Apparently, given the confusing format of the first chapter, it is clear that Benjy has no perception of time whatsoever. He doesn't realize that events occur at different times, but rather thins that they all occur in the present. This is interesting, for quite recently I've begun to notice a human tendency to want to pinpoint exactly when something occurred while telling a story, almost as if that would prove what happened. It goes somewhat like this:
Lunchtime Talker 1: Oh my god, remember when we went to dance camp and almost killed that cat?
Lunchtime Talker 2: Hahaha! Yeah!
Random Person Joining Into Conversation: What? Please explain...
Lunchtime Talker 1: Ok, I think it was like two summers ago...
Lunchtime Talker 2: Yeah, it TOTALLY was, because I was going into sophomore year.
Lunchtime Talker 1: Yeah, so on the second to last night I think...
Lunchtime Talker 2: NO! I'm pretty sure it was the last night, because Jenn and Sam got caught sneaking out, remember?
Random Person: (I don't care when it happened, just tell the story...)
Lunchtime Talker 1: Oh, true that! Ok, so it was like, right after dinner, right?
Lunchtime Talker 2: I think so...well, it was definitely before the movie, because remember how awkward that was, sitting in a room with Stephanie after she almost had to take her cat to the emergency room?
Random Person: (&@#%$! i just want to hear the damn story)
Lunchtime Talker 1: Yeah, so like 7:39, eastern standard time, right?
Random Person: Peace out.
Though the above dialogue is a bit extreme, there is no doubt in that knowing when something happened tends to legitimize an occurrence. Benjy obviously has inclination to let the readers know when something happened, for time is far beyond his comprehension. This almost causes us to question whether or not he is dillusional, that is, until we read the following narrations from more "reliable" narrators. Benjy's relationship with time and events causes us to rely on these following chapters in order to understand the family's story.
But what does this all mean if the family's story doesn't have any significance whatsoever? Hmmm...
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Alexa
This: But what does this all mean if the family's story doesn't have any significance whatsoever? Hmmm... is an interesting question. I agree with you that it time gives meaning to things. Well, in the way that we measure things it does. Here is what I mean. Taking your fictitious conversation as an example what time does is that it creates a context for the event - the near killing of the cat. Time here puts the two people in a specific place, but this doesn't mean that the two share the same interpretation/memory of that context. Camp is camp but the memory of camp is not necessarily the same for both people. So, perhaps that is Quentin's problem. By destroying the watch I think that Quentin is trying to alter his memory of the past. But he is too conscious of the world around him that he cannot ignore the other markers of time: his shadow, the chiming of the bells, the watches in the store window, etc.
In your first post you talked about family = sacrifice. As a new father I have to agree, but there is a difference between willing sacrificing for your family, and doing so in ways that impacts your self-worth. The latter is far more destructive.
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