The novel As I Lay Dying (1930), by William Faulkner is based on the journey of the Bundren family across Yoknapatawpha County to Jefferson, Mississippi. They are on this trip to transport the body of the matriarch of the family, Addie Bundren, for burial. Addie lies dying as the novel’s start, hence the name of the book. Her wish is to be buried among her relatives in Jefferson, Mississippi. Once she dies and after her funeral service, the Bundrens start their trek to Jefferson. The trip is difficult due to storms, family drama, and injuries. Eventually they make it to the town of Jefferson and bury her. Despite her long marriage, Addie has dysfunctional relationships to every Bundren.
Addie is a former schoolteacher, so she knew from a
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During the chapter that Addie narrates, she says that, “I gave Anse Dewey Dell to negative Jewel. Then I gave him Vardaman to replace the child I had robbed him of. And now he has three children that are his and not mine. And then I could get ready to die.” (AILD 60). So right after she had him, she was just preparing to die. In her mind, her life was over with. Consequently, she never formed a relationship with her last two children because she only had them for Anse, not for herself. She already had all she needed and that was Jewel and Cash. It is actually kind of sad because all of the children loved their mother so very much, but she could never love them back because of her hatred of Anse. In the story, you can tell that Vardaman loves his ma, but since he is the youngest, he does not properly understand. He does not comprehend the fact that his mother is laying there dying, and once she actually dies, she is gone forever. After she passes, he transferred the pain of losing his mother onto the death of a fish that he had caught earlier that same day. In one of his sections, Vardman says, “My mother is a fish” (AILD 28). Since Vardaman is so young, he never got to spend a long period of time with Addie, hence they never formed a bond …show more content…
It is told from fifteen different points of view and not told in chronological order so you can see how it might be confusing to some. However, how Faulkner tells the story from different character’s minds really helps the reader learn about each character. It shows how the character is in their own mind and how they feel about losing Mrs. Bundren. Each and every person has a different reaction to the situation that they are in. Some of the characters only narrate a few chapters but some narrate several, such as Darl. Darl narrates the majority of the novel. Even though the book is based around Addie Bundren’s death and burial, she only narrates only two chapters. It is a weird way to style a story of a trip, but it really helps the analysis of each family member. Without this form of writing, a reader would never be able to see how the different people truly felt about
Darl is a quiet and intellectual person whose goal is to understand life and death. Jewel is a very outwardly emotional person and is a man of action. While they have very contrasting perspectives on the situation they are in, they are both vital to the development of the story and helping the reader
I believe the Bundrens are now in Jefferson burying Addie, according to her wishes. As I continue on the road to Jefferson, I hopefully run into them and catch them at the right time. With His will behind me to the fullest strength, I can repair this already broken family and I can finally achieve the clearance of my mind that I have been desiring for so many years. The forgiveness that I thought that was mine was stripped by Him a few days after I thought that
“Although I am fifteen feet ahead of him, anyone watching us from the cotton house can see the jewel's frayed and broken straw hat a full head above my own” (3). Jewel and Darl do not seem to have the best connection and relationship with each other. Therefore, Jewel is proceeding to be more independent and a man who wants to complete things on his own. However, Darl is very self-reflective and understands himself deeply. Darls descriptions of life and other characters have a way of grabbing a reader's attention.
Darl is an important part of As I Lay Dying, and it is clear his participation in the story is a key element in the story’s entertainment as well as literary value. Darl’s madness brings out qualities of the other characters that wouldn’t be noticeable otherwise, and he brings the story more complexity and depth through his clairvoyant
In the novel, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner shapes the plot based on the looming presence of the absentee protagonist, Addie Bundren. The reader’s knowledge of Addie accumulates through the monologues of other characters, so the reader gains only bits and pieces of Addie’s character. However, after her death, the reader obtains a better understanding of Addie’s voice through her own monologue and as a result, is characterized as cold and selfish. Through the use of similes and interior monologue, Faulkner shows Addie’s tendency to detach herself from the people in her life, which relates to the novel’s overall theme of solitude as Addie adheres to her father’s philosophy that the reason for living is no more than “to get ready to stay dead a long time” (169).
