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The novel is divided into four fragmented chapters, each told from a different narrator's perspective, using stream-of-consciousness techniques to depict the loss of time, honor, and family ties.

The first chapter (April 7, 1928) is led by Benjy Compson, a 33-year-old mentally retarded son (previously castrated due to an incident), whose nonlinear consciousness mixes memories from 1898 to 1928, focusing on the loss of his mother's love and his incestuous relationship with his sister Caddy. Italics mark the transitions between past and present, creating a chaotic "noise" of emotional chaos.

The second chapter (June 2, 1910) belongs to Quentin, a Harvard student obsessed with the loss of his sister Caddy's virginity (who has married and divorced, symbolizing the decline of the family). His thoughts, full of symbols (a clock without hands, water), culminate in his suicide in a river, reflecting his obsession with purity and time.

Chapter 3 (April 6, 1928) describes Jason, the cruelest brother, a cynical cotton merchant who abuses his niece Quentin (Caddy's daughter) and steals her money. His sarcastic voice reveals greed and hatred for the changes in the South.

Chapter 4 (Easter 1928) follows in the third person the faithful black maid Dilsey, whose deep faith and patience Faulkner contrasts with white decadence. She symbolizes the coming hope in the midst of disintegration.

The family's alcoholic father Jason III and hypochondriac mother destroy the inheritance: the estate is sold, Caddy runs away, the brothers languish in isolation. The novel criticizes the Southern myth of glory, exploring race, class, and time through fragmented narrative. Faulkner's style—nonlinear, introspective—demands multiple readings, but reveals the universal tragedy of loss.