How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"He thirty three." Luster said. "Thirty three this morning."
"You mean, he been three years old thirty years." (1.180-81)
Benjy’s birthday comes to symbolize the ways that the Compson family is stuck in continual unhappiness. His birthdays pass each year – but he never develops mentally past the age of three.
Quote #2
"They aint no luck going be on no place where one of they own chillen's name aint never spoke." (1.382)
Although Benjy’s own name (Maury) isn’t spoken, the person Roskus is referring to here is Caddy. Two children have effectively been excised from the Compson family’s history.
Quote #3
I saw them. Then I saw Caddy, with flowers in her hair, and a long veil like shining wind. Caddy Caddy (1.503)
Benjy’s refrain, "Caddy Caddy" is the heart of the book. That fact that he’s able to get to the heart of his unhappiness and loneliness means that, in many ways, he’s more with it than either of his brothers.