While it is the at the core of his style, Faulkner’s use of metaphor and simile are weird. The purpose of these elements of writing are to give the reader a quick, readily recognizable, usually visual, word or phrase that will explain a statement by the comparison: sharp as a razor, flat as a board, a body of steel, etc. But here’s what Faulkner does with simile:
“(…) and he said how he thought there was something about a man’s destiny (or about the man) that caused the destiny to shape itself to him like his clothes did, like the same coat that new might have fitted a thousand men, yet after one man has worn it for a while it fits no one else and you can till it anywhere you see it even if all you see is a sleeve or a lapel” p. 245
Quentin is recounting his father’s words of his grandfather’s conversation with Sutpen, and so, describing Sutpen’s thoughts on destiny. Comparing it to the fit of a coat is appropriate for Sutpen wore the same clothes for years and the explanation makes the reader make the connection between Sutpen’s opinion and his actions–though Faulkner takes care of doing that for us as well.
What intrigues me is that many find Faulkner so difficult to follow, yet here he is explaining even his similes.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology