The following breakdown shows the major scenes that affect Benjy even though some of them, such as Benjy's castration, have only half a page or so devoted to them.
I. 1898: The Branch Scene and Damuddy's Death
These scenes are easiest to identify since they are all distinguished by the children being very young and also by the frequent discussion of the death of Damuddy, the children's grandmother. The black attendants during these scenes are Versh and Roskus. Confusion occurs because Benjy is referred to as Maury since his name will not be changed until 1900. Except for the first scene, the entire section is told in chronological order and can be isolated to read as follows: Scenes 13, 12, 15, 17, 19, 28, 30, 32, 36, 38, 40, 42, 48, 68, 70, 101, 103, 105.
II. 1900: The Changing of Benjy's Name
These scenes present some confusion since they offer little in the way of chronological order. Thus, the recurring images are essential in identifying some of the scenes. The principal images and references are those of Benjy looking into the fire, watching the fire sparkle in a mirror, and hearing the rain. All of these scenes occur during the last part of the section because they are not evoked in Benjy's mind until he is brought into the house during the later part of the day. These scenes in their chronological order are: Scenes 67, 71, 61, 63, 65, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97, 69, 99.
III. 1902: The Patterson Episode
These scenes are characterized by the bitter cold and by Benjy's being told to keep his hands in his pockets, but mainly by the reference to the names of Mr. or Mrs. Patterson. The scenes again do not appear in any chronological order, and readers might better understand Faulkner's technique if they will observe that the last line of Scene 2 is almost identical to the first line of Scene 9. The chronological order of this episode is as follows: Scenes 3, 5, 2, 9, 10, 46.
IV. 1905-10: Caddy's Period of Sexuality
The four years involved in this section include Benjy's first discovery of Caddy's using perfume to the final discovery four years later of Caddy's loss of virginity. The four principal scenes in this period of sexuality are connected by Benjy's sensory impression that either Caddy smelled like trees or, due to some promiscuous act, that Caddy did not smell like trees. Also running through each scene is the image of Benjy trying to force Caddy into the bathroom, where Caddy can wash away her sins.
The four scenes are subdivided as follows: Caddy and the perfume (1905): Scene 44; Benjy and Caddy at bedtime (1908): Scenes 45 and 47; Benjy, Caddy, and Charlie in the swing (1908-09): Scenes 50, 52, 54; and Caddy's loss of her virginity (about 1909): Scenes 81 and 83.
V. 1910 (April): Caddy's Wedding
The principal images are those of the "sassprilluh" (champagne) drinking, causing distorted and confusing images of Caddy in her white veil, and of Caddy's failure to smell like trees. The scenes in chronological order are as follows: Scenes 37, 39, 41, 43, 18.
VI. 1910 (May): Benjy's Castration
The principal image is that of Benjy standing at the iron gate waiting for Caddy. In chronological order, the scenes are 56, 57, 59, 58.
VII. 1910 (and later): Scenes Connected with Death
The principal images are those of dogs howling, of Benjy's being awakened and of his moaning, and of various bad luck signs about the Compson environs. These scenes may be further subdivided: Quentin's suicide (1910): Scenes 22 and 21; Mr. Compson's death (1912): Scenes 34, 33, 23, 25, 24, 20, 26; first anniversary of Mr. Compson's death (1913): Scene 7; and Roskus' death (sometime later): Scenes 29 and 31.
VIII. 1928: The Present
The presence of Luster identifies all these scenes, and they progress in chronological order. They are: Scenes 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 16, 27, 35, 49, 51, 53, 55, 60, 62, 64, 66, 73, 75, 77, 79, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 102, 104.
