The Symbolic Weed

This week I read a scholarly article on JSTOR called “Faulkner’s Use of Folklore in The Sound and the Fury” by Charles D. Peavy. The URL of this article is http://www.jstor.org/stable/537508?seq=1&Search=yes&term=fury&term=folk&term=sound&term=traditions&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dfolk%2Btraditions%2Bthe%2Bsound%2Band%2Bfury%26wc%3Don%26dc%3DAll%2BDisciplines&item=1&ttl=691&returnArticleService=showArticle&resultsServiceName=doBasicResultsFromArticle

This article contained many interesting points about Faulkner’s use of folklore and symbolism in The Sound and the Fury. However, the most noteworthy point in the article concerned the symbolism of the jimson weed and it’s identification with Benji throughout the book. Benji is given the weed to prevent his crying and from that point in the story he continues to play with the weed. The jimson weed is a foul smelling, poisonous member of the nightshade family. It is surprising that Benji’s caretakers allow him to play with the stalk of a poisonous plant that has been known to cause the death of children who consume it. Jimson weed is also known to be a smelly plant and Peavy contends that it is an ironic symbol of the loss of Caddy who “smelled like trees.” Finally, the in the morning pre-flower jimson weed’s “erect, trumpet shaped form”, is a phallic symbol in the south.

I found Charles Peavy’s analyses of the symbolism of the jimson weed very helpful in understanding another facet of The Sound and the Fury. I was surprised to find that the jimson weed carried so much meaning. I had never heard of jimson weed before reading The Sound and the Fury and I did not attribute much significance to Benji’s affinity for the jimson weed while reading the first chapter of the book. I assumed it was simply a stalk/ flower that had the power of calming Benji. Yet, the symbolism of a phallic shaped flower quieting the castrated Benji is compelling The jimson weed’s poisonous properties are perhaps why Faulkner chose it to be identified with the mentally disabled Benji The jimson weed’s rich symbolic meanings attests to Faulkner’s literary genius. (318)