Discuss the major themes in the novel The Sound and the Fury

William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury centers on the tragic decline of the Compson family of Jefferson, Mississippi, in the early twentieth century. One overall theme of the novel is the corruption of traditional values of the American South. During the nineteenth century, chivalrous gentlemen and graceful, maternal women—both guided by strong Christian faith and family honor—constituted the traditional model for wealthy families. Following the Civil War and Restoration, many of these families experienced social and financial ruin, and this image of traditional Southern family life was fractured. Within the Compson family, Mr. Compson's alcoholism and cynicism pervert the ideal of a strong patriarch, just as Mrs. Compson's negligent parenting, self-pity, and hypochondria pervert the ideal of the graceful matriarch. Further, Caddy's promiscuity contradicts the ideal purity of the Southern lady and drives her brother Quentin insane over his obsessive desire to protect her honor.
The Sound and the Fury demonstrates the deleterious effects of pride and isolation on a family. Facing ruin and the loss of their honor, the Compson family implodes. Mrs. Compson isolates herself in her bedroom. Mr. Compson turns to alcohol to cope with his sense of loss. Quentin's fixation on his sister's promiscuity and his incestuous feelings for her drives him to suicide. Jason becomes an awful, greedy individual who steals from his own niece. The self-absorption of each member of the Compson family perverts the love that holds a healthy family together.