As I Lay Dying Essay: The Characters

1402 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Faulkner criticism

The Characters in As I Lay Dying

The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail. (excerpt-Faulkner's Nobel Prize acceptance speech)

Analyzing character in a Faulkner novel is like trying to reach the bottom of a bottomless pit because Faulkner's characters often lack ration, speak in telegraphed stream-of-consciousness, and rarely if ever lend themselves to ready analysis. This is particularly true in As I Lay Dying, a novel of a fragmented and dysfunctional family told through fragmented chapters. Each character reveals their perspective in different chapters, but the perspectives are true to life in that though they all reveal information about the Bundren family and their struggles to exist they are all limited by the perspective of the character providing the revelations. The story centers on the death of the mother of the Bundren clan, Addie, whose imminent death creates fragmentation and chaos in the Bundren family because Anse, Addie's husband, has promised to travel to Jefferson to bury her with her family. Floods, fires, injuries and poor decisions mar the journey, but the family endures and Anse brings home a new Mrs. Bundren. However, Anse, often read as the most selfish Bundren is the only one prepared to go on with life and accept Addie's death.

Others in the family are not so ready to accept the displacement of their mother so readily. Among them, Vardaman and Dewey Dell are often portrayed as the least individualized characters in the Bundren family. Someone once suggests he is a "frightened, perhaps deranged child" and she is a "female vegetable." These suggestions might be a bit extreme, but defin...

... middle of paper ...

...ner 57). Vardaman, on the other hand, is even younger than Dewey Dell and seems less able to cope with reality. However, he does see Darl set fire to the Gillespie's barn and trusts Dewey Dell enough to reveal this to her. She tells him never to repeat it. However, Vardaman will be disappointed in the journey as will Dewey Dell. Only Anse gets what he wants. Vardaman's train is not in the store window and Dewey Dell is tricked by another man, the pharmacist, into providing sexual favors. Both are victims of their genetics and their environment, which, at their age, does leave them the least individualized characters in the novel.

WORKS CITED

Faulkner, W. As I Lay Dying. Vintage Books, New York, 1957.

2

Show More
Related

  • How Does William Faulkner Use Ethos In Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    Upon listening and reading William Faulkner's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, it is immediately deduced that he provides his vast audience of the epitome of himself. William Faulkner is not someone, but everyone. His humanistic approach to writing and thought has allowed him to hide complexity within simplicity, and for this, he is memorable: his work is a true testament to the unbreakable nature of the human spirit in the face of enormous hardship and consequence; a look into the human mind that is simultaneously interesting and uninteresting. This, along with so much more, is prevalent in this speech, which perfectly conveys the responsibilities of the writers in 1949.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Anse Bundren In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Dewey Dell Bundren in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...a good result. However, Dewey Dell shows signs of motherly actions when she "... tears a piece of paper from the package and wipes the cement from the top of it as it drips from Cash's leg" (Faulkner 208). Dewey Dell shows a surprising amount of maternal instinct when she finds out Vardaman saw Darl light the Gillespie's barn on fire. Vardaman was just being the typical, curious boy when he gained knowledge of Darl's wrongdoings. In a protective manner, Dewey Dell warned Vardaman as he explains "... I saw something that Dewey Dell says I mustn't tell nobody" (Faulkner 225). Another example of Dewey Dell assuming a protective, motherly role occurs when Jewel and a townsman have an altercation. Dewey Dell attempts to shield Jewel from the dispute. All of these examples along the Bundren's journey depict Dewey Dell maturing and evolving into a motherly figure.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of As I Lay Dying

    1639 Words  | 4 Pages

    “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?

    Read More

  • Imagery in As I Lay Dying

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Faulkner in his book, As I Lay Dying, portrays a Mississippi family which goes through many hardships and struggles. Faulkner uses imagery to illustrate an array of central themes such as the conscious being or existence and poverty among many others. From the first monologue, you will find an indulgence of sensual appeal, a strong aspect of the novel. Each character grows stronger and stronger each passage. One of the themes in As I Lay Dying is a human's relations to nature. Faulkner uses imagery to produce a sense of relation between animals and humans.