Religion in As I Lay Dying The time and setting during which the novel was written are very important for understanding William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. This novel was written in 1930 Mississippi; during this time Mississippi was very religious. Unsurprisingly, Christianity and religion also plays a big role in As I Lay Dying particularly through imagery and symbolism that connects different characters to religious figures, including Jesus Christ.
The narrative, As I Lay Dying, develops a reading of the Bundren family. Each of the family members including the mother that is dead, narrate about themselves in relevance to the entire family. By writing about relatable problems for the audience to relate to, Faulkner discusses the loss of the mother, Addie. Dealing with a significant family loss, Anse, already justifies that Faulkner is fulfilling his own vision of the writer’s duty. The author reflects on Addie, who is the mother in the entire story and
The family's treacherous journey to Jefferson is filled with danger and excitement, yet Faulkner gives many doses of humor throughout the novel. The characters employ themselves in outrageous acts of irony, from Addie's rejection of her most devoted son, to Anse's concern with his false teeth instead of Addie's death, to Vardaman's calling his mother a fish. This irony would not have been evident if it were not for Faulkner's use of multiple narrators. Faulkner was enchanted by Freudian theories of psychology when he wrote this novel, and recounting the story through various perspectives allows the reader to understand each character's reaction. This enhanced the dark humor throughout the novel because the reader can see into each family member's thoughts on her death.
Darl’s sense of reality is not real, he is living in a world where he believes he knows what is going on at times he is not even around. The Bundren family does not put into perspective how delusional Darl is until it is too
The value of romance and mortality resembles the theme of obsession, and is shown throughout the plots, and the characters in, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Birth Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Firstly, Faulkner illustrates obsession of romance through mortality. In addition, Emily’s obsessive illness of love over death it often seen throughout the plot. Lastly, Hawthorne demonstrates the obsession of mortality thorough romance, through the main protagonist, Aylmer in “The Birth Mark.” To compare, Emily and Aylmer believe their obsessive consequences was from the heart, despite their obsessive disorders.
In Sanity Insanity takes on different forms. Some harm themselves or are a danger to others. Darl Bundren, however, is declared insane because he thinks differently from his family. Darl serves as the primary narrator in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, a story of one dysfunctional family’s journey through the Mississippi countryside to the town of Jefferson to bury their matriarch.
In the novel, As I lay dying by William Faulkner, the Bundren family go through a mental journey of loss and death of their mother later to go on a physical journey to bury their mother. To the conclusion of any novel, many have an opinion on what is much happy or not a happy ending. In the case of the ending to As I lay dying, include no real burial of how the mother wanted, which was the point of the physical journey in the first place, secrets comes out, one of the five the siblings gets taken away, and many are left with unfinished business, was not a happy at all for most of the characters. The novel is narrated by 15 characters that are not all part of the Bundren family but in some way connected.
William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying follows the Bundren family on a journey while it explores the subject of heroism and discusses its subjectivity. The family travels on an expedition to bury Addie, the deceased mother of the protagonist, Darl Bundren, and his siblings. As days continue to pass, however, the journey seemed interminable. During the adventure, the family takes a stop at Gillespie’s barn for the evening. While they rest Darl sets the barn, in which the coffin sits, ablaze.
While Emily is alive the story tells the readers about how the world around Emily is changing and evolving but she refuses to keep up with the new ways. For example, in the story it talks about the town and receiving mail. The story says, “Emily refused to let them fasten metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox.” (#) The town can see what lengths Emily went through to remain isolated from the changing world. If Faulkner had put the story in Emily’s point of view it wouldn’t have the same
Faulkner uses the non-chronological technique to keeps the readers interested and paying attention to any details about Emily’s life. Her life was told in an almost backward sense.