Chapter 21 of The sound and the fury is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The sound and the fury is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth. Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening. “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said. “Sure, I know that. Maybe the change of weather broke it.”
Chapter 21 of The sound and the fury is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
coming down or downward
From this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
possessive form of “jason” — (Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
a quality that outshines the usual
From this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.”
In this reading “Maybe the change of weather broke it.””
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
terminate
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
lacking funds
From this reading Maybe the change of weather broke it.”
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading Maybe the change of weather broke it.”
rid of obstructions
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
coming down or downward
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
(Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
possessive form of “jason” — (Greek mythology) the husband of Medea and leader of the Argonauts who sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
a quality that outshines the usual
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
by chance
From this reading Maybe the change of weather broke it.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Maybe the change of weather broke it.”
in the near future
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
inflected form of “ring” — sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Sure, I know that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the diningroom Dilsey moved back and forth.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Sure, I know they didn’t break it,” Jason said.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading Maybe the change of weather broke it.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Presently she rang a small clear bell, then in the kitchen Luster heard Mrs Compson and Jason descending, and Jason’s voice, and he rolled his eyes whitely with listening.
Chapter 21 of The sound and the fury by William Faulkner holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 21 holds 421 sentences of The sound and the fury, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The sound and the fury by William Faulkner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 21 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The sound and the fury by William Faulkner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9292 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75170 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75170, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1859 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The sound and the fury section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The sound and the fury to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The sound and the fury, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
