As I Lay Dying Body Paragraphs
Thesis: Throughout Addie’s death, the Bundrens begin to grasp at animals as symbols of themselves and their mother in order to create indirect connections and fill a hole their mother left.
Throughout Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying animals characterize and symbolize different characters in the story, revealing motives and feelings. Faulkner connects Dewey Dell to a cow, leading to several of Dewey Dell’s unsaid characteristics. One of the most obvious and popular characterizations in As I Lay Dying is Addie and a fish, initially perceived by Vardaman. Addie is one of the most controversial characters, both violent and loving, and is connected with a horse, which is an archetype of all these characteristics. Animals
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weave unseen connections between humans and personalities/motives that are usually not thought to relate. These character parallels are a way to show a characteristic that goes beyond humans, creating a new perspective for some characters, as well as a deeper meaning to seemingly shallow ones. One of the recurring symbols is the cow, which symbolizes various characteristics in Dewey Dell. Several incidences link cows to Dewey Dell. Cows represent growth and fertility and are also viewed as work animals. On page 60 Dewey Dell begins to talk to the cow: “You got to wait awhile then i'll tend to you.” In the beginning of this scene Dewey Dell ignores the cow. Dewey Dell’s behavior around the cow reflects the way her family treats her although she is important. She tends to be ignored by her parents and family. She is often taken for granted but does a lot for the family. Later in that same scene she makes a direct reference to the correlation of her and the cow “I said you don’t know what worry is, I don't know what worry is.” She expresses her frustration with her mother’s death and the role she is expected to take. Neither of them are able to find relief. The cow symbolizes the motherly role she is expected to take on in the family now that Addie has died. Later Vardaman also references a cow to talk about the pain and shame Dewey Dell is carrying on her shoulders with all of her problems. There are several other scenes in which a cow is used in figurative terms, on page 139 Tull talks to Cora about milk: “The more sweat the tighter the house...Like a jar of milk in the spring… Because you would rather have a milk that will sour than to have milk that won’t, because you are a man.” The milk in this case is equivalent to life, spring is the tough time in a life, and the jar is work, or ability to push through tough times. This quote is reflected in Dewey Dell's dilemma with her pregnancy, in which she is attempting to take the “easy way out” by getting the abortion, instead of sucking it up and take it as it comes. She would rather get rid of the child than go through the burden that comes with him/her (the milk). One of the most prominent and recurring symbols is a fish, which symbolizes aspects of Addie that are not identified at the first glance. Vardaman connects his mother with a fish when he expresses the straightforward metaphor “my mother is a fish” (87). When Vardaman skins and cleans the fish he caught, he points out that the fish was once alive and now it is dead, just like his mother, incorporating the idea of “is” and “was.” “Because id I had one, it is was. And if it is was, it cant be is.” (101) This analysis of life and death is ironic because these two supposedly “unintelligent” characters are attempting to understand a highly complex and convoluted idea as existence and death. Later, Vardaman focus’ on the dinner when they are eating the fish he caught. In this scene there is almost a direct allusion to the Last Supper, in which Jesus and the disciples eat his own flesh and blood (Matthew 26:17-30). In this case Addie would be Jesus and the remaining Bundren family would be the disciples displaying her role in life. The connotation with the connection between Addie and Jesus implies that Addie is willing to do anything to help her family, even if it means dying. This symbolism with the fish is found again in Greek mythology. During the scene when the Bundrens are having trouble getting Addie across the river there is a symbol of the underworld and the River of Styx. In this reference to the Greek myth of the river of styx, Addie, being submerged in water could be viewed as going into the river of styx (meaning she would go into the underworld.), and when she is hauled from the river there is an image of her being resurrected like jesus was. In Rome fish are a symbol of change and transformation. “It was about a mile from the house we saw him, sitting on the edge of the slough. It hadn’t had a fish in it never that I knowed.” (92) Vardaman understands how strange it is that a person would fish in a spot without any fish, according to Roman beliefs, he also understands where there is no fish, there is no change. Because of Addie’s death the Bundren’s are forced to change their lifestyle and move to Jefferson, making Addie characterized as a fish because she embodied change for her family. One of the most thought-provoking symbol in As I Lay Dying is a horse.
