June 2, 1910
This section begins with Quentin Compson waking up in his dorm room at Harvard. He realizes that it is between seven and eight o’clock in the morning. He hears a clock ticking. Quentin remembers his father giving him the watch and he thinks about the inevitability of time and remembers that St. Francis called death his “Little Sister.” Quentin gets up briefly, then goes back to bed. He remembers that Caddy, his sister, was married in April, just two months ago.
Quentin’s roommate Shreve interrupts Quentin’s thoughts to remind him that Quentin only has two minutes to get to clase. He tells Shreve not to wait for him and Quentin looks at the unhurried Spoade, a Harvard senior who once made fun of Quentin.
Quentin suddenly remembers falsely confessing to his father that he, not Dalton Ames, was the father of Caddy’s child. His father tells him that his feelings were misplaced and that there was hope that Caddy could be redeemed.
Quentin breaks the glass face of his watch against the corner of his dresser, cutting his finger in the process. The watch continues to tick. Quentin cleans up the glass and then packs a suitcase. He leaves and mails a letter and then tucks a similar note to Shreve inside his front pocket. Outside, Quentin looks for Deacon, an African-American man he knows, but he can’t find him. Quentin then goes into a clock shop and shows his broken watch to the proprietor, but then tells the man not to fix it. Quentin asks if any of the clocks in the window are correct, but then asks not to be told what time it is. He is obviously disturbed.
Quentin buys a set of tailor’s weights, but he does not say for what. He goes to the train station and boards a train. Quentin briefly remembers the day Benjy’s name was changed from Maury. The train stops and Quentin walks to a bridge, thinking of drowning.
Quentin finds Deacon, the black man he was seeking earlier. He gives Deacon the note he has written for Shreve, and asks him to take it to Shreve tomorrow.
Quentin rides a trolley, thinking abstractly about time and about his past. He thinks of Caddy again. Quentin frantically suggested to Caddy that they both kill themselves. Quentin does this at the end of this section.
Discussion Questions
A. What would be a good title for this section?
B. What is the significance of so many clocks in the first part of this section?
C. Caddy’s demise is clearly a reason that Quentin commits suicide. Why?