Benji: His Name is Even a Dog's Name!

According to Jacqui Griffiths’s work Almost Human: Indeterminate Children and Dogs in Flush and The Sound and the Fury she states:

How often have you heard a dog-lover refer to a particular dog as ‘almost human’? Couple this with the nurturing relationship that many people have with their dogs, and that ‘human’ quality becomes decidedly infantile. Now try something else. Imagine the reaction you would get if you told somebody that his or her child was ‘almost a dog’: not a favorable one, I suspect. But if it is considered complimentary to suggest that one’s pet dog is just like a human child, or even that it is a ‘child substitute’, why does the suggestion that one’s child is like a pet dog seem so insulting? The point might seem obvious, but this dualistic, oppositional attitude toward children and animals, particularly domestic dogs, has far-reaching implications for the representation of either species.

I think this is a particularly interesting passage firstly because of its effectiveness as a humorous introductory paragraph to her work, and secondly because it reveals that her work is partly about Faulkner’s descriptions of Benji as a dog. My favorite of Faulkner's skills is his manipulation of groups of words with heavy connotations to describe a scene that does not have to do with the regular connotation of those chosen words. He does this several times, but the two most evident implorations of this technique are the use of sexual language in the “sex scene”/”knife on throat” scene between Caddy and Quentin on page 151, and the scenes in the very beginning of the “Benji section” where the other characters use language that we would normally associate with talking to a dog.

The parallels between Benji and a dog are abundant. Benji recalls, “If you dont [sic] be good you’ll have to go to the kitchen,” “Keep him in the yard now,” and “Caddy uncaught me,” (as if he were on a leash) (Faulkner 5). Because Benji can’t talk, he seems even more dog-like. As readers we receive information that is not normally included by orthodox narrators. A human narrator would not normally put so much emphasis on the smell of other people and the smell of his or her surroundings, but a dog would and so does Benji. Benji’s constant, “She smelled like trees” comments are proof. Benji is also treated as if he has a master, because he basically does. Caddy. Caddy. Caddy. She indeed coddles him when he is sad, and protects him from the torment of the other characters. Some of these phrases and situations make more logical sense if the reader keeps in mind that Benji is a mentally challenged child, but Faulkner purposely chooses language that is normally associated with dogs.

Although making Benji similar to a dog is insulting, as Griffiths would agree, but Faulkner had thought-out reasons for making the comparison. I believe Faulkner uses this parallel because he wants us too see that the good qualities Benji possesses are the same good qualities that a good dog possesses. And to say that this comparison would be “so insulting” is not true (Griffiths). Loyalty and Honesty are important values that not many people can uphold. Benji is loyal to Caddy and loyal to himself beyond a shred of doubt. And throughout his section in the book we learn that he does not process ideas, but just retells them. That is honesty, even if he doesn’t have to decide between being honest and lying, he is still honest. Faulkner’s purpose of paralleling Benji to a dog is two-fold. One, to show that Benji is a mentally-challenged human who has the cognitive understanding of a dog, and two, to show that despite his mental handicap he still possesses laudable human qualities. (631)