The novel “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner follows a family who is on a journey to bury their recently deceased mother, in the nearby town of Jefferson. The novel is told from the perspective of monologues, told by each of the characters encountered throughout the story. Specifically, Darl Bundren seems to be the protagonist character in this novel. Darl is the second oldest of the Bundren children and seems to be isolated from the rest of the family. As the novella progresses the reader is made aware of changes in Darl’s attitude and also the reasons for why he may be changing this particular way. Darl is misunderstood by his family and by the other characters around him.
Darl Bundren loves his mother Addie Bundren, and it is apparent that the death of her creates internal turmoil for Darl. It isn’t necessarily the death of Addie that brings stress to Darl, but it is the death that makes Darl come to a realization that Addie favored her son Jewel over the rest of the Bundren children, including himself. In a section of the novel where Cora Tull is having a conversation with Addie, she recalls Addie referring to Jewel as “My cross and he will be my salvation. He will save me from the water and from the fire” (1755). Darl is a very intelligent character who tends to stay hushed throughout the novel and just observes and understands the environment around him. His intelligence and quiet behavior lead him to thinking to himself more and dwelling on such thoughts like Jewel being the favorite son. These tears Darl up inside, creating a stress on Darl which eventually transforms Darl into a cruel older brother to Jewel.
Consequently Darl already has his suspicions of Jewel and whether or not he is truly his broth...
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...reason for Darl’s ability to have this “sixth sense” is because Darl could be used as the voice of the author William Faulkner as a way to describe the most detail to the reader about the Bundren household.
It is clear to the reader that Darl’s attitudes and the reasons behind his actions change in throughout the novella. Darl is a powerful character, and is very intelligent, which also leads to a flaw of his. He acts in a particular way but as we digress into the mind of Darl we can see that he may be acting in a certain way not only because he is insane. Darl is under a great amount of stress with the passing of his mother, dealing with a dysfunctional family, or his potential shell shock from being in the war.
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. "As I Lay Dying." American Literature between the Wars 1914-1945. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003. 1693-790. Print.
For instance, Anse’s laziness manifests in just the way Darl describes him; he doesn’t ever seem to sweat, and this seems to encompass his entire character. Anse’s idleness stretches outside of just working and into his mannerisms as a father. If Anse was truly a good fatherly man then it would be apparent through his own children - it’s not. That much is obvious through the way the children each seem removed from each other, through Darl’s relentless cruel teasing and their overall apathy toward one another. After all, at the end of the novel the children hardly raise a protest at the idea of Darl going to an insane asylum, watching indifferently from behind half-eaten bananas. What really makes Anse such a horrid character is his own hypocrisy. He constantly calls out the family for disrespecting Addie when he is really the one who disrespects her. This irony continues when he justifies everything he does as being ordained by God when all evidence points to the contrary. When Cash breaks his leg Anse would rather dump cement onto it than buy a new one, all the while lamenting his own bad luck and the fact that God would have this all happen to him. Also, the fact that each of the children keep such serious secrets draws attention to the fact that they hold no trust to each other, splintering apart without their mother because,
Jewel Bundren is the 3rd son of Addie, and he is also the bastard child of Addie and minister Whitfield. In Addie’s monologue, she expresses that after giving birth to Cash and Darl, she felt unsatisfied with her life. She states “I knew that it had been, not that my aloneness had to be violated over and over each day, but that it had never been violated until Cash came” (Faulkner 172). She felt no romantic connection to Anse, which is when she began the brief affair with minister Whitfield. As a result, she got pregnant and gave birth to Jewel, knowing that Whitfield was his paternal father. After Jewel, she ...
Yoknapatawpha County is a fictional county made up by William Faulkner in which As I Lay Dying takes place in; this is now the third novel to take place here. As I Lay Dying was one of the last novels written in the 1920’s by William Faulkner and within fifty-nine chapters, this novel features a unique narration of fifteen different first person narrators. Each chapter is written from that particular character’s perspective telling their version of what is happening in the novel, making this not only an interesting take on narration but a compelling read as well. Faulkner uses the characters use of language to help us identify and see glimpses into the lives of the Bundren family; through this we can understand the revenge and secrets from within the characters that is blind to the most if not all-remaining characters within the novel.
William Faulkner, a Nobel Prize winning author, wrote the novel "As I Lay Dying" in six weeks without changing a word. Considering the story's intricate plot, not changing a single word seems like it would take a literary genius to complete. Many people agree that Faulkner could very well be a genius due to the organization of this story. Faulkner uses fifteen different characters to narrate and allow the reader to analyze each of their point of views. Through the confessions of each character, the reader is able to form his or her opinion about different characters and issues. Since some narrators are unreliable for different reasons, it could be confusing to form opinions. One character that is easily understood is Dewey Dell Bundren. She is the only daughter in the Bundren family and ends up being the only woman in the family. "As I Lay Dying", the story of a family's journey to bury their mother and wife, is also the story of Dewey Dell's journey toward maturity. Along their journey to bury their mother, the characters, like Dewey Dell, seem to evolve through their encounters with other people. Faulkner depicts Dewey Dell as a very monotonous person in the beginning of the book. In the beginning, Dewey Dell is seen fanning her mother, picking cotton, or milking cows. However, towards the end of the book, her repetitiveness is lost. Towards the end of the novel, Faulkner specifically shows Dewey Dell in numerous situations becoming a mature individual.
