The following is a creative writing assignment that I wrote for a Modern American Fiction class last year. I chose to write a fifth and final chapter to William Faulker’s classic novel. It was actually pretty challenging but also very fun because I liked the novel so much.
The glaring grammatical and spelling mistakes were done on purpose only to keep with the style and dialect of the novel. I also wanted to keep the time-jumping and shifting narrative in. Just wanted to clear that up so hopefully it’s not too confusing!
I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for reading!
Creative Writing: Fifth chapter for The Sound and the Fury
APRIL 22, 1929
Its been a year now since I left and a lot has happened since. I havent been back there and Im never going back.
I got a letter from Luster a while ago. Dilsey probably had him send it to me since shes too old to do it herself. Im not sure how they know where I live now but thats not what matters anymore. Luster said that Jason is up in New York. I guess hes putting whatever money hes got left in the market up there. Grandmother passed away too. I guess she finally got too sick for her own good.
Im sick too. Been sick for about five months now. They always said I was like her and I guess I am. Eighteen, alone and pregnant. I dont want to be like her. I never did. She left me and with them. Dont you think that would mess up anyone. Why couldnt she just leave me somewhere else.
No, I dont want to be like her. Thats why Im giving this baby to the hospital. There is no way its going back down there. I would never do that because I know what its like. She knew how it was too and she still gave me to them. Thats how Im different from her. I will always hate her for it.
You know I never even knew her. There was no photos and I dont ever remember seeing her. Grandmother wouldnt say a word about her. Its not like I could talk to Jason about her either. He didnt even know her anyway.
Shed send a letter each month and that was that. I was her daughter for Christs sake. And doggone it if I ever knew who my real father was. Grandmother was always saying that I should listen to Jason because he was the closest thing to one I ever had. Its a good thing I didnt have two of them in my life then. My real father was probably worse than her if he wasnt around either.
It was night time. They stood on the back porch of the couple’s home. The two men had been drinking.
“You do know it’s not yours, right?”
“What’s not?”
“The baby…it’s not yours.”
“What do you mean?” he asked as he crept closer to Jason.
“I heard her and Quentin talking the other day…”
I never liked any of them. The only person I connected with from down there was Donald and hes gone. What makes you or anyone else think that Id go back for any reason? Its never going to happen.
You wanted me to write down my thoughts as to why I am so angry at the world. These are a few of my reasons. – Alice
She folded the piece of paper and put into an envelope addressed to a man named Doctor Sterling in Jacksonville, Florida.
“Why I gotta keep seeing this doc I’ll never know. Then he goes and tortures me by having me write this out too. People can be downright annoying,” she said aloud to herself in her empty apartment.
She then got dressed to get ready to go outside for the first time in what seemed like three days.
It was a nice, sunny spring morning out. The street was calm with just a few people outside at the moment. She went down to the store and saw a sign that read “CLOSED FOR EASTER.” She cursed to herself before turning around and making her way back to her apartment once more. One of the other tenants, an elderly gentleman, saw her entering through the door.
“Hi Quentin,” he said.
“Its Alice now,” she responded before making her way to her room, not waiting or wanting to hear the man’s response.
When she got inside, she saw Carroll’s novel on the stand: the one that he had given her. It was the only one that she liked.
She opened the closet and checked the box like she always did. It was still there. She then laid down on her bed and fell asleep.
The man with the red tie: Donald. There was something mysterious about him. Maybe it’s because he was older. Maybe it’s because he was her first. Maybe it’s because he’s the father of her unborn baby.
Donald and Alice were not meant to be long for each other and they both knew it. He left town a few months into her pregnancy for yet another minstrel show tour. This time his leaving would be for good.
Jason wasn’t home yet. Grandmother and Dilsey were resting. She smashed the window, but made sure to quiet the impact. As she climbed down the tree, she saw Luster and Benjy. She ignored the two of them. She made her way down the road and there he was waiting in the Ford, just as planned.
“Did you get it?” Donald asked.
“I sure did,” she responded, showing him the money. She was happy for the first time in her life.
“You did good, baby doll,” he responded, kissing her.
“Let’s get the hell out of here before he gets back.”
With that, Donald started the car and drove off. The couple stayed together for some time.
“Why are you going?” she asked, with her arms folded around her chest. He was in their room packing.
“’cause I have to, sweetie,” he responded.
“Nah, don’t go pullin’ that now. If you leave, it’s for good.”
“Don’t say that. I made a commitment to the show a long time ago. Before I met you,” he responded, closing the case.
“We have money! We still have most of it,” she cried.
