As I Lay Dying Themes

I chose to write from the perspective of Dewey Dell’s child, Elizabeth, because her pregnancy is an important theme in As I Lay Dying. In contrast to the prevalent theme of death, Dewey Dell’s pregnancy represents the theme of life. My narrative is centered on Elizabeth’s desire to know her ancestry. Her father, Lafe, is not present in her life because having sexual relations before marriage was not acceptable in the 1920s. Elizabeth is a reminder everyday to her mother of her mistake and loneliness. Dewey Dell expresses her regret through her interactions with Elizabeth. Her community has shunned her because she had a child before marriage, which causes her to resort to prostitution as a way for her to provide for her child and herself. Darl is insane in my narrative because he is sent to an insane asylum at the end of the book. Also, the relationship between Darl and Dewey Dell

Faulkner skillfully imitates the way the mind processes visual images and puts them into words, allowing the reader to be placed inside the character’s head. The point of stream of consciousness is to take the reader through the thinking and perspectives of the character. Each character has a personalized style and language. Since Elizabeth is a child, I chose to use Faulkner’s choppy style, taking the reader step by step through her mental processes. I chose to center my narrative on specific aspects of the story that Faulkner liked to stress, such as Dewey Dell’s abortion and Darl’s insanity. These main themes help to create a stylistic continuity with the story. In addition, I used dialogue to demonstrate a flow from character to character, supported by evidence in the story. I incorporated interactions that were meaningful and strong evidence to the theme of life: a main concept of the story. Faulkner’s style, themes, and story evidence are all incorporated into my narrative to show my understanding of his