Although Jewel is most commonly referred to as the owner and caretaker of the horse, the horse projects the characteristics of Addie. On Page 101 Vardaman says “Jewel’s mother is a horse.” It is implied that Jewel’s horse is a representation of his mother. Because Jewel is the result of a secret affair between Addie and Whitfield, Jewel is characterized as a very intense and violent character, reinforced by his violent imagery throughout the story, as well as his “tough love” with his horse. Jewel learns to tame the horse on page 12 “Then Jewel is enclosed by a glittering maze of hooves...With the other patting the horse’s neck in short strokes myriad and caressing, cursing the horse with obscene profanity.” This explains the relationship between Addie and Jewel because after Addie had Jewel, it forced her to cut ties with Whitfield and begin to settle down to live a life with Anse. As Jewel does with the horse, he forces Addie to give up her unsuitable personality and become a mature parent. While Jewel’s actions with the horse symbolize the love he has for his mother, the horse also represents his freedom from the Bundren family by working secretly to get enough money to buy the horse. While Jewel is sneaking out at night to make money Addie doesn’t tell anyone why he is doing it. This identifies the loyalty and power of Addie when it comes to her family. Loyalty and power are both archetypes of the …show more content…
horse. Close to the end Jewel gives up his horse, “I just found the horse in the barn this morning when I went to feed” in order to give the Bundren’s a new team of mules(193).
This trade signifies Jewel’s willingness to help the family even if it requires a great loss on his part. It is apparent that the horse symbolizes the last reminence of Addie’s influence on Jewel and the Bundren family, and when he traded it in, it was Addie’s way of helping the family one last time before she was buried. Later, Jewel walks all the way back to connect with the Bundren’s once again. If the horse signified his freedom from the Bundren’s, the lack of this horse signifies that Jewel is now a full part of the Bundren family. Now that Addie’s dead, the favoritism that had previously split the family was gone and Jewel is finally able to connect with the
family. Animal symbolism provides both good and bad attributes to the characters in As I Lay Dying. Animal’s personification imply the characteristics of character that are not notices in the original impression. From the characters point of view, the animal is a projection of themselves providing them with a “companion” of sorts that fills a hole their mother left when she died. Whether it was Dewey Dell and the cow, or Addie and the fish, the animals are able to define the nature of these characters through indirect relationships. This type of symbolism is used in other works of literature even in the modern day. Animals provide a primitive explanation for all people. It is even used as a basic belief in several religions.
First of all, Julie is an insecure individual. When Julie meets with her boyfriend, he says that her real name Jewel “sounds like one of those names from the soap opera my mom likes to watch. My dad says they are garbage.” This results in Julie yelling at her mom when mom calls her Jewel. Julie states that a jewel is “something you buy in a gem shop.” By questioning her own name, Julie is showing the reader how she is
Dewey Dell a character in William Faulkner's novel, As I lay dying, takes place in Mississippi in the 1920s and is about the Bundren family dealing with Addie’s death.. Dewey Dell has significantly changed as the novel reached its end but some of her main aspects from her personality did not change .She has changed in the novel, she went from seeming innocent and being with her mother in her death-bed to her getting pregnant and trying to get rid of Darl. Dewey Dell's personality was affected by events and the notable changes in Dewey are noticeable in multiple parts from her first chapter to her last two chapter. The noticeable changes are displayed when reading the chapter where Dewey gets pregnant and the last two chapters where Dewey Dell turned
No Horse to be a safe haven for him as he questions his identity. As Agnes states near the end of
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 Mother is among a family of four who lives on a small farm and takes immense pride in what interests her, however her passion does not particularly lie in her two children; James and David; nor in her husband and their interests; but instead lies within her chickens. Though chickens bring the most joy to the Mother, they are not the sole animals that live on the farm. The animal that draws the most interest from the father, James and David is their horse, Scott. At a young age, Scott was used as a working mule for the family and grew up alongside the Father and two Sons. To the father, Scott was like one of his own sons, and to James and David, Scott was like their brother; but according to the Mother, “He’s been worthless these last few years”(Macleod, 267). Ever since Scott was young, he was a burden on the Mother’s lifestyle; she never took a liking to the horse even when he served as a source of profit for the family. The Mother had never appreciated the sentimental value that Scott possessed because he had never been a particular interest to her. Once Scott had aged and was no longer able...
