Early in the book, Faulkner Throughout the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, the reader views Jewel as the most aggressive of Addie Bundren’s children. He is constantly arguing with his brothers, sister and father as they make their journey to Jefferson to bury his mother Addie, and he nearly gets in a knife fight when they reach town. Because of his angry responses and bad language it can be hard to recognize the significant impact Jewel has on his family. Jewel is courageous and sacrifices for his family even if the other Bundrens do not acknowledge or honor him for his actions. Jewel may not the most balanced son in the world, but neither are his siblings, and he shows throughout the forty-mile trip to his mother’s hometown of Jefferson that he wants to honor his mother’s wishes. Addie wanted to be buried in Jefferson, and without Jewel this would not have happened. In terms of his actions, Jewel shows that he loved his mother the most out of all her children. Cora argues that Jewel is the worst of the Bundren children though Addie also treated him as her favorite: Not that Jewel, the one she labored so to bear and coddled and petted so and him flinging into tantrums or sulking spells, inventing devilment to devil her until I would have frailed him time and time. Not to him to come and tell her goodbye. Not to miss a chance to make that extra three dollars at the price of his mother’s goodbye kiss. A Bundren through and through, loving nobody, caring for nothing except how to get something with the least amount of work. (22) This description of Jewel though is not true, and John Lowe states that “A good rule to follow with Cora as narrator is to believe exactly the opposite of what she says”(9) C... ... middle of paper ... ...do anything for his mother. Darl sets the barn on fire, and it burns wildly. Jewel risks his life and runs into the burning barn to save his mother. Sparks rain down on him and on the coffin. Jewel makes it out of the barn with the coffin but his back is burned. Still he is willing to risk his life to fulfill the promise to Addie even as his brother Darl tries to break it. Works Cited Faulkner, William. As I lay Dying. First Vintage International Edition. Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada Limited, 1990. Print. Hewson, Marc. ""My children were of me alone": Maternal Influence in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying." Mississippi Quarterly 53.4 (2000): n. pag. Literature Resource Center. Web. 17 Apr 2011. Lowe, John. "The Fraternal Fury of the Falkners and the Bundrens." Mississippi Quarterly 54.4 (2001): n. pag. Literature Resource Center. Web. 17 Apr 2011.
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.
Jewel, Addie's second favorite next to Cash, seems to be cursed by his callous mother.
In As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner comments on how death affects individuals differently and how sanity is not defined by a mental state but rather by a community of people. Varying viewpoints in narratives, allow the reader to gain insight into the character's thoughts. However, he uses perspectives outside of the Bundren family in order for the reader to create some sort of truth.
... 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.
“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.
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. 1930. Edited by Noel Polk. New York: Vintage, 1985. Print.
One of the main themes in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is the concept of isolation and loneliness of not just the characters in the book, but humanity itself. Each character is essentially isolated from all the others, as the plot is told through each of the characters’ perspectives through stream of consciousness. As a result of Faulkner’s use of multiple narratives, the reader does not attain an objective third person viewpoint of everything that occurs. The closest the reader gets to an omniscient narrator is Darl Bundren as he is able to relate events that occur while not having been present at the time. Although the Bundrens live together as well as make the journey to Jefferson, it is through their inherent isolation and loneliness that they cannot effectively communicate with each other which ultimately leads to Darl’s fateful actions.
Wadlington, Warwick. As I Lay Dying: Stories out of Stories. New York: Maxwell MacMillan International, 1992.
The article published in the Journal of Marriage and Family titled Mothers’ Differentiation and Depressive Symptoms Among Adult Children attributes many of the traits of Darl and Jewel to their mother’s unequal treatment of them. The article suggest both boys suffer extreme long-term negative effects. Jewel suffers from an inability to form relationships and depression, while Darl suffers from a need to feel special and a severe sibling rivalry. The effects of Addie’s unequal treatment of the boys plays a pivotal role in the plot of the novel.
Jewel, Addie's son by Whitfield, is 18 years old. Like Pearl, the product of Hester Prynne's adulterous affair in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, Jewel's name is a symbol of the value his mother places on him. The favoritism that Addie showed him is responsible for the antagonism between him and Darl. Jewel personifies Addie's preference for experience over words. He is always in motion. He expresses himself best through actions. When he verbalizes his love for Addie- in his single monologue- he does so with a violent fantasy about hurling down stones on outsiders. Elsewhere, he expresses his love for her through deeds, not words.
In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying the Bundren family must travel to Jefferson in order to fulfill their late mother's final wish. The titular character of Jewel is greatly affected by the death of his beloved mother due to the unexpected development it thrust him into. By the end of the novel Jewel gains emotional independence, and finally relieves himself of his internal violence caused by the psychological turmoil relating to his love for Addie by realizing that life is nothing more than suffering, and ultimate relief is derived from death. This evident from Jewels relationship with Addie, and the subsequent events following his mother’s death.
Students are often taught to look deeper into things, and to question, not only themselves, but everything around them that they formerly called truth. With a book written in the way that As I Lay Dying was written, there is no room for doubt or pondering. Each character, though differing in overall personality, provides the reader with the exact emotion intended by Faulkner. At one point in the book a doctor (Peabody) comes to see Addie Bundren before she passes away. The father (Anse) had waited much too long before calling him and it was obvious that nothing could be done for her. Upon viewing her though, he observes that, “Her eyes look like lamps blaring up just before the oil is gone” (45). The way this remark is stated is almost insensitive, while at the same time provoking a feeling of loss from the reader as if they are the ones dealing with the death. The imagery provided is of a scene that anyone could imagine, and that relates to all. It is a sharp burst of reality for the reader, as they imagine how the same type of event would unfold in front of them personally. Another instance where the bluntness provided by Faulkner can be noted is after the death of Addie, when
Death in a family seizes control over the emotional and physical health of the surviving family. Facing death is difficult, but it cannot be ignored. The trauma may be an opportunity to grow from the experience, if it is talked about and discussed and worked through with the support of others; or it may throw a family off course, misdirecting their actions or leaving them altogether emotionally stagnant. Two families confront death differently in William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily,” in which a well-respected woman degenerates into a reclusive spinster after the death of her father, and in Brady Udall’s “The Wig,” a flash-fiction story about a son who wears a discarded wig that resembles the hair of his dead mother. These two stories offer very different portraits of families who try to recover after the death of a parent -- in Udall’s story, the mom; and in Faulkner’s, the father -- yet each story, through imagery, metaphor, symbolism, and their climaxes, comment similarly on the importance of communication after a devastating loss such as death.
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.
Many mothers, regardless of age or situation, share sympathetic life ideals. They all share the common goal of raising their children wholesome; they want to create an environment of love, nurture, and support for their children as well. A mother’s effort to implant good values in her children is perpetual; they remain optimistic and hope that their children would eventually become prosperous. However, some women were not fit to be mothers. Thus, two different roles of a mother are portrayed in As I Lay Dying written by William Faulkner. Faulkner uses the literary technique of first person narrative with alternating perspectives. By doing so, Faulkner adds authenticity and the ability to relate (for some) to the two characters Addie Bundren and Cora Tull. The first person narrative acts as an important literary technique because it allows the reader to experience the opposing views of Addie and Cora; they are both mothers who act as foils to each other because of their diverse opinions and outlooks on motherhood, religion and life.