Faulkner & Time

Faulkner’s obsession with time…

Time is everything or so they say. Time is something you can never get back. Time is ongoing. Time can pass slowly or time can go by quickly. Everything in life relates to time. “A time to be born, a time to die…” “We’re late, hurry up!” called my mother. This scene occurred each day as four of us girls competed for the only bathroom in the house. Time was not going to wait while we combed each hair into place.

“Hurry up, we be late!” I call this to my own daughters each day. My mother’s obsession with time has become my own. I constantly struggle to make it on time to my 8:00 a.m. class. William Faulkner also had siblings. Being the oldest of four boys, I am sure he must have had his share of the last minute rush to get out the door.

In The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner emphasized how time can haunt you with the constant ticking of the clock. Even after Quentin had broken the hands of the heirloom watch, the watch still ticked on. Time was passing whether Quentin wanted it to or not. The only way Quentin could stop time from ticking was to stop his heart from ticking.

I would agree with Faulkner, time is an obsession. Life is short. From a bright sunny day when you were a kid, to a time with a 10 page paper due, time may seem to drag. When you look back ten or fifteen years from now, any time in your life is merely a brief stop on the journey of life.