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Soliloquy
Definition of Stream of Consciousness
Stream of consciousness is a style or technique of writing that tries to capture the natural flow of a character's extended thought process, often by incorporating sensory impressions, incomplete ideas, unusual syntax... read full definition
Stream of consciousness is a style or technique of writing that tries to capture the natural flow of a character's extended thought process, often by incorporating... read full definition
Stream of consciousness is a style or technique of writing that tries to capture the natural flow of a character's... read full definition
35. Vardaman
Explanation and Analysis:
Faulkner uses stream of consciousness stylistically throughout the entire novel and within every character’s perspective. This writing choice helps the reader understand each character and how they see themselves within their world.
For instance, in Chapter 22, Cash ends his narration of loading Addie's coffin on the wagon with a sentence fragment: "It wont balance. If they want it to tote and ride on a balance, they will have.” This doubles down on Cash’s preoccupation with the practical aspects of his mother’s death (namely, the need for a coffin), but it also exposes the way he feels talked over and unheard by his family. This feeling may explain why Cash delves into pratical, logistical matters rather than verbal, emotional ones.
In another example, the reader watches Addie’s coffin fall into the river through Vardaman’s eyes in Chapter 35:
Cash tried but she fell off and Darl jumped going under he went under and Cash hollering to catch her and I hollering running and hollering and Dewey Dell hollering at me Vardaman you vardaman you vardaman and Vernon passed me because he was seeing her come up and she jumped into the water again and Darl hadn’t caught her yet.
Vardaman—who, despite his young age, frequently has the best grasp on grammar, punctuation, and coherent writing out of the family—completely abandons linguistic conventions. This moment shows his complete distress at the momentary loss of the coffin and corpse, and he reveals that he still sees Addie’s body as “her,” as his mother. He has not fully processed her death, which makes the loss of the body as traumatic as her initial loss of life.
