Study Questions

1. Explain why Benjy cried when the golfer called, “Here caddie.”

2. What was Luster looking for by the stream?

3. When Caddy and Benjy passed the pig pen on Christmas Eve, why did Caddy say the pigs were upset?

4. Why, as children, did Caddy and Quentin think they would be whipped?

5. Why did Caddy climb a tree?

6. What did Benjy think of Caddy after she had climbed the tree?

7. What did Uncle Maury have Benjy deliver?

8. Why was Benjy’s name changed?

9. Why did Benjy withdraw from Caddy?

10. What was unusual about how the man on a swing with Miss Quentin was dressed?

Answers

1. Benjy cried because the word “caddie” was like the name of his sister who had left her home.

2. Luster was looking for a lost quarter by the stream.

3. Caddy told Benjy the pigs were upset because one of them had just been slaughtered.

4. As children, Caddy and Quentin thought they would be whipped because Quentin had knocked Caddy down and she had muddied her drawers.

5. Caddy climbed a tree to see if the adults were having a party or a funeral.

6. After Caddy had climbed a tree, Benjy thought that she smelled like trees.

7. Uncle Maury had Benjy deliver a letter to Mrs Patterson, with whom Uncle Maury was having an affair.

8. Benjy’s name was changed because people realized he was retarded and, in consequence, did not want him named after Mrs Compson’s brother.

9. Benjy withdrew from Caddy because she had used perfume and no longer smelled like trees.

10. The man on a swing with Miss Quentin wore a red tie.