The Sound and the Fury + As I Lay Dying characters

Also known as Benjy

Appears from the start

The intellectually disabled youngest Compson brother, thirty-three years old in the opening section. Sensory impressions move him abruptly among different periods of his life, especially memories of his sister Caddy, without his distinguishing past from present.

Also known as Caddy

Appears from the start

The Compson daughter and the emotional center of Benjy's memories. As a child she is bold, affectionate, and protective of him, giving him a security he associates with her presence and even with her familiar scent.

Also known as Quentin

Appears from the start

The eldest Compson child, sensitive, introspective, and intensely attached to Caddy. In family memories he tries to give moral shape to experiences that disturb him, turning ideas of honor and time inward.

Appears from the start

The practical, resentful Compson brother. Even in childhood he responds harshly to vulnerability; as an adult he defines himself through money, control, and grievance toward the relatives he believes have burdened him.

Appears from the start

The Compsons' Black cook and household anchor, who has served the family across generations. Her competence and endurance supply much of the care that the increasingly divided white family cannot provide for itself.

Appears from the start

A teenage member of the Gibson family who looks after Benjy in 1928. Impatient with the repetitive task but alert to immediate pleasures and opportunities, he guides Benjy around the deteriorating Compson property.

Also known as Mrs. Compson

Appears from the start

The self-absorbed mother of the Compson children. Frequently confined by complaints of illness and family disgrace, she favors Jason and depends heavily on others while understanding little of their emotional lives.

Also known as Miss Quentin

Appears from the start

Caddy's teenage daughter, raised in the Compson household while separated from her mother. Angry at Jason's surveillance and contempt, she resists the authority of a family that treats her existence as a scandal.

Also known as Mr. Compson

Appears from the start

The father of Quentin, Caddy, Jason, and Benjy. Intelligent but cynical and weakened by drink, he gives Quentin abstract explanations of time, morality, and women that offer little practical help with the family's pain.

Also known as Mrs. Bundren

First appears in chapter 5

The dying matriarch of the Bundren family at the start of the second novel. A former schoolteacher, she watches Cash build her coffin and waits in the isolated family home while her husband prepares to honor her burial wish.

First appears in chapter 5

Addie's husband, a poor Mississippi farmer whose slumped appearance and claims of helplessness invite others to solve the family's problems. He insists that he will carry Addie's body to Jefferson as he promised.

First appears in chapter 5

One of Addie's adult sons and a principal observer of the Bundren household. Highly perceptive and given to detached, inward reflection, he narrates people and objects with a clarity that can also feel estranging.

First appears in chapter 5

Addie's fierce and physically capable son, whose devotion to his horse and guarded silence separate him from the rest of the family. Darl watches him closely, aware of tensions Jewel refuses to explain.

First appears in chapter 5

The eldest Bundren son and a skilled carpenter. He constructs Addie's coffin directly outside her window, concentrating on balance, bevels, and workmanship as a practical expression of care.

First appears in chapter 5

The Bundrens' only daughter, a young woman doing farm work while privately preoccupied with an unwanted pregnancy. Her urgent need for help gives the promised trip to Jefferson a purpose she cannot safely disclose to her family.

First appears in chapter 17

The youngest Bundren child. His literal, rapidly shifting thoughts struggle to make sense of his mother's death, joining grief to the animals and objects immediately around him.

First appears in chapter 6

A neighboring farmer who repeatedly helps the Bundrens despite his doubts about their decisions. Practical and decent, he observes the family from close range and supplies assistance that Anse accepts while denying dependence.

First appears in chapter 6

Vernon Tull's devout wife, who visits Addie during her final illness. She interprets suffering through firm religious conviction and judges the Bundrens while also bringing food and practical aid.