In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Moseley provides the reader an escape from the delusional world of the Bundrens and a glimpse of society, as it should be. Appearing only once in the novel, the elderly pharmacist is essential in emphasizing Faulkner's theme of moral values over self-seeking voracity in that he defends what he knows is right at all costs. Moseley is introduced in the small town of Mottson, where Dewey Dell wanders into his drugstore store with ten dollars from Lafe, and the intention of eliminating "the female trouble." (200) After much confusion, it is made clear that Dewey Dell wants an abortion, treatment that Moseley repeatedly refuses, despite her persistency. Discouraged, Dewey Dell eventually leaves, after a stern lecture from Moseley and advice to take the money and buy a marriage license. Moseley's morals, contrasting to the other characters' in the novel, may provide support for Faulkner's religious beliefs while adding a sense of righteousness to a world of iniquity.
“God’s will be done, now I can get teeth,” Anse says after Addie’s death. To some people, it may seem weird that someone wants new teeth, and to others, it might make them wonder if he’s sad about his wife’s death. Anse Bundren, a middle-aged man, has a reputation of being a lazy and selfish person. But how does that play a role in As I Lay Dying? How has Anse’s relationship with his family, his wife, and himself affect the outcome of the story? Another thing about Anse is his view of Addie’s death. How has Anse Bundren become dead in the story, but is really still alive?
Darl, the second child of Anse and Addie Bundren is the most prolific voice in the novel As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner. Darl Bundren, the next eldest of the Bundren children, delivers the largest number of interior monologues in the novel. An extremely sensitive and articulate young man, he is heartbroken by the death of his mother and the plight of his family's burial journey. Darl seemed to possess a gift of clairvoyance, which allowed him to narrate; for instance, the scene of Addie's death. Even though he and Jewel were away at the time. Similarly, he knew Dewey Dell was pregnant because he had seen her with Lafe, and he also knew that Jewel was illegitimate. Nevertheless, he was regarded as strange. Cora Tull says, he was "the one that folks says is queer, lazy, pottering about the place no better than Anse." Out of jealousy, he constantly taunted Jewel, Addie's favorite child. Except for Jewel, he alone among the Bundrens had no hidden motive for wanting to go to Jefferson.
A horrific aspect of life that many people have a difficult time dealing with is death. The thought of death scares people because as humans we do not have a way to comprehend something that we cannot test, see or even have a grasp of. When a person loses a loved one they get scared by this reality of that they do not know where they are going and when they make it there how will it be for them. In William Faulkner's book, As I Lay Dying, we go through the process at which a family loses a “loved” one and we follow the family all the way until the deceased, Addie Burden, is buried in Jefferson. In As I Lay Dying you see the steps of grieving are different for many people and some of the people will come out destroyed and others without a scratch. The character Cash goes through a process of grief, odd to most in his way of grief we do not see pain because of the pressure he puts on himself to finish the journey for the family. Cash’s brother, Jewel, seems to snap from the pain of losing his mother and he let the pain ingulf his life. Finally, the last
A major transition occurs in the story when Darl is able to accurately describe his mother’s death, despite the fact that he and Jewel were miles away when the event actually took place. This gives the other characters a clear understanding of just what Darl’s powers entail. As a result, his family alienates him completely, as they do not want to risk Darl being a constant intrusion on their personal lives. One could argue that this fear is the true reason why the family chose to commit Darl to a psychiatric asylum, rather than his act of arson in burning down the barn.
“As I Lay Dying, read as the dramatic confrontation of words and actions, presents Faulkner’s allegory of the limits of talent” (Jacobi). William Faulkner uses many different themes that make this novel a great book. Faulkner shows his talent by uses different scenarios, which makes the book not only comedic but informational on the human mind. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is a great book that illustrates great themes and examples. Faulkner illustrates different character and theme dynamics throughout the entire novel, which makes the book a humorous yet emotional roller coaster. Faulkner illustrates the sense of identity, alienation, and the results of physical and mental death to show what he thinks of the human mind.
Is the love hate relationship between Jewel and his horse similar to the relationship between Jewel and Addie? Cora tells us that Addie favored Jewel, but Addie says that she had two children that were hers before Jewel is born, and then she says, “I gave Anse Dewy 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”(176). Who are the three she is referring to?
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. 1930. Edited by Noel Polk. New York: Vintage, 1985. Print.
Faulkner’s title phrase “As I Lay Dying” solicits many suspicions from potential readers of the novel. The phrase itself is not traditionally grammatical because it is not able to stand by itself. As a dependent clause, the phrase “As I Lay Dying” would typically serve as a noun, adjective, or adverb within the sentence and then be linked with a main clause. The absence of a main clause in the title causes the reader to speculate about the forthcoming plot of the novel.
... there is a direct correlation between Jewel's treatment of his horse and his ambitions. He is opposed to the family sitting by the bed and watching Addie die and cash sawing away at Anse' coffin. But at the same time he tells Darl to shut up when Darl raises an objection to the three dollar trip Addie tells them to make.
He shows no meaningful emotion about his mother’s death or the fact that she compared him to such a high being. Jewel’s segment is quick and does not provide the audience with too much insight or lie detector analysis. This correctly portrays Jewel’s mysterious sense because Faulkner also chooses to have most of Jewel’s character development narrated through another character’s point of view. The sense of mystery surrounds Jewel because it is left for the reader to determine if he is a Christ figure like Addie as claims “he is my cross and he will be my salvation. He will save me from the water and from the fire. Even though I have laid down my life, he will save me,” (Faulkner, 168). Ironically, in death, Jewel is Addie’s savior in both the ways she predicted. When the family is crossing the river after the flood, Jewel helps retrieve the coffin from the water. When Darl sets the barn on fire, Jewel runs in to the fire to save the coffin. Addie’s greatest sin ends up being her savior after she has laid down her life. However, parallel to this, North claims that Faulkner intends for Jewel to be an inverted Christ figure, he believes “instead of a divine birth, Jewel is born illegitimate. He is also, ironically, born of a “holy” father. He is by far the angriest character in the book, and his