Truth Revealed in As I Lay Dying

1326 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: As i lay dying analysis essay

Truth Revealed in As I Lay Dying

Addie Bundren conjures up the central darkness derived from her death and directly or indirectly causes actions in which each Bundren character takes advantage of Addie. With the character's actions revolving around her death, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying reveals the truth about the people who surround a person may take advantage of him or her. The death of Addie Bundren shapes all of the character's actions in life including Addie's final request before her death. Addie takes advantage of her death by using it for revenge and inflicting final pains upon some characters, while the other characters use her to get what they want for their personal needs.

Addie causes all the painful actions around her family either directly or indirectly. Addie is foremost the prominent abuser of her upcoming death in As I Lay Dying. She predetermines her time to die, and she makes sure that the people in her family whom she dislikes must experience her wrath before she moves on to the next life. "Addie is the one who is dying, but she makes revenges run throughout the family and extend beyond" (Wadlington 35). Inflicting pain mostly on Anse, Addie enjoys herself. Anse, a lazy man, is forced by his wife to take her to Jefferson to be buried as her final request. Addie's revenge on Anse was payback for all the times when he just sat around while Addie, her children, and sometimes neighbors do all the hard work for him. Also "Addie reacts to Anse's arid conventionality by having a clandestine affair with minister Whitfield" (Wadlington 31). Addie also indirectly hurts one of her favorite sons, Cash. Cash is hurt indirectly when he helps ! his kinfolk carry his mother's coffin to Jefferson, where along the path, he breaks his leg while crossing a flooded river. Although Cash is one of Addie's favorites besides Jewel, Addie's cruel revenge carries over to Cash's broken leg, which later becomes infected. Besides her indirect action on Cash's leg, Cash is the most favorite of Addie. As Wadlington states, "He is very much his mother's son in expressing his feelings through physical action rather than through words by building a coffin for the mother he loves" (Wadlington 41).

Jewel, Addie's second favorite next to Cash, seems to be cursed by his callous mother.

Show More
Related

  • Darl in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

    318 Words  | 1 Pages

    Darl, the second child of Anse and Addie Bundren is the most prolific voice in the novel As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner. Darl Bundren, the next eldest of the Bundren children, delivers the largest number of interior monologues in the novel. An extremely sensitive and articulate young man, he is heartbroken by the death of his mother and the plight of his family's burial journey. Darl seemed to possess a gift of clairvoyance, which allowed him to narrate; for instance, the scene of Addie's death. Even though he and Jewel were away at the time. 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.

    Read More

  • Buck's Heroism In Call Of The Wild

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    First off, Buck shows an act of heroism when he backs up and defends John Thornton at a bar. A very evil-tempered and malicious man named Burton was trying to pick a fight with the tenderfoot at the bar, and John Thornton came in between the two men. Without warning, Burton struck Thornton across the face. Instantly Buck hurled himself into Burton. “Those who were looking on heard what was neither bark nor yelp, but a something which is best described as a roar, and they saw Buck’s body rise up in the air as he left the floor for Burton’s throat” (87). Buck had to be pried off of Burton, so he didn’t kill him. Buck almost killed a man who only punched Thornton. If Buck had no civilization in him like critics said, he wouldn’t have defended his master. It even said in the book, “But his reputation was made, and from that day his name spread through every camp in Alaska” (87). This reputation he made was, “If you set a finger on John Thornton and Buck was around, be ready to get your head ripped off”. The only reason he had this reputation was because of the intense love he had for his owner, and a

    Read More

  • Imagery in As I Lay Dying

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... 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.

    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

  • As I Lay Dying : Anse Bundren

    407 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anse Bundren is one of the most exceptional characters in “As I Lay Dying”. He was the husband of Addie Bunden. In the Story, he portrayed himself as being a very selfish individual.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: Jewel

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Early in the book, Faulkner Throughout the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, the reader views Jewel as the most aggressive of Addie Bundren’s children. He is constantly arguing with his brothers, sister and father as they make their journey to Jefferson to bury his mother Addie, and he nearly gets in a knife fight when they reach town. Because of his angry responses and bad language it can be hard to recognize the significant impact Jewel has on his family. Jewel is courageous and sacrifices for his family even if the other Bundrens do not acknowledge or honor him for his actions. Jewel may not the most balanced son in the world, but neither are his siblings, and he shows throughout the forty-mile trip to his mother’s hometown of Jefferson that he wants to honor his mother’s wishes. Addie wanted to be buried in Jefferson, and without Jewel this would not have happened. In terms of his actions, Jewel shows that he loved his mother the most out of all her children. Cora argues that Jewel is the worst of the Bundren children though Addie also treated him as her favorite:

