There is no doubt that Jason is a despicable, self-pitying, and bitter man. Yet he still remains Mrs. Compson’s favorite child. My confusion lies within this contradiction.
Jason has always been the family trouble maker. As a child, he ripped up Benji’s dolls and then denied his hurtful actions. It is unclear whether Jason never enjoyed playing with his siblings and therefore displayed a hostile disposition or his mean-spirited personality drove away his siblings. Regardless, his greedy personality as a child definitely foreshadows his horrible relationship with his family, except his mother.
Jason adamantly believes that he has been wronged, in every way, and therefore proceeds to torment everyone. He has no concerns about how his actions affect his family members because he thinks he is taking rightful vengeance. For Jason, it is always how his parents and siblings’ actions have negatively affected him. He is resentful of Caddy for costing him the job at Herbert’s bank. In reality, Jason would never have gotten the job offer in the first place if Caddy had not been engaged to Herbert. Continually stealing from Miss Quentin, Jason acquires every cent Caddy sends her daughter. He even resorts to trickery in order to get more money and then spends it on the cotton market. What is annoying about Jason is that he constantly complains about how he must support the entire family, but he does not put Caddy’s money to good use. Jason argues with his mother about what to do with Miss Quentin, a wild child often missing from school. His uncontrollable cruelty emerges when he grabs Quentin and threatens to beat her. Finally, Jason finds pleasure in watching others suffer, especially if he is the perpetrator. Even though he knows Luster would love to go to the show and he has two tickets, Jason burns the tickets without any emotion.
Returning to the question I stated earlier, Mrs. Compson probably finds herself in Jason. The similarities between mother and son bring them together. Both characters are self-absorbed; they selfishly wallow in their insecurities and act as victims. Mrs. Compson nearly drowns in self-pity, complaining that she is ill and cannot rest because of Benji’s crying. She wails about being burdened with horrible children, disgracing the Bascomb name. At times, I wonder: does she want to be miserable all the time? Is she not setting herself up for disappointment and despair? The same question can be applied to Jason. He is completely unhappy working at a boring farm-supply store. Yet, he refuses to find a new job. He steals from his family and lies to his mother about it. Instead of looking for a new job or acting as a positive mentor for Miss Quentin, Jason chooses to have others pity him for taking on the burden and the remaining baggage his father and siblings have left him. He pities himself and somehow feels that it will justify the horrors of his family: a brother who commits suicide, a divorced sister with an illegitimate child, an alcoholic dead father, an idiotic brother, and a crazy mother who has no one left but him. Mrs. Compson and Jason both lack motivation and because they have not lead successful lives, they resort to self-pity to gain self-worth. In the end, I have no sympathy for either character because I am too annoyed and disgusted with their lack of ambition. (565)
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Danni, I like the way you ask a question and then come up with a way to answer it. For me, the beginnings of the answer go even further back and deeper, back to childhood. Caddy and Quentin were always allies, and always close to Father, and all 3 of them were fiercely protective of Benjy, so Mother formed her most important bond with the outcast of the children, the only one who didn't prefer Father to her. She and Jason have been closely linked ever since Damuddy died when Jason was 4, and they're still tied in a weirdly co-dependent relationship even when he's 34.
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