There are many instances of plant and bird symbolism in Faulkner’s novel, The Sound and the Fury. While much of Faulkner’s use of symbolism is based upon African American folklore, there are also instances where he uses symbols associated with Greek, Roman, and Celtic mythology. Whether Faulkner’s use of symbolism was entirely intentional is a subject of debate among scholars and students. The plant and bird symbols referenced in this article are jimson weed, the narcissus flower, the cornflower, the tree, the owl, and the jay bird.
Jimson Weed
Faulkner’s repeated reference to jimson weed (Datura stramonium) informs the reader that this particular plant is somehow symbolic and should not be overlooked by those performing a close reading of the novel. Mentioned at least four times, the jimson weed is always connected to Benjy, and is usually given to him by one of the black servants, particularly Luster. Luster tells Benjy ‘“You dropped your jimson weed.” He picked it up and gave it back to me. “You needs a new one. You bout wore that one out.”’ The jimson weed certainly bore some significance to Faulkner; otherwise he wouldn’t have named it specifically. Unless the reader is from the Arkansas-Mississippi-Louisiana area, he would not know what the plant looks like or understand any symbolism connected to the appearance of the plant.
The jimson weed is a member of the nightshade family and resembles a morning glory when its blooms are open. It is highly toxic if ingested, and children have been known to die from eating parts of the weed. When its blooms are closed however, the six to seven inch long flower resembles okra, which has been interpreted by some readers to represent a phallus. Both whites and blacks from the hill country considered the jimson weed to represent the male sex organ. “Faulkner was doubtlessly aware of the phallic implications of the closed jimson flower clutched in the fist of the castrated Benjy.”
Faulkner uses the phallic symbol again in his novel, Sanctuary. The jimson weed is also called ‘stink weed.’ Because it is odoriferous, Charles Peavy suggests that this plant is an ironic and ever present symbol of Benjy’s loss of Caddy, who smelled like trees.
Narcissus Flower
The narcissus flower (Narcissus poeticus) is another plant that has strong mythic origins, and while “Faulkner once stated that the choice of the narcissus was not deliberate, some critics have tried to see the selection of the flower as symbolically significant.” Many scholars would agree that Faulkner was not always serious when he spoke to reporters about his works.
In the Song of Solomon, the narcissus represents Spring and the end of the world. It is at the end of the novel that Benjy grasps the broken-stemmed narcissus, given to him by Luster on the way to church on Easter. This narcissus could foreshadow the end of the Compson family. After the death of the mother, Benjy is sent to Jackson, Caddy disappears, and Quentin (Caddy’s daughter) has runaway with all of the money that was rightfully hers. Some scholars, however, view the narcissus as a physical representation of Jason and Caroline’s self-love, as connected to the story of Narcissus from Greek mythology.
Cornflower
Faulkner describes Benjy’s eyes as “the pale sweet blue of cornflowers.” The Cornflower (Houstonia sp.) is also called ‘Bachelor’s-button’ and ‘Innocence’, and as Peavy points out, “Benjy, the childlike man, is Faulkner’s symbol of innocence.” In folklore, cornflowers were worn by young men in love, hence the name, Bachelor’s-buttons’. Benjy is most certainly a young man in love, although that love is for his sister. Whether the love Benjy bears for Caddy is natural or unnatural is a subject that will not be discussed here.
Trees
If the reader remembers nothing else from The Sound and the Fury, he will remember that “Caddy smells like trees,” seeing that the phrase is repeated over and over by Benjy until Caddy loses her virginity. Tree symbolism is prevalent in almost every culture, but there are a few particular beliefs surrounding trees that I believe can be connected to Caddy. Trees were venerated in cult-worship by the Celts and Romans. Caddy is venerated by both Benjy and Quentin throughout the novel, much like a cult object. Benjy cannot hear Caddy’s name spoken without moaning, and clings to any object associated with her. In other cultures, trees were symbols of fertility. Smell is often associated with fertility by way of pheromones released by both males and females. We are told multiple times that Benjy smells death and that he smells Caddy.
Squinch Owl
The squinch owl (also called the screech owl) is mentioned twice by the black servant, T.P., in The Sound and the Fury. The first time the owl is mention is when Damuddy, the grandmother, has died. T.P. says “I heard a squinch owl that night.” The hoot of an owl is considered a bad omen in African American folklore, as it is in many other cultures.
In Roman mythology, which Faulkner would have been acquainted with, owls were omens of impending disaster, while in many Native American tribes, the owl was a harbinger of sickness and death. It would be fair to say that the Compson family experiences sickness, death, and disaster throughout the entirety of the novel, making the symbolism of the owl appropriate to the story.
The second mention of the squinch owl is at Caddy’s wedding, where T.P. and Benjy are drinking Sarsaparilla outside the window. T.P. says, ‘“Here, les finish drinking this here sassprilluh. It make me feel just like a squinch owl inside.”’ It is interesting that T.P. would make a reference to the squinch owl at Caddy’s wedding, and while Faulkner probably would have had no knowledge of the Welsh folklore about owls, a connection could certainly be made between it and the Faulkner passage above. In Welsh folklore it was believed that the hoot of an owl around a house meant that an unmarried girl had lost her virginity. As the reader, we know full well that Caddy is not a virgin on her wedding day. In my mind, it seems that T.P. subconsciously wants to become the squinch owl declaring Caddy’s “unvirgin” state.
Jaybirds
Jay birds are mentioned in four instances in the novel and hold an important place in African American folklore. The belief that jay birds go to hell on Fridays is mentioned by T.P. and was a widespread belief in the South, according to Puckett in Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro. The belief held that jay birds descended to hell to deliver grains of sand to the devil in ransom for the souls in hell, who cannot be released until all of the sand covering the Earth has been carried below. This connection to hell brings to mind Quentin’s desire for Caddy and himself to be joined for eternity in hell. The Judeo-Christian belief about suicide tells us that Quentin must be in hell since he killed himself, therefore the jay birds are seeking to ransom his soul, along with the other souls that dwell in hell.
Jay birds are also mentioned outside Jason’s window after ‘his’ money has been stolen by his niece, Quentin. “Outside the window he heard some jaybirds swirl shrieking past and away, their cries whipping along the wind….” In Joel Chandler Harris’ work, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, we read that “Jay-bird don’t rob his own nes.” Jason has robbed from his own niece, who lives in his ‘nest.’ Jason is paid back in kind by Quentin when she decides to run away, taking with her the money Jason had stolen from her.
Sources:
- Bacon, A.M. "Conjuring and Conjur Doctors." Southern Workman. 24. (1895): 78.
- Chevalier, Jean. The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. New York: Penguin Group, 1996.
- Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New York: Vintage International,1984.
- Harris, Joel Chandler. "Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings." Project Gutenberg August 2000. n. pag. The Project Gutenberg. Web. 30 Jun 2011. .
- Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies. London: Century,1987.
- Puckett, Newbell. Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro. London: Chapel Hill, 1926.
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