Addie Bundren in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying
Woman is the source and sustainer of virtue and also a prime
source of evil. She can be either; because she is, as man is not,
always a little beyond good and evil. With her powerful natural
drive and her instinct for the concrete and personal, she does not
need to agonize over her decisions. There is no code for her to
master, no initiation for her to undergo. For this reason she has
access to a wisdom which is veiled from man; and man’s codes,
good or bad, are always, in their formal abstraction, a little absurd
in her eyes . . . 1
In William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying,” all roads lead to Addie. As Diane
York Blaine aptly observes: “The title informs us that this is her story.”2 It
is very surprising, then, that Addie, the center of the novel, was so slighted
by the lack of criticism regarding her from the first half of the century. The
reason for this is self-reflexively connected to Addie’s dilemma in the book.
Just as Addie is unable to define herself through anything but words that represent
the oppressive patriarchal society to which she is opposed, early criticism
only evaluated her in these terms, focusing less on Addie’s first person
narrative, and more on what other characters in the novel (the men) had to
say about her. However, the changing social and political tides of the 1960’s
and 1970’s gave rise to feminist criticism, which was at least partially able to
break out of the patriarchal infrastructure, and evaluate her under a new set
of values, giving new insight into her character, and thus, to the novel as a
whole.
There is a conspicuous lack of early criticism regarding Addi...
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...(Beyond) Sexual
Difference (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press) 1990, p. 154.
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25 Diana York Blaine, “The Abjection of Addie and Other Myths” Mississippi
Quarterly, vol.47, Summer 1994, p. 403.
26 Mark Hewson, “’My children were of me alone’: Maternal Influence in
Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying”, Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 53, Fall 2000, p.
551.
27 Doreen Fowler, “Matricide and the Mother’s Revenge” The Faulkner
Journal 4: (1-2), Fall 1988-Spring 1989, p. 113.
28 Jill Bergman “’This was the answer to it’: Sexuality and Maternity in As I
Lay Dying” Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 49, i. 3, Summer 1996, p. 393.
29 Mark Hewson, “’My children were of me alone’: Maternal Influence in As
I Lay Dying” Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 53, Fall 2000, p. 551.
30 Ibid, p. 553.
... to find your symbol” (p.49). This is very simular to the traditional novels where they have to go on a quest to find certain objects or defeat certain enemies, the only difference is who we are reading it from and the struggles to achieve this even if it takes a long time to prepare for the evil. With the balance of traditional and modern she was able to create a more deceptive antagonist who we all could relate to and communicate with at least one point in our lifetime.
...cters and event influences, helping them to develop their character by the end of the story.
William Faulkner loves to keep the reader guessing. One of his favorite narrative techniques is to hint at a topic and raise questions and then leave the reader dangling. We are left with a void which we can not fill. The questions that the reader is left with will eventually be answered, but the reader will find the answers before Faulkner comes out and states what is by then the obvious. A good example is in As I Lay Dying where understanding the significance of Jewel is a major part of understanding the story.
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, chronicles a family facing a series of trials in the wake of a traumatic event, Addie’s death. Faulkner first suggests that the journey to bury Addie, a wife and mother, is a way for her family to show her their final respect, yet each character’s real motivation in participating begins to emerge as the novel progresses. The motivations and circumstances present as an over-the-top dramatic tale, something that often times only appears on reality television. Through the use of Biblical allusions and religious contradictions, Faulkner presents a sarcastic tone mocking the backwardness of the journey and the Bundren family’s ethics. Faulkner chooses to use these stylistic devices to expose the impact of religious
Women throughout time have been compelled to cope with the remonstrances of motherhood along with society’s anticipations
In As I Lay Dying (1930), Faulkner creates the deceitful, insensitive character, Anse Bundren, who will do anything to get what he wants, even if it means stealing and injuring his own children, symbolizing the avarice and apathy that can result from a world of non education, poverty, and overall suffering.
... the book has to offer. She gives Montag a new outlook on life, simply by asking questions, and actually taking interest in his life.
... self-worth. She believes that there is a chance for her to change her future. She had to make certain sacrifices in order to discover her strength, true friendships and her self-worth. She sacrifices her love to preserve her self-worth. After realizing her marriage to Rochester cannot be lawful and will mean surrendering her sense of dignity and virtue, she leaves him. When Jane leaves Thornfield she says “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Bronte 336). In the end, she finds her happiness, as she is now with the man she loves, she preserves her self-worth without sacrificing her integrity.
When it comes to pregnancy, expectant mothers usually have a lot of questions and concerns. One such concern is alcohol consumption. Some people feel that it is okay while others are against the consumption. However those who drink take a huge risk that can result in what is referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). This umbrella term is used to describe the range of damage from alcohol exposure to a fetus. The characteristics, diagnosis, and the mother are all important factors to look at when trying to understand these birth defects.
A mother who drinks while she is pregnant stands a high risk of harming their unborn child because the alcohol passes through her blood to her baby, and that can harm the development of the baby’s cells. This is most likely to harm the baby’s brain and spinal cord. Many of the common effects of a child suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is: distinctive facial features, growth problems making them smaller than the average child, and learning and behavior problems.
Characterization: Her character becomes very confident and self-forgiving as shown from this passage. What she used to do was only because she was trying to recover from her deceased husband.
All in all, Jeannette’s character development through the course of the novel is immense. Her personality begins to ripen, and she starts to discover the truth about her life and family. Numerous instances occurred in the novel; firstly she discovers the truth about her parents and realizes that she misperceived their personalities. To continue, Jeannette begins to learn a bit more about the issues the Walls face. The life of adventure began to seem dangerous and unstable. Lastly Jeannette starts to develop her own personality and focus on her future. She never had these thoughts previously; she always concerned herself with the dilemmas of others. Throughout Jeannette develops tremendously, she begins to see the world through her own eyes and no longer has a barrier of youth to protect her.
Multiple studies have found that FAS is the single most common cause of mental retardation that is completely preventable. When alcohol is consumed during pregnancy it acts as a teratogen, which means it is a substance that interferes with growth and development, and is capable of causing birth defects such as hearing loss, vision loss, reduced cognitive ability, and motor skill deficiencies. Flattened mid-face, short nose and a thinner upper lip are also common physical abnormalities (Tangient LLC, 2014). When consumed, alcohol from the mother’s bloodstream crosses easily into the fetal bloodstream. Because of their size, the unborn baby has a lower capability to metabolize the alcohol, thus it remains in its system for a longer period of time and can result in...
In 2004, the term “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders” was agreed upon by a group of national experts to be used as an umbrella term to encompass all the disorders caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. When signs of brain damage appear following fetal alcohol exposure in the absence of other indications of FAS, the conditio...
Block, L. and T. Kramer. 2009. The effect of superstitious beliefs on performance expectations. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 37(2):161-169. SpringerLink. http://www.springerlink.com/ (assessed February 22, 2011).