    Read More

  • Exploring Void in Faulkner's Addie Bundren

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    Addie is actually the perfect character to try and describe the lack or void of words and meanings. The very fact that she is dead and is talking about this void from the dead is important. In a way she is speaking from a void between life and death. Morna Flaum expresses this idea in her article, “Elucidating Addie Bundren in As I Lay Dying.” “Her condition of deadness, speaking from the void between is and not-is makes her the perfect vehicle for Faulkner to describe the indescribable, approach the unapproachable, express the inexpressible, as he so gracefully does, does-not. The placement of Addie’s chapter in the middle of her long journey from deathbed to grave is also significant.” Flaum goes on to say that this placement of Addie’s chapter

    Read More

  • As I Lay Dying Literary Analysis Essay

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying"

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    In As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner uses the characters Anse and Cash, and a motif/symbol in "My mother is a fish," to reveal the psychological and societal problems of the twenties and thirties. Written as soon as the panic surrounding the stock market in 1929 started, Faulkner is reported as having, “took one of these [onion] sheets, unscrewed the cap from his fountain pen, and wrote at the top in blue ink, 'As I Lay Dying.' Then he underlined it twice and wrote the date in the upper right-hand corner"(Atkinson 15) We must take care to recognize Faulkner not as a man of apathy, but one of great compassion and indignation at the collapse of the economic foundation of the U.S. This is central in appreciating the great care with which he describes the desolation and poor landscape of Yoknapatawpha County, which is where As I Lay Dying takes place.

    Read More

  • The Role of a Mother in As I Lay Dying Written by William Faulkner

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Taoism: Potential Within Passivity

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is important, for humans are urged by Taoist thought to place themselves below all else, especially the world, but also other people. The wise person will put another person's needs before their own.

    Read More

  • Descartes and Meditation Three

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    The next very important step for Descartes is to establish a criterion of certainty. By examining the truths which he discovered in the course of his second meditation, he decides that all of them have in common the properties of being clear and distinct. Descartes says, “So, I now seem to be able to lay it down as a general rule that whatever I perceive very clearly and distinctly is true.” Descartes adds another item to the list of things which he knows clearly and distinctly---ideas.

    Read More

  • Unveiling the Influence: Sophists vs Philosophers

    1624 Words  | 4 Pages

    In all intents and purposes the way that Socrates engages the dialectic makes it very difficult to refute his points. In a comparable light, when interacting with Polus, Socrates does not tolerate Polus trying to counter his points. Whenever he tries, Socrates himself counters the argument without addressing Polus’ argument, and stating that they are in fact straying away from Plato’s dialectic. In dialect with Gorgias, Socrates states, “Well, perhaps I’ve done an absurd thing in not permitting you to make a long speech, while holding forth at the same length myself” (Plato 26). It is clear that Socrates is a hypocrite. He did not let Gorgias fully explain himself or even give him much of a chance. Adding insult to injury, Socrates states that rhetoric is flattery, then goes onto enagae in rhetoric with himself when Calicles decides to stop answering

    Read More

  • The Nature of Rhetoric

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socrates have been using rhetorical devices throughout his discussion with Gorgias, and started out by using ethos appeal to draw Gorgias into his questioning, in which Polus gave an indefinite answers to Chaerephon. Ethos appeal can be described as an appeal by character of authority; it is when we tend to believe those who we respect. After Polus failed to answer the question, Socrates responded, “It certainly looks as though Polus is well qualified to speak, Gorgias, but he’s not doing what he promised Chaerephon he’d do.” (Plato 3). Socrates, who was not satisfied with the answer given by Polus, provoked Gorgias into answering for his disciple as Socrates brought Gorgias’ name into the conversation.

    Read More

  • Religion and the Existence of God

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    With Darwin's idea of evolution came the greatest controversy between science and religion. Darwin denied the creationist ideas of Christians and caused, an uproar in the Christian community. Some drastically decided to deny all science. To deny science, however, would be to deny the natural world. Others searched for ways to confirm and hold on to their faith.

    Read More

  • Taoism in the Modern World

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ever since I began reading about Taoism I have change my point of view about life. “Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart”(Tao). This line in itself has taught me to not look at life as objects but to look at it as a gift. People today have lost touch with what is really important about living. No one goes around smiling anymore. I can remember as a child seeing people smile all the time, maybe that was because I was young and did not see a lot of people. I believe that if people would start to read Taoism and try to understand it than people maybe happy to be alive. This paper is going to focus mainly on ways that the average person can use Taoism to better his or her life.

    Read More

More about As I Lay Dying Essay: The Characters

Open Document