    Read More

  • Transformations In Jack London's Call Of The Wild

    1560 Words  | 4 Pages

    Then over the course of the novel Buck transforms into a wild dog as a result of being thrown into the Klondike regions of Canada. While in the wild Buck abandons morals in order to survive because in the wild the strongest dogs rules and there is no right or wrong. Through Buck’s transformation the differences between the wilderness and civilization are highlighted. In civilization people abide by the rules and act based on their moral opinions. However in the wild the strongest man will survive while the weak will not thrive. Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest has a strong relevance in the book because Buck a young strong dog conquers and rules over the older dogs and the weaker

    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

  • Love Portrayal of Jack London

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild Buck is thrown into a vast amount of obstacles. Buck is a half Saint Bernard and Half Sheepdog who is stolen from a home in California. He was then sold as a sled dog in the arctic where he would begin his adventure. Buck undergoes many challenges that can be related to human beings. The two experiences that everyone goes through are love and death. According to Jack London in The Call of the Wild, love and death are portrayed as bitter, sweet, and deadly.

    Read More

  • As I Lay Dying: The Love Of Family

    471 Words  | 1 Pages

    Ah, love. Love is so often a theme in many a well-read novel. In the story, As I Lay Dying, one very important underlying theme is not simply love, but the power to love. Some of the characters have this ability; some can only talk about it. Perhaps more than anyone, Addie and Jewel have this power- one which Jewel, by saving his mother twice, merges with his power to act. As the Bible would have it, he does "not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18).

    Read More

  • As I Lay Dying

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    and turns Addie into a baby factory in order to have children to do all the work.

    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

  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novella London uses various figurative language techniques to portray Buck’s gain of knowledge of the wild. From the beginning of the novella Buck’s life is easy and calm, then when he is forced to become a sled dog he is disorientated and is confused to what is happening. He progressively learns more things about the real world and starts to understand it. At the start of the novella London shows that at Judge Miller’s house he is the king and he is the one in charge. This is show when London writes “And over this great demesne Buck ruled.”. Lat...

    Read More

  • Heredity In The Call Of The Wild

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    “In Buck’s bad dreams, Jack recorded his own childish fears of cold, deprivation, and solitude, as well as compulsion always to be free and roving…” (Sinclair 49). While in John Thornton’s company, Buck dreams of a primal man with whom he walks through the forest, on the edge of the wilderness. The dreams beckon to him and encourage him to give in to his instincts. They fill him with “a great unrest and strange desires” and cause him to feel a “vague, sweet gladness” (London 71). His visions both frighten and intrigue him, until eventually he pursues the call and ventures into the wild. London feared being alone, but knew he could not thrive in a confined, suburban life. This fear, London believed, is rooted in all men. They are subdued by their fear, yet it also lures them to return to their beginnings. “…Jack believed that people respond to the literature of fear and nightmare, because fear is deep in the roots of the race. However civilized men think they are, fear remains their deepest emotion” (Sinclair 49). Buck is a civilized dog who turns into a savage beast. When Buck understands his deep-rooted fears, he is able to ‘turn back the clock’ and complete his transformation into a primordial animal. London explains that this transformation can be undergone by all men if they conquer their fears as Buck

    Read More

  • Wildness In Call Of The Wild

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    (28) First, Buck begins by hunting wild game. (29) For example, Buck kills a black bear and a bull moose and eats from their corpses. (30) Since Buck can kill his own meat and consume it, he is nearly wild. (31) Second, Yeehat Indians attack John Thornton’s camp unleashing Buck's wildness. (32) For instance, Buck, who no longer recognizes Man’s laws, slaughters the Yeehats despite their weapons, “…they heard a fearful roar and saw rushing upon them an animal the like of which they had never seen before. (33) Buck, a hurricane of fury, hurled himself on them in a frenzy to destroy.” (35) Since Buck can attack and kill Man, he is now wild. (36) Last, Buck joins a wolf pack. (37) For example, Buck is confronted by a wolf pack and must battle his way into the pack. (38) Since Buck will eventually lead and pack and pass on his superior natural traits to his offspring, Buck, a descendant of the wild, has answered the call of the wild. (39) In conclusion, Buck has found his true identity as a wild animal.

    Read More

More about Truth Revealed in As I Lay Dying

Open Document