# Benjy Compson — The Sound and the Fury character guide

> Benjy Compson in The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Benjamin, Ben, Whooey, Sassprilluh

**First appearance:** 0000-april-seventh-1928

## Snapshot

A thirty-three-year-old man who cannot speak, Benjy Compson experiences time as a single unbroken present, where a golf course, a lost sister, and a childhood grief are all equally near.

## Who they are

Benjy is the youngest Compson son, cared for by the family's Black servants and treated by his mother as both a burden and a permanent child. He has no language but an almost unbearable sensitivity to order and loss: he moans when the golfers call "caddie," when his sister Caddy is absent, when the smell of trees changes. His fragmented, sensory narration opens the novel and forces the reader to assemble the Compson family's history from the outside in.

## Relationships

### [Caddy Compson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/caddy_compson)

_family_

Benjy's entire world revolves around Caddy, whose scent and presence are his only source of comfort and stability.

### [Luster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/luster)

_friendship_

Luster is Benjy's daily caretaker and playmate, often impatient but also protective of the disabled man.

### [Dilsey Gibson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/dilsey_gibson)

_family_

Dilsey is a maternal figure to Benjy, providing him with the only consistent love and care in the household.

### [Caddy Compson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/caddy_compson)

_family_

Benjy's entire world revolves around Caddy, whose scent and presence are his only source of comfort and stability.

### [Dilsey Gibson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/dilsey_gibson)

_family_

Dilsey is a maternal figure to Benjy, providing him with the only consistent love and care in the household.

### [Luster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/luster)

_friendship_

Luster is Benjy's daily caretaker and playmate, often impatient but also protective of the disabled man.

### [Luster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/luster)

_friendship_

Luster is Benjy's daily caretaker and playmate, often impatient but also protective of the disabled man.

## In the story

### [April Seventh, 1928](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/chapters/april-seventh-1928)

Narrator; experiences fragmented memories and sensory triggers; cries when Caddy leaves or when he senses loss.

### [April Sixth, 1928](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/chapters/april-sixth-1928)

Jason's brother; mentioned as being fed in the kitchen and as a source of embarrassment for Jason.

### [April Eighth, 1928](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/chapters/april-eighth-1928)

Benjy is taken to church by Dilsey. He is observed by local children and experiences the Easter service, though his perception is fragmented.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters/benjy_compson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sound_and_the_fury_se/characters