Benjy is a constant reminder and symbol for his mother of their fallen family, a once-loved last son turned into a measure by which the outside world can see the family's doom. He represents the end of prosperity and social standing for the Compsons".
Due to Benjy's diminished mental state, he is unable to distinguish in his mind between races. What we know of Benjy comes mostly from his thoughts. He loves bright things, firelight and mirrors. He also loves the smell of rain (which reminds him of Quentin and of his father) and the smell of trees (which reminds him of Caddy). Benjy spends his days being attended to by Dilsey, the Compson family's black maid and her son, Luster. He has no comprehension of the newly emerging race relations that are happening throughout America during this period of time. Unlike the other member of his family, he isn't obsessed with sexual and familial purity. Benjy has simple needs, which is a vast contrast to his brother Quentin.
Quentin narrates the second chapter of the novel. He recounts his events on June 2nd 1910, while attending Harvard University in Massachusetts. Quentin is obsessed with time and the representation of its symbolism. Thompson writes, " Throughout the day, Quentin is annoyed by the Christian notion that time has moral significance [he] is made nervous by many conscious-stirring reminders of time, time, time." Another major issue that greatly impacts on Quentin's daily life is his pre occupation with his sister Caddy and the apparent loss of sexual purity within his family. Like Benjy's section, this section is narrated in stream of consciousness, sliding constantly between modern-day events and memories; however, Quentin's section is not as disjointed at Benjy's, regardless of his agitated mental state. As with Benjy, most of the memories he relates are centered on Caddy and her precocious sexuality.
From the very first sentence of the section, Quentin is obsessed with time; words associated with time like "watch," "clock," "chime," and "hour" occur on almost every page.
