April Eighth 1928

I never like ending a book not completely understanding what happened, but unfortunately that is what happened with this chapter.  The last line led me to believe that Jason killed Quentin because it says, "his eyes were empty and blue and serene again".  By saying again, it's like he's at peace once again, like before the whole mess with Caddy happened.  Now I am admitting this is a bit of a stretch, but that is me trying to make sense of what happened.  

I felt a bit uncomfortable with Caroline's unconditional loyalty to Jason in this chapter, it was almost as if she worshipped him.  She makes such a big deal about letting Jason sleep in, then she was all worried he would be angry if his breakfast wasn't made.  Then again when Jason is leaving to go find Quentin and she says, "It's his right to require us to respect his wishes"(173).

"Neither of them had had entity or individuality for him for ten years: together they merely symbolized the job in the bank in which he had been deprived before he ever got it"(190).----this line was very clarifying to me.  It shows how he practically groups Caddy and Quentin as the same person, and is an easy scapegoat to all of his problems.  He is so deprived, nothing in life is ever good blah blah blah.  

May I also add, what did the closing date mean? I thought they lived in the South, not New York? Is this a signature of William Faulkner?

Jason's chapter: April sixth, 1928

One thing you have to realize in this chapter is that just because Jason's grammar and chronological writing is well done, does not mean he is intelligent.  He is simply a racist, sexist, bigot.  I'm with everyone else, I take no liking to this character, but I think the way he behaves is deeply rooted in his obsession with family image.  This is very obvious in his interactions with Quentin because she refuses to act like a "lady" acts, just like her mother. Jason says, "I've got a position in this town, and I'm not going to have any member of my family going on like a nigger wench"(119).  Jason thinks his family is ruining his image, when really he's just ruining himself, trying to hold onto the "old south".

I'm not quite sure if I'm getting this right, but Jason has been giving fake checks to his mother to burn to save her pride, but then cashing them in, then putting them in cotton stock.  His mother says, "Let me never see the day when my children will have to accept that, the wages of sin"(138), showing once again how holding on to the "old south" will do nothing but hinder them.  He screams idiotic when he explains how New York as a whole is so greedy, he doesn't even understand the process of buying stock.  Jason's never up to date on the points, then blames others when he forgets to check up on his stock frequently.

One line I found hysterical was when Jason explains, "If there's one thing gets under my skin, it's a dam hypocrite."(143).  Jason himself is a hypocrite in more than one way, making him even more utterly stupid.