While Quentin is riding with the Blands, he remembers all the episodes involving Caddy and Dalton Ames. In Quentin's futile encounters with Dalton Ames in the past and with Gerald Bland in the present (pp. 158-68), we see that everything Quentin attempts to do results in failure. Quentin is disturbed by the response of both men when he asks whether either of them has a sister, but he is too weak to handle Dalton Ames and is soundly beaten by Gerald. Gerald's beating is the final indignity of the day. Now Quentin is ready for his final act of suicide.
As Quentin prepares for his suicide (pp. 169-79), the memories become more devastating and horrible. The neurotic mother, the bellowing brother, the fatalistic father, and the sinful sister all combine with Quentin's futile and ineffective attempts to restore order to make him realize that suicide is the only way in which he can escape from himself.
Faulkner ends the Quentin section on an ironic note. The fact that Quentin is so terribly concerned about the order of things in life is the main cause of his present dilemma. His attempts to put life in order have failed. As he goes to his suicide, he makes sure that all the little, insignificant aspects of his life are in order. Mr. Compson said earlier that man is incapable of tragedy. By the same token, man is also incapable of putting his whole life in order. Therefore, all that man can do before he commits suicide is to see that his hat and teeth are brushed.
