This graph (contributed by Joel Deshaye) represents time in three different dimensions. First, there is the sequence of four sections in the novel - the narrative time or récit (shown in green). Second, there is the chronology, l'histoire (shown in orange), beginning with the earliest recollected date in the novel - Damuddy's death in 1898. These two dimensions show how the conventional view of linear time can be disrupted by a fictional narrative. Third, there is a representation of the proportion of memories of and flashbacks to the past in each section (shown in blue). This last dimension shows how the novel progresses from an emphasis on the past toward an emphasis on the present. There is no future: as Dilsey says, "I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin."

The blue proportional line does not discriminate between two very different processes: the flashback and the memory. For instance, there are no memories per se in Benjy's section; instead there is a collection of vivid flashbacks linked to each other by association. Quentin's psychology is very different, however, and in his section he narrates the present, his memories, and his flashbacks. The intervals of remembered time in his narration are made more difficult to categorize because some of his memories are expository and some are so emotionally charged that they are nearly relived memories or flashbacks.