Dalton Ames

Submitted by sfr on Mon, 2020-01-20 08:24
Character Key Number: 
1628
Display Name: 
Dalton Ames
Sort Name: 
Ames, Dalton
Ever Present in Yoknapatawpha?: 
Yes
Biography: 

In The Sound and the Fury Dalton Ames - a new arrival in Jefferson in the summer of 1909 - is the first man Caddy Compson has sex with, and may be the father of Caddy's daughter. Caddy tells Quentin that Ames has "been in the army had killed men" (148) and "crossed all the oceans all around the world" (150). Quentin discovers for himself how good Ames is with a pistol when he tries ordering him to leave town. For more than one reason Quentin feels that Ames is not a proper suitor for Caddy, including the issue of class; his name, Quentin thinks, "just missed gentility" (92). But that name - "Dalton Ames. Dalton Ames. Dalton Ames." - echoes throughout Quentin's thoughts on the last day of his life (79).

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