“How long do you think that’s gonna last, huh?” he wondered. “Don’t cry. I won’t be gone for long.”
“Like I said, if you leave now, it’s for good!”
Donald went for the door and, seeing that he wasn’t taking her seriously, she opened the door and pushed him out.
“Get out and don’t be comin’ back!” she screamed, slamming the door shut. She heard him stop for a few seconds before walking away down the hall.
“I’m pregnant…” she mumbled, crying to herself, as she slid down to her knees with her back against the wall.
Alice woke up. The dream was all too familiar.
I was walking back from Earl’s. I says to him that I’m done with the store and the old man said it was alright. Alright? How’s he gonna replace me? Job aint exactly gonna help him. Ah, who cares? They can go rot. I reckon the store won’t last more than a month without me now anyway.
“I gotta get outta this goddamned forsaken place,” he muttered under his breath as he walked home from the store.
He kicked a small stone the whole way home. As he made his way up the long drive way, he saw Luster helping Benjy on the side yard. He scoffed at them aloud. They just walked away from him.
She was seated in the kitchen, looking outside, with a wet cloth over her forehead. He entered the room, making sure that his footsteps were loud enough so that everyone in the house was aware of his presence.
“I’m going up north for a little while,” he said.
“What? What do you mean you’re going up north? Where? For how long?” she asked in a panic.
“I’m going to New York and I’m going for as long as I want to. Now quit askin’,” he responded.
“New York? What’s in New York?”
“What’s in New York? Ha. What’s in New York? What’s here? There’s nothing left for me in this town. I’m done here.”
“Now, don’t say that, Jason. What will I do without you? You’re uncle left, your father died and now you’re leaving me too? What did I do to deserve this? Was I that bad of a mother to you? I know that I’m such a burden to you but why can’t you just wait until I’m dead and gone to do all of this?”
“That’s quite enough. I’ve decided that I’m leaving and that is final.” He slammed his fist on the table and walked out of the room, leaving his mother crying.
Jason exited the train with his suitcase. He was in New York and stuck out like a sore thumb. After walking around for a while, he saw a bank and entered. He approached the front desk and tried his damndest to sound intelligent.
“Yes, hello there, I’m inquiring as to whether or not there is a position open,” he said to the man behind the desk.
“I’m sorry sir; we actually just hired someone a few weeks ago. There won’t be another position to fill for quite a while,” the clerk responded.
He was in town. Caddy saw him and came hustling over to her brother: the only one she could never understand.
“Why the hell did you tell him?”
“Where did you come from?”
“Why the hell did you tell him?” she repeated.
“What are you going on about now?”
“Don’t play stupid, Jason. You’ve always been like this. You’re always telling on everyone…always the schemer.”
“You shut your mouth now.”
“The only thing that you ever cared about was the bank. What makes you think that after this, that you would get that offer now?”
He raised his arm as if he was going to hit her. There were other people around so he didn’t, though.
“You’re just a damn bitch, aren’t you?”
Jason squinted and held his hand up to his head in disgust. Jason hurriedly walked out of the bank. A younger man in a top hat, who had overheard the conversation, followed Jason out of the door and approached him.
“Hey you, have you ever thought about playing the market?”
“Ha, what kind of question is that? Have I ever played the market? Do I look to you like I was born yesterday?” he snickered.
“I apologize. I didn’t know you had experience with it,” the man responded. He began to walk away from Jason.
“Why I was one of the best at it down in Mississippi,” Jason responded, obviously intending to impress the man.
“Mississippi?” the man laughed. “You have a lot to learn.”
About a month had passed and Jason wrote a letter that he had someone send to his mother. The letter read:
“Mother,
I am doing quite well in New York. I have been making money off the market up here. My stay may be longer than expected.
Until then,
Jason.”
Having passed away before the letter was even sent, Caroline Compson was never able to read it. Luster burned it.
It was a sunny Tuesday on an autumn afternoon.
Dilsey was inside praying. She had just done her chores, like she had done so many previous times. They had lessened through the years and were now minimal. Luster even started to help out more around the house.
Dilsey heard someone making their way to the door and slowly made her way over to the window to see who it was.
She knew that Quentin had left and that Jason was already gone. She also found out that Caroline had passed away after the fact. She read it in the newspaper. Just like when Quentin died nineteen years ago. Despite being away, she always managed to know what was going on. It was strange in a way, because her presence had always been in that house, despite her no longer being around.
