Playing with Poison

"Faulkner's Use of Folklore in the Sound and the Fury" by Charles D. Peavy introduces a whole new insight into the famous piece of classic literature. By shifting focus from specific nuances of the plot line to a far more in depth observation about both the writing itself and various interests of the author, Peavy sheds a new light on the novel, one which otherwise would have likely gone unnoticed. Peavy points out the minute details almost hidden within The Sound and the Fury that deal with elements of classical folklore and support them with his own notions of Faulkner's apparent interest in the subject. He cites various instances in the author's biography which would support this notion, such as when Faulkner moved into the old Bailey home in Oxford Mississippi and soon after renamed it "Rowan Oak", based upon the folk belief that the Rowan tree is said to protect the inhabitants of a house from various forms of evil. Peavy goes on to say that Faulkner later attempted to grow a Rowan tree on his property, however, he was not successful.
With this brief account of the existence of folklore within Faulkner's personal thoughts and life, Peavy begins to build his argument. He states that the several details evident within The Sound and the Fury are not simply random additions to the text, but instead, placed there purposely to represent symbolic themes which are based off of folklore. The one that intrigued me most was the symbolic importance behind Benji's Jimson weed. Seemingly just a plant name selected randomly to describe the plant which Benji is given to play with time and time again, Peavy counteracts this notion and replaces it with a theory that makes Faulkner's selection of the weed name far most important. Peavy mentions the folk belief history behind the weed (often called a "stinkweed"): "The Jimson weed is quite common in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Mississippi area and has a multiplicity of meanings in the folklore in this region. A course, ill-scented annual plant, the Jimson weed is a member of the nightshade family, and is, of course, quite poisonous." Peavy then goes on to state that the plant is rumored to have poisoned and killed many children who came across its dangerous attributes, and thus, is it surprising that Benji would be allowed to play with such a hazard multiple times throughout the novel. Peavy explains that perhaps the reason Faulkner equipped Benji with so dangerous a poison is symbolic; once Caddy (who "smelled of tress") left his life, all that was left behind was the stench of the stinkweed.
I found this article interesting because it replaces the previously unnoticed with a far more in depth outlook upon Faulkner's writing, one that without Peavy, may have remained hidden within the pages of complex text forever.

• Faulkner's Use of Folklore in The Sound and the Fury
• Charles D. Peavy
• The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 79, No. 313 (Jul. - Sep., 1966), pp. 437-447
  (article consists of 11 pages)
• Published by: American Folklore Society
• Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/537508