Familial Destruction In As I Lay Dying

Family is one of the most sacred and wonderful groups in the world, but the effects on its members are not universally positive. Sometimes, ordinary family bonds are broken, and the family unit becomes an agent of great destruction. Within abnormal situations like these, we can often see more clearly a person’s problem solving ability. Due to a lack of support from family members, they can be sent into more primitive instincts of survival. Qualities like manipulation and narcissism become more commonplace as people are not properly taught honesty and selflessness. This strain is shown clearly through literary works by many renowned authors, and how each of them views this phenomenon can be educationally beneficial. Works exemplifying these

William Faulkner explored the idea of family relationships extensively and was distinctly aware of the destructive possibilities of such intimate and trusting relationships. Manipulative parental figures play a crucial role in causing dysfunctional families. In As I Lay Dying, manipulation of family is clearly displayed by Anse. This is seen specifically near the end of the book when Anse says, “Meet the new Mrs. Bundren”. He has replaced their mother at the end of a long and grueling journey. This kind of behavior has adverse effects on every one of the Bundren children. While all of the children are victimized by manipulation, some of them are influenced by their father’s behavior. Dewey Dell and Darl especially become very manipulative. Dewey Dell is publicly very affectionate towards her mother and her wishes, but actually has ulterior motives to seek an abortion. Darl becomes increasingly negative and loses his sanity due to the constant stress maneuvering his family causes, and this pessimism is shown in his treatment of Jewel, when he repeatedly aggravates him by telling him “Your mother was a horse.” Jewel and Cash are largely victimized by these faulty dynamics, as Jewel is coerced into surrendering his most prized possession and Cash is plagued by health issues due to negligence. If there was more altruistic and selfless behavior, many of these situations could have likely been

Although Vonnegut’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is based in a dystopian future, the aspects audiences can relate to are the strange family relationships. In families, inheritors are sometimes basically waiting for their elders to die to receive gifts. This principle is seen in the Bible in the story of the prodigal son, where the son does not love his father but only wants his inheritance. The younger son in that parable specifically said in Luke 15:12, “Father, give me the share of the property that is coming to me.” The unusual aspect of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is that people can live forever. This has obviously created problems because without people dying, everyone has run out of space to live. This close quarters living arrangement has worsened the already tenuous family bonds coming from an eternity together. Problem solving within this less than ideal situation was established when the grandpa tricked the rest of his family into being sent to jail, which was actually an improvement from their previous living condition. Problem solving ultimately improved their situation because what they really needed was time