Approaching Insanity

I considered lying on the blog and saying that I'm all done with the Quentin chapter (which would probably not be a bad idea since my teacher is grading us on these). But I figure I've probably read more than a lot of other kids, and I'm planning on finishing this chapter tonight if possible. I just don't want to try to write anything at three in the morning. I can imagine how that could turn out... Anyways, I'm far enough into the chapter that I'm beginning to see some trends that I can write on. For starters, I am fairly positive that Quentin's mental health is rapidly deteriorating. As the chapter goes on, he lapses into scenes in the past much more frequently. These lapses seem to be triggered by certain events or symbols, such as the watches and time that Quentin is apparently obsessed with. These "induced" links between the present and past are similar to those from the previous chapter, but are less influenced by related events as they are by these seemingly random triggers. It is almost as confusing by Benjy's chapter too, but thankfully Faulkner decided to throw us a bone, albeit an incredibly tiny bone (think hummingbird), by making this chapter slightly less confusing with a more rational narrator. And although I've already heard that Quentin will commit suicide, it seems pretty clear to me that the thought is growing stronger in his mind. As the narrator, he views the river as something sublime and perhaps a source of rebirth. When I heard he had taken two weights to the bridge, I was convinced for a moment that he was going to jump off and drown himself right there. Another aspect of that decreasing mental state I mentioned above is seen in how Quentin narrates. As the story progresses, he actually seems to be losing his grip on who he really is. There are passages here and there that are clearly from the perspective of his mother, but there is nothing that distinguishes those passages from his own words. He seems to be lapsing in and out of both time and space. What I'm trying to say is he is losing track of both "who" he is and "when" he is (I just really wanted to say "time and space").