The justification that Mikolka gives for killing the horse is that she is unable to fulfill her role to contribute to society. He describes her uselessness by saying, “This brute, mates, is just breaking my heart, I feel as if I could kill her. She’s just eating her head off” (46). Mikolka feels apathetic towards the life of the horse. It represents Rodia’s belief that killing the pawnbroker is not a crime but merely an act that is justified and shows his loss of value for human life. In contrast, the little boy represents his affectionate side. The boy shows immediate emotion to the violent beating. His compassionate heart does not understand why the blameless soul is being killed. Through his perspective, the mare’s life still has significance and he views Mikolka as a murderer. Both sides do represent Rodia’s thoughts, however as he awoke by “gasping for breath [and] his hair soaked with perspiration” reveals that Rodia himself is terrified by Mikolka’s actions and subconsciously rejects that aspect. Thus, Rodia naturally embraces more of the good natured thoughts in his
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.
... 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.
...ring for him he has to find something to care for and by talking to the horse he is, in a nutshell, caring for it. So, as the reader can see, desire is a recurring theme that permeates the novel.
“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.
During his journey to the burial site of his wife, he always was worrying about his well being before the family’s well being. The only reason that he decided to carry out Addie’s wish was that he wanted to improve his image by getting false teeth. He did care for his wife, but this caring was overshadowed by his love to improve himself.
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?
Robert shares a special relationship and bond with animals, in particular rabbits. The rabbits are a symbol of Rowena, not only because they were her prize possession, but also because the rabbits remind Robert of his younger sister. Both Rowena and the rabbits are characters of innocence and purity. Being considered as small, fragile and precious to those who love and look after them. Findley uses the rabbits to evoke feelings of guilt from Robert, during the constant appearances in the novel. When Rowena dies, R...
“Now suppose you had a little colt, and you were your own mother to that little colt… And all of the sudden that same little colt went and died… You’d be sorry, wouldn’t you?” When dealing with death, an individual is encompassed with all kinds of feelings and emotions. Depression, denial, and guilt are all the components of mourning through death. This quote, relates to the thought that everything one experiences is associated with their environment. Iona and the mare experience two different environments. For Iona, it’s adjusting to a life without his son. The little mare lives a life away from the farms in a gloomy city. Iona places the little mare in a similar scenario he’s in, as if she can respond. Although she can’t, the horse’s compassion is visible once again. “The little mare munches, listens, and breathers on her master’s hands.” The healing power of the mare was the key to easing Iona’s suffering. When Iona couldn’t find a sense of closure through the communication with human beings he finally opens his eyes to realize the one listener he had, was his little white mare. He pours his sorrows out to her and not only did she show compassion by hearing his every word, she physically comforts him. The little breath on his hand represents the transfer of warmth from the mare to Iona on a cold winter day. Even though she’s restricted to what she can do, at the end
...are, he starts to chat with her, while she was eating. He confides his anguish and tragedies within his mare. She is the only thing he has that is close to him. It is also the only thing that connects him to his son; his son followed him to St.Petersburg to become a sledge-driver. He was young and ready to become what he saw his father do growing up.