Addie Bundren In As I Lay Dying

The novel As I Lay Dying (1930), by William Faulkner is based on the journey of the Bundren family across Yoknapatawpha County to Jefferson, Mississippi. They are on this trip to transport the body of the matriarch of the family, Addie Bundren, for burial. Addie lies dying as the novel’s start, hence the name of the book. Her wish is to be buried among her relatives in Jefferson, Mississippi. Once she dies and after her funeral service, the Bundrens start their trek to Jefferson. The trip is difficult due to storms, family drama, and injuries. Eventually they make it to the town of Jefferson and bury her. Despite her long marriage, Addie has dysfunctional relationships to every Bundren.

Addie is a former schoolteacher, so she knew from a

During the chapter that Addie narrates, she says that, “I gave Anse Dewey Dell to negative Jewel. Then I gave him Vardaman to replace the child I had robbed him of. And now he has three children that are his and not mine. And then I could get ready to die.” (AILD 60). So right after she had him, she was just preparing to die. In her mind, her life was over with. Consequently, she never formed a relationship with her last two children because she only had them for Anse, not for herself. She already had all she needed and that was Jewel and Cash. It is actually kind of sad because all of the children loved their mother so very much, but she could never love them back because of her hatred of Anse. In the story, you can tell that Vardaman loves his ma, but since he is the youngest, he does not properly understand. He does not comprehend the fact that his mother is laying there dying, and once she actually dies, she is gone forever. After she passes, he transferred the pain of losing his mother onto the death of a fish that he had caught earlier that same day. In one of his sections, Vardman says, “My mother is a fish” (AILD 28). Since Vardaman is so young, he never got to spend a long period of time with Addie, hence they never formed a bond

It is told from fifteen different points of view and not told in chronological order so you can see how it might be confusing to some. However, how Faulkner tells the story from different character’s minds really helps the reader learn about each character. It shows how the character is in their own mind and how they feel about losing Mrs. Bundren. Each and every person has a different reaction to the situation that they are in. Some of the characters only narrate a few chapters but some narrate several, such as Darl. Darl narrates the majority of the novel. Even though the book is based around Addie Bundren’s death and burial, she only narrates only two chapters. It is a weird way to style a story of a trip, but it really helps the analysis of each family member. Without this form of writing, a reader would never be able to see how the different people truly felt about