In Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying we can meet with 15 different characters, who narrate the story from own perspective. One of those characters is Dewey Dell, to whom life changed completely after mother’s death. She is the only girl in the Bundren family of boys and on top of all, she is pregnant. Owing to the consequence of the affair, she is much more interested in getting rid of her pregnancy than her mother’s funeral. However, the situation is not easy for her, because she doesn’t want this child and she can’t talk about her secret with anyone. She approaches the world in her own, unclear way, which is partially shaped through circumstances she grew up. At once, she has to cope not just with the consequences of her romance, but also she has to accept a new role of mother and women in the house of the Bundren family. While other relatives have chance to manifest their feelings about the journey to Jefferson, she is ignored and feels rather alone.She is looking for a solution from her precarious situation, but she fails all the way. Her childish and artless nature is suddenly forced to behave as a woman, who seems to be lost. Therefore, the character of Dewey Dell becomes a victim of the whole story.
Already at the beginning, Dewey Dell was never seen as a regular member of the family. From Addie’s narration, we can see, that Dewey Dell wasn’t accepted as a child, who should deserve to devote special attention. She says: “I gave Anse Dewey Dell to negate Jewel” (60). Her statement refers to Addie’s no relationship to her daughter. With the birth of Dewey Dell Addie seems to compensate the illegitimate brother Jewel and Dewey Dell becomes rather a release of Addie’s sin than to be a real beloved part of the family. The fact she...
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...gnorance and she felt rather motherless. This reflects on her attitude to her pregnancy, when she should become a mother for her own child, but also replaces a mother-figure for her brother Vardaman. Her perception of the journey to Jefferson is omitted in the story and we need to think of her confusing mind all the time. Through lack of control over her gullibility, she is seduced by Lafe at first and in hope for solving her problem, she is exploited by a druggist in Jefferson later on. But only owing to her solitude and no interest of her close surroundings, she gives away to desperation. Even if Dewey Dell looks for some support by her relatives, she doesn’t find any and with the desperate situation, she has to fight all alone on her side.
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. Web log post. Blogs.harrisonhigh.org. N.p., 29 July 2013. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
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.
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.
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.
This paper will discuss how Dewey Dell’s attitude towards Darl is continuous with her weird dreams. First, Dewey Dell is the fourth of five children from Addie’s Bundren. She is the only daughter of the family. One night, Darl, Cash, Dewey Dell and Vardaman went to New Hope.
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.
This relationship is very similar to that of Jewel and Darl. Darl discovers that Dewey Dell is pregnant out of wedlock. None of the other family members know this. Her motive behind going to Jefferson was to get an abortion. This is due to the fact that her baby’s father left her, fear for her father’s rejection due to southern values and religion, and also due to the fact that she ( like everyone else in the family) can not and does not communicate with the other family members. They are all selfish and isolated. Once again Darl does not take any action over discovering her secret, but just continually taunts her over this. This causes tension to continually build until the end of the novel where Darl is being taken away to the insane asylum and Dewey Dell attacks him violently. It is also safe to assume that Dewey Dell is the one who turned Darl into the officials over burning down the barn. Only Vardaman and her knew about what he did. She wanted him out of her life for torturing her, because she did not want anyone to find out her secret. Even though everyone was going to find out sooner or later since she fails to get an
“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.
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.
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. N.p.: Vintage, 1994. Open Library. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Looking back on the death of Larissa’s son, Zebedee Breeze, Lorraine examines Larissa’s response to the passing of her child. Lorraine says, “I never saw her cry that day or any other. She never mentioned her sons.” (Senior 311). This statement from Lorraine shows how even though Larissa was devastated by the news of her son’s passing, she had to keep going. Women in Larissa’s position did not have the luxury of stopping everything to grieve. While someone in Lorraine’s position could take time to grieve and recover from the loss of a loved one, Larissa was expected to keep working despite the grief she felt. One of the saddest things about Zebedee’s passing, was that Larissa had to leave him and was not able to stay with her family because she had to take care of other families. Not only did Larissa have the strength to move on and keep working after her son’s passing, Larissa and other women like her also had no choice but to leave their families in order to find a way to support them. As a child, Lorraine did not understand the strength Larissa must have had to leave her family to take care of someone else’s
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.
Delville, Michel. “Alienating Language and Darl’s Narrative Consciousness in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.” The Southern Literary Journal (1994). Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Feb 2012.
tragedies that befell her. She is an example of a melancholic character that is not able to let go of her loss and therefore lets it t...
Suffering is a part of life and dealing with it is always the hardest part. The short story, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, describes how each individual character tries to deal or cope with certain happenings that occur throughout the story or their lifespan. These happenings include death, misunderstandings, and the ability to finally deal with hidden suffering. Sonny, Sonny’s older brother, who is also the narrator, Isabel, Sonny’s parents, and Gracie are all a part what creates this short story and essay.
He gives an example of how without rules there is no game. The game cannot go anywhere is there is not any rules to follow. In his principle of interaction he says that it is based on inner and outer experiences. Outer experiences having to do with family, the environment, the curriculum, etc. While, inner experiences being with more personally things such as ones personality. “The planning must be flexible enough to permit free play for individuality of experience and yet firm enough to give direction towards continuous development of power” (Dewey58). Dewey suggest not only students having experiences that have to do with them personally but also with experiences that they deal with inside of other atmospheres. Social control as Dewey mentions in a traditional classroom it would be keeping order and having strict disciple, while in a nontraditional classroom it is more about being able to think on your