William Faulkner - "The Sound and The Fury"

The innocence of the human mind and soul are all relative to the level of understanding we have of this world. While on the other hand, those who are wily, street-smart and crafty are those who are experienced; those who know what makes a human being function, what the ultimate desire of man is and know how to obtain and use this desire for their own benefit.
Benjy, the thirty-three year old mentally disabled man in William Faulkner's The Sound and Fury, is perhaps the most innocent and harmless person in the book. His mind and heart are like that of a young child's; he has the utmost devotion to his sister, Caddy, and it is his innocence which prohibits him from understanding what goes on around him and in the lives of those who he lives with. His devious brother, Jason, who has a total disregard for the emotions of everyone, being capable of only feeling anger himself, is the head of the household and uses his position to torture and inflict pain upon every member of the household. …