception of the narrating character.

In the given text the mediating consciousness is Benjy, a thirty-year-old adult with a mental age of a five-year-old. Find evidence in the text of Benjy's limited understanding of the world that surrounds him.

Write a brief interior monologue in which the mediating consciousness has a limitation which alters his perception of the world around him. Choose from one of the following: A person who is: blind – deaf – dyslexic – colour-blind – physically disabled. The passage should include clues to the narrator's disability.

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In the passage Benjy is portrayed as warm and affectionate. Have you ever read a book or seen a film or TV programme in which a mentally or physically challenged person is portrayed in a strongly positive way? Do you think that books, films and TV can influence the general public's attitude towards people with mental or physical disabilities?

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Pride about My Kinfolks

This section is told from Jason's point of view. He is in his thirties and works in a local store. He has come home for lunch, but it is not ready yet because Dilsey is waiting for the other members of the household to arrive. He gets into an increasingly bad mood and starts to complain to his mother about Benjy and Caddy's daughter, Quentin. Benjy is outside with Luster watching people play golf.

 

April Sixth, 1928

'(...) Are we going to have dinner soon?' I says, 'Because if we're not, I'll have to go on back. We're pretty busy today.' She got up. 'I've told her once,' I says. 'It seems she's waiting on Quentin or Luster or somebody. Here, I'll call her. Wait.' But she went to the head of the stairs and called. 'Quentin ain't come yit,' Dilsey says.

'Well, I'll have to get on back,' I says. I can get a sandwich downtown. I don't want to interfere with Dilsey's arrangements,' I says. Well, that got her started again, with Dilsey hobbling and mumbling back and forth, saying, 'All right, all right, Ise puttin hit on fast as I kin.'

'I try to please you all,' Mother says, T try to make things as easy for you as I can.'

'I'm not complaining, am I?' I says. 'Have I said a word except I had to go back to work?'

'I know,' she says, T know you haven't had the chance the others had, that you've had to bury yourself in a little country store. I wanted you to get ahead. I knew your father would never realize that you were the only one who had any business sense, and then when everything else failed I believed that when she married, and Herbert... after his promise...' 'Well, he was probably lying too,' I says. 'He may not have even had a bank. And if he had. I don't reckon he'd come all the way to Mississippi to get a man for it.'

We ate a while. I could hear Ben in the kitchen, where Luster was feeding him. Like I say, if we've got to feed another mouth and she won't take that money, why not send him down to Jackson. He'll be happier there, with people like him. I say God knows there's little enough room for pride in this family, but it don't take much pride to not like to see a thirty year old man playing around the yard with a nigger boy, running up and down the fence and lowing like a cow whenever they play golf over there. I says if they'd sent him to Jackson at first we'd all be better off today. I says, vou've done your duty by him; you've done all anybody can expect of youandmore than most folks would do, so why not send him there and get that much benefit out of the taxes we pay. Then she says, 'I'll be gone soon. I know I'm just a burden to you' and I says 'You've been saying that' so long that I'm beginning to believe you' only I says you'd better be sure and not let me know you're gone because I'll sure have him on number seventeen that night and I says I think I know a place where they'll take her too and the name of it's not Milk street and Honey avenue, either. Then she begun to cry and I says All right all right I have as much pride about my kinfolks as anybody even if I don't always know where they come from.

 

† General understanding

 

1Why is Jason in a hurry to have dinner? Why has Dilsey not started preparing the meal?

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2 In what way has Jason not had 'the chance the others had', according to his mother? What promise did Caddy's husband make to Jason? Did he keep his promise?

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3 What are Benjy and Luster doing in the kitchen?

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4 Why does Jason think that it would be better to send Benjy to a home in Jackson? Which does Jason feel is more dishonourable: sending Benjy to a home or watching him playing and making animal noises with Dilsey's grandson in the garden?

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5 Would the family have to pay to have Benjy cared for in a home?

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6 What does Jason threaten to do when his mother passes away?

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7 How does his mother react when he says that he knows somewhere that he could send Caddy's daughter too?

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8 Jason's last comment is a reference to Caddy's daughter. Is he sure who her father is?

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† Literary analysis

 

1Jason's irritation at a relatively insignificant incident escalates into a full-scale outburst of bitterness and resentment. Trace Jason's mounting tension throughout the passage.

a. In the opening lines of the passage Jason seems irritated but reasonable. He:

- explains why he is in a hurry;

- offers to go and call Dilsey;

- says that instead of having dinner he can eat a sandwich.

He then makes a sarcastic comment to Dilsey. What is it?

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b. Jason's sarcasm draws his mother into the situation as if she is his real target. How does she try to justify herself?

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c. Jason in turn defends himself, claiming that he is not complaining, but is simply in a hurry. His mother then moves on to more general considerations about Jason's life. How does Jason seem to react to his father's lack of faith in him and to Herbert's broken promise? Is he particularly upset at this point or is he still in control of his emotions?

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d. From line 22 to the end of passage, Jason's mood seems to change radically. What sound triggers Jason's outburst of anger?

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e. Jason says that Benjy would be happier in a home in Jackson 'with people like him'. What does this expression suggest about Jason's attitude towards his brother?

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f. Jason's anger is fuelled by resentment. Who does he feel resentment towards?

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2 Focus on the language in the text.

a. Which expression is repeated throughout the passage?

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