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As i lay dying imagery
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It all began when Addie Bundren, wife of Anse Bundren, became ill and passed away. She left one request for when she died, which was to be buried in Jefferson next to her father. Since her family is poor, everything that has to be done is done all by hand by the family. Cash, Addie’s oldest son, has to build the coffin that they will bury Addie in. To try and give her a “last gift,” Cash decides to build the coffin right outside of Addie’s window as she lays in her bed, dying. “As the family moves toward the unfamiliar landscape and community of Jefferson and toward new social identities, they are compelled to respond to pressures and limits that emerge in the context of new settings and social relations” (Lester). While the family takes on the adventure of traveling to their destination, they encounter several problems – from drilling holes into Addie’s face to dropping her coffin in the river. In the end, nothing works out in anyone’s favor, except for Anse Bundren. Anse meets a new woman and decides to make her the new “Mrs. Bundren.” In As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner uses a “stream-of-consciousness,” multiple narrators, and symbolism to better enhance the book and to show the fragmentation of the south after the war.
William Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897 and died on July 6, 1962. By being alive during this time period, Faulkner was able to witness first-hand the fragmentation of the south that followed the Civil War. Having witnessed this, William Faulkner gained insight, which allowed him to successfully write about his experiences. “After World War I…millions of rural Southerners were faced with the struggle of maintaining a way of life that was rapidly becoming extinct or of making the effort to adapt…” (Lest...
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...” Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane A. Stanley. Vol. 8. Farmington Hills: Gale, 2000. 37 vols. 15-18. Print.
Bond, Adrienne. “From Addie Bundren to Pearl Tull: The Secularization of the South.” Exploring Novels (2003). Discovering Collection. Web. 7 Feb 2012.
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.
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York: Random House Inc., 1930. Print.
Lester, Cheryl. “As I Lay Dying rural depopulation and social dislocation as a structure of feeling.” The Faulkner Journal (2005). Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Feb 2012.
Slankard, Tamara. “No such thing as was the fetished corpse, modernism, and As I Lay Dying.” The Faulkner Journal (2009). Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Feb 2012.
William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi, in 1897. He wrote a variety of short stories, plays, and novels, including the classic As I Lay Dying. This innovative novel, published in 1930, has a sense of dark humour and shock value. It has an unconventional narrative style, with 15 first person narrators. As I Lay Dying features The Bundrens, an incredibly poor family who live on their farm in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional county in Mississippi.
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.
In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Moseley provides the reader an escape from the delusional world of the Bundrens and a glimpse of society, as it should be. Appearing only once in the novel, the elderly pharmacist is essential in emphasizing Faulkner's theme of moral values over self-seeking voracity in that he defends what he knows is right at all costs. Moseley is introduced in the small town of Mottson, where Dewey Dell wanders into his drugstore store with ten dollars from Lafe, and the intention of eliminating "the female trouble." (200) After much confusion, it is made clear that Dewey Dell wants an abortion, treatment that Moseley repeatedly refuses, despite her persistency. Discouraged, Dewey Dell eventually leaves, after a stern lecture from Moseley and advice to take the money and buy a marriage license. Moseley's morals, contrasting to the other characters' in the novel, may provide support for Faulkner's religious beliefs while adding a sense of righteousness to a world of iniquity.
"William Faulkner: The Faded Rose of Emily." Mr. Renaissance. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2011 .
He is opposed to the family sitting by the bed and watching Addie die and cash sawing away at Anse's 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. Imagery is an integral part of any narrative. The multiple narratives and cross observations made in As I Lay Dying are complex and they consist of many spectrums. Imagery alone can be sufficient to give the reader a rich sense of emotion, but when it symbolizes the themes of the story and reflects on the characteristics of the narrator, it is truly a masterpiece.
“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.
Eventhough As I lay Dying is a story revolved around the death of a mother, Addie Bundren, the true content of the story develops from information given to the audience through a multitude of narrators. The relationship between each family member and their association with Addie's death differentiates from person to person. Through her husband, Anse, we are introduced to his philosophy that man should keep stationary. Anse explains, "The lord put roads for travelling; why he laid them down flat on the Earth. When he aims for something to be always a-moving, he makes it long ways, like a road or a horse or a wagon, but when he aims for something to stay put, He makes it up and down ways, like a tree or a man" (24). In comparing a tree to a man, Anse feels that eventhough alive, man was not created to move about. This idea exhibits a lack of suspense within Anse, which may or may not have been Annie's desire to have an affair which lead to the birth of her child Jewel. Interestingly, Anse contradicts his own beliefs to fullfill his wife's wishes to be layed to rest next to her own family. This act can also be seen as selfish when Anse really desires a new set of teeth.
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
Faulkner, William. As I lay Dying. First Vintage International Edition. Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada Limited, 1990. Print.
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. 1930. Edited by Noel Polk. New York: Vintage, 1985. Print.
American Literature. 6th Edition. Vol. A. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2003. 783-791
In As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, the coffin is an important inanimate object. After the death of Addie Bundren, the Bundren family embarks on a 40-mile journey to Jefferson to respect her wish to be buried there. Cash Bundren builds the coffin while Addie is dying, the coffin goes through many obstacles with the Bundrens during the journey, and the overall objective of the journey is to bury the coffin. Although the coffin literally serves as a box that contains the corpse of Addie, the coffin also serves as the central symbol of the family's love and gratitude towards her as well as their instability.
Faulkner’s title phrase “As I Lay Dying” solicits many suspicions from potential readers of the novel. The phrase itself is not traditionally grammatical because it is not able to stand by itself. As a dependent clause, the phrase “As I Lay Dying” would typically serve as a noun, adjective, or adverb within the sentence and then be linked with a main clause. The absence of a main clause in the title causes the reader to speculate about the forthcoming plot of the novel.
Pierce, Constance. "Being, Knowing, and Saying in the "Addie" Section of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying." Twentieth Century Literature 26.3 (1980): 294-305. JSTOR. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Brooks, Cleanth. "William Faulkner: Visions of Good and Evil." Faulkner, New Perspectives. Ed. Richard H. Brodhead. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey : Prentice-Hall, 1983.