Compson Inset: Back Yard (Location Key)

In The Sound and the Fury the back of the Compson property contains many of the features of the original plantation, such as the remains of an orchard that Benjy refers to as the "thick trees" (46) and the aristocratic lawn swing, and parts of a working farm, such as the barn and pig pen. The ground immediately behind the house is described by the narrator as "bare," "as though from the soles of bare feet in generations" (266). Like the honeysuckle Quentin hates the smell of, the bareness of the ground is a sign of decline - the family cannot afford yardmen to pull out the vines or maintain the lawn. Benjy spends most of his time confined in this back area, often moving restlessly along the fence that separates the property from the golf course.