The Sound and the Fury Lesson Plan

Quentin's section takes place entirely in the north, with Quentin's Mississippi home only appearing in flashbacks. What is the effect of this physical distance? Why is Quentin so concerned with the Civil War? What does the relationship between the American North and South have to do with the novel's themes?

The novel draws a connection between the decay of the Compsons and the fall of the aristocratic South following the Civil War. For some, the novel suggests that Southern nobility is always rotten, even before Reconstruction. For others, the novel suggests that the fall of the South is a tragedy and Quentin's death in the North reveals the oppression faced by Southerners....