Hey, it's Boomdaddy again! After reading the first chapter in The Sound and the Fury, it is very eye opening as to how Faulkner writes. He starts the novel with a very difficult chapter to read, told from the view of the mentally challenged Benjy. I think he begins with this very difficult chapter, full of flashbacks and syntax errors, to prepare the reader for the rest of the book as the book seems to be written similarly (stream of consciousness) throughout but with different narrators. I think Faulkner used the mentally challenged character to exaggerate his writing technique in the novel.

In the novel, Benjy seems to be almost like the bastard child of the Compson household. Most people in the household, beside Caddy and Luster, cannot stand his presence. They all see as good-for-nothing and a burden. Jason even wants to send him off to an insane asylum after Mrs. Compson dies. 

I think the date of April 7, 1928, just before Easter, and his age of 33, show that Benjy is representative of Jesus Christ. There are many similarities between Jesus and Benjy. They share similar traits and roles within the family/society. Benjy wants to maintain innocence among the characters, especially Caddy, as he gets upset when she is with a man. He also even breaks Miss Quentin as she was kissing the man with the red tie. This relates to Jesus wanting everyone to be moral, good people. Benjy is also the outcast of the family similar to how Jesus was outcast in Jerusalem and crucified. This might even be foreshadowing of Benjy's fate. 

Benjy has a very unique perspective of the world and of his family. He loves his family, yet he seems unable to grasp that most of his family despises him. He only sees the good in the people around him. His flashbacks demonstrate too that he is quite naive but caring toward his family, especially Caddy, and his home in the South. They seem to have a special bond unlike anyone else in the household. She is one of the only people who respects him as a human being. She seems to represent a sort of Mary/disciple character that takes cares of Benjy, even furthering Benjy's symbolism of Jesus.