Darl Bunden As A Tragic Hero Essay

In Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying the story of the Bundren family’s struggle to bury their mother is told. Her death begins this tragic journey as the family makes their way to Jefferson. Darl Bundren, one of her children, attempts to care for the family and just wants to assuage their suffering but despite his altruistic intentions he is pushed away by his family. This makes Darl the tragic hero because he is sent away albeit for a good reason. His hamartia which may be his caring is what led to his downfall. It can be interpreted instead that Darl was descending into insanity because he laughs when his mother dies and he sees things even when he is not there. He also fits the characteristics of a tragic hero because he is anomalous from the others in many ways; he is the most common

She says that a “woman’s place is with her husband and children, alive or dead (23).” She seems to enjoy her role in society as a mother and the things expected of her as a woman. The cakes become an extension of her archetype because the lady she was trying to sell them to did not pay for the cakes and did not take them so she gossips to Kate about it. Her idle chatter is unnecessary and is another characteristic of a neighborhood busybody. The cakes also reveal how religion is a major theme in As I Lay Dying, Cora uses religion to rationalize her behavior many times. “Riches is nothing in the face of the Lord,” she uses religion to cope with her social situation of not being able to sell the cakes. The cakes also reveal her relationship with her husband because she tells Kate “I can tell him that anybody is likely to make a miscue, but it’s not all of them that can get out of it without loss, I can tell him. It’s not everybody can eat their mistakes (9).” This shows how worried she is about what Tull will say and it shows how they do not have a good