The Benjy Chapter- Told through the Past and Present

To pretend that I was not entirely confused during this chapter would be a lie. However I will say that Faulkner's writing impressed me very much. He was able to capture the history, and present day existence of the Compson family through the eyes of someone who is mentally challenged. Benjy's chapter showed the changes that occurred within the Compson family. For example when Luster and Benjy go down to the river, and Luster remarks that Benjy "still thinks that he owns the pasture." (13) Benjy also connects the past to the present. Remembering when he caught Caddy and Charlie on the porch, he goes to the swing to find Quentin and a man doing the same. They may be different people, but history repeats itself within the family. Benjy is nostalgic for the past, and uses these memories to escape back to the past. He likes consistency. When Caddy wears perfume, and no longer "smells like trees" he moans until she takes it off. During his flashbacks, whenever something seemed out of place, or when he realized how things had changed, it seemed he began to moan.
Benjy is seen as a burden by most of the people in the Compson household, The mother calls him a "judgement on her," and is unwilling to stand his consistent moaning. Both Luster and Miss Quentin expressed that they would prefer if he were to go to Jackson, where the mental institute is. Caddy is very kind to Benjy. She is one of the only characters that actually cares and tries to understand why Benjy gets upset, while the other just try to hush him.
His mother is especially harsh to him, changing his name from Maury, after her brother, to Benjamin. Family and names are very important to the mother. When Mr. Jason comments on Uncle Maury's illness, she is quick to defend him. She insists that the children be called by their full name, like Cadence or Benjamin. Once Caddy leaves, the mother decides that her name will not be spoken in the house. By changing Benjy's name so that it is not associated with her side if the family make it seem like Benjy is not fully part of the family.
The present scene that takes place is in April, right before Easter. Easter is a time of rebirth and resurrection, which can only occur after death. Benjy is sensitive to the deaths that have taken place at the Compson household, such as his grandmother's and his father's. He also notes that the black family running the household think that his family is doomed, because of two events, and maybe one more. I assume that they think that Benjy's mental disability is one of the cursed events.  Benjy senses the sin and death around him, but he cannot communicate in a way that people understand, so he can do nothing to stop it. His family pushes him onto a caretaker, usually one of the black servants, and ignore him. Benjy's awareness of mortality and sin, but his family's disregard for him, make him a modern day Christ. Just like Christ, he is there trying to communicate with us, but no one listens. Following Christ is seen as the path to redemption, the way that the Compsons treat Benjy is one of the reasons that the family has lost its prestige.
Benjy is an objective observer of his family. The judgement that the reader makes of the characters is their own, not Benjy's. I see that from a young age, Caddy was very spirited and had no regard for social norms, such as when she undressed in the river. Quentin is studious, and he and Caddy are in confidence of one another. Jason is different from the other children and is rather sensitive. Caddy's high spirits make her the center of her family. I loved the scene where the children babbled on "who has to mind who," it reminded me of my own childhood. Benjy's chapter helped to set the scene for the rest of the novel, showing the changes that have occurred in the family, as well as their character.