Benjy was out with Luster down by the lake since it was Tuesday. Benjy always went down to the lake then. He went down there every Tuesday throughout his life with whoever was watching him at the time. It actually helped calm him. She loved her younger brother but she did not want to upset him so she decided to come on a day that she knew he would already be preoccupied.
As she approached the Compson residence, she became overwhelmed with feelings. A rush of memories came to her. She remembered everything: from always fighting with Jason to always taking care of her other brothers: Quentin and Benjy, to escaping down the tree each night, to playing in the mud.
She saw the tree to the window that she used to walk down each night. It was the same tree that she climbed to see Damuddy’s funeral. She saw the swing set. It was where she first kissed a boy. Finally, it was the same place where she had her final conversation with her oldest brother.
The two oldest Compson children sat outside at night. Caddy and Herbert had just recently gotten married.
“Why did you marry him if you don’t love him?” he asked.
“Not everyone is in love when they get married,” she replied.
“That’s not right. I think that people shouldn’t be getting married if they aren’t in love with each other.”
“Sometimes things just don’t work out like you planned, Quentin. Not everything is right in this world,” she said.
Quentin stared up at the full moon.
“Will you tell him?” he asked.
“Yes…I will.”
“He should know that the baby is not his,” he responded, pushing his sister.
“I know,” she responded compliantly.
The two heard a noise.
“It’s probably just Benjy,” she said.
“So is this it then?” he asked. He sounded so innocent.
“What do you mean?” she responded.
“Is this goodbye?”
“I think it is,” she said.
They stared at the full moon.
As she walked up the front steps, the door slowly opened and a once familiar face greeted her at the threshold.
“My God, child, it’s been too long,” Dilsey said.
“Oh Dilsey, it’s so nice to see you. How are you?” Caddy responded as the two women hugged each other.
It was the first time in nearly eighteen years that they had seen one another. Dilsey made them tea and the two of them sat down across from each other in the dining room. There was a slight tension in the air and then Dilsey spoke.
“I hate to ask but whut you doing back here now, child?” Dilsey asked.
“I know about Quentin, Jason and my mother,” Caddy responded, not really answering the question.
“But how? You ain’t lived here in years,” Dilsey wondered.
“I still have friends around town that send me letters, Dilsey,” Caddy responded. Dilsey nodded at her.
“You didn’t answuh though,” Dilsey said.
“Listen…I know where Quentin is. I’m not going to be sending her anymore money or anything anymore. Lord knows she has enough now. Believe me, I know what a bastard Jason can be so I aint exactly upset over it. He had it coming for him for a long time. That’s not why I’m here though, Dilsey. I came back because I wanted to offer you something,” Caddy said. She waited for a response.
“Whut’s dat?” Dilsey asked before taking a sip of her tea.
“With Jason gone…with mother dead…I want to send compensation to you each month,” Caddy responded.
“No. Nuh uh.” Dilsey responded as she put her hand up.
“Dilsey, liste…” Dilsey cut her off before she could finish.
“No. You can’t come back all of a sudden like dis and try and get back in good graces by doing dis,” Dilsey responded.
“I know. Please listen to me, though. You did us good. You were our mother because we never had one. We sure were handfuls and you put up with it. Our family wasn’t exactly the easiest to deal with and you and your family stuck with us through everything. I was never good at it so this is my way of saying thank you. You will never know how grateful to you I really am. Dilsey, you have always been a stubborn woman but this is something that I want to do and I won’t back down. Please.”
Caddy was heartfelt and Dilsey could feel it. She now understood this was a battle that she wouldn’t win.
“You take good care of yaself,” Dilsey said. She placed her hand out across the table and Caddy touched it. Dilsey smiled.
As Caddy and Dilsey said what they knew would be their final goodbyes, Luster and Benjy made their way back from the lake.
They held their ears to the door. Quentin held his younger brother, Jason, and Caddy bent down, putting her right ear against the underpass. The three of them heard a baby crying.
Roskus tried to keep them away from the door but he knew that they wouldn’t listen to him. They were so young.
The door to the room opened. Dilsey came out holding the baby, who was still crying. Quentin and Caddy could see into the room. Mother was asleep and father and Uncle Maury were talking to each other.
“Children, this is your new brother. Say hello to Maury,” Dilsey said as she held the baby out in front of them.
“Hi Maury,” they said to him as they touched his hands.
The three siblings were wide-eyed and happy. They looked down at their new brother and he stopped crying.
Benjy had his head down and Luster saw her walking back down the long road leading up to the house. He stopped in his tracks and Benjy walked ahead.
“Caddy?” Luster said in bewilderment.
Benjy moaned.