As I Lay Dying Character Analysis

In many literary classics, we see many uses of literary devices, usually to portray or enhance a theme of the book. In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, there are many themes and many devices to depict them. But the narration/POV of different characters serves to affect the reader’s perspective, especially on the theme of family and honor- or lack thereof. Undoubtedly, one of the most substantial and off-putting narrative characters, is Anse- the husband of Addie. Addie dies early on in the book and wishes to be buried in a farther off town; it is the husband’s job to complete his wife’s final wish. Out loud he talks about his “duty” to his wife: to give her what she wants, but in his own POV he is partly doing it to get his “well-deserved”

Jewel only has one narrations but it’s not from his point of view, but from his perceptive half-brother, Darl. Everyone, including various strangers and townspeople, see Jewel as rugged and heartless without caring about anything. But through his families narrations we see that Jewel actually loves his mother and is willing to do whatever need be in order to make her happy, especially by not succumbing to her husbands’ lackadaisical conduct. In one flashback, we hear a story about Jewel working day and night to earn a horse-something no one in their family had attempted to do. Additionally, Jewel wouldn’t let the horse eat his ‘fathers’ hay, proving that he could amount to more in life. But, what really establishes Jewel’s love for his mother is the fact that he gave up his horse, in order to get his mother to her burial spot. “I didn’t know who brung it,’ Eustace said. ‘I never see them. I just found the horse in the barn this morning when I went to feed, and I told Mr. Snopes and he said to bring the team on over here”(Faulkner 131). This entire sequence is explaining that even though Jewel doesn’t have a POV, we can see how much he cares for his mother through other people’s eyes, by focusing on actions and their