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Heroism In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

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William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying follows the Bundren family on a journey while it explores the subject of heroism and discusses its subjectivity. The family travels on an expedition to bury Addie, the deceased mother of the protagonist, Darl Bundren, and his siblings. As days continue to pass, however, the journey seemed interminable. During the adventure, the family takes a stop at Gillespie’s barn for the evening. While they rest Darl sets the barn, in which the coffin sits, ablaze. Darl Bundren’s act of arson exhibits heroism because he performed the act for the sake of others. Faulkner uses irony to subvert the preconceived notions of heroism. Although the protagonist was sent to a mental institute at the end of the novel for …show more content…

Addie’s coffin began to exude a repulsive stench, illustrating the longevity of the journey and that Addie must be put to rest soon. Darl takes the opportunity to finally put Addie to rest by cremating her. Faulkner clarifies that Darl’s actions were done deliberately when he attempts to stop Jewel from going into the barn to retrieve Addie’s coffin. Darl cries “Catch him!...Stop him!” (Faulkner, 75) because Jewel was ruining Darls plan to finally put Addie to rest. When Jewel recovers Addie’s coffin, Darl is described as crying on top of the coffin later that night. As Darl sobbs, Vardaman approaches him and reassures he “needn't to cry,...Jewel got her out. You needn't to cry, Darl”(Faulkner, 77). Faulkner’s choice of Vanderman, the most prominent symbol of innocence, to approach Darl allows the readers to have the perspective of an innocent child. Vanderman believed that Darl was weeping because he almost lost Addie’s coffin. However, differing viewpoints explain that Darl was weeping because his attempt at putting Addie to rest had failed. His tears are shed as an apology to Addie for his failure. Darl’s actions, although a crime, were done for a heroic reason; to end the extensive quest. He endangers himself to allow Addie to rest peacefully after the plethora of merciless obstacles they have

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Lastly Faulkner uses symbolism to portray the high respect Addie’s children have for her. He symbolizes a fish to show the kind of respect Vardaman has for her and a horse to describe the honor Jewel gives her. The coffin also portrays a sign of respect because it was tailor-made for her only. Faulkner makes his point that respect should be given to the dead through point of view, imagery, and symbolism. All of these elements aid Faulkner in making his greater

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“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do” (Pele qtd. In Soccerlens). Countless people have done amazing things through perseverance. Sonny was an average boy in a mining town, but he started building rockets and learned a valuable life lesson.

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With the greatest number of monologues, Darl acts as a surrogate for Faulkner. His intuitive ability to penetrate the minds of others and see through their facades enables him to provide the most objective, however blunt, commentary. His sanity becomes questioned more as the novel progresses, but he still labors as a reliable narrator in how he forces his family members to see real situations. Darl’s

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William Faulkner had a faith in humanity that few possess. In his 1950 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he proclaimed that, “man will not merely endure: he will prevail”. He felt humans contained a certain compassion in our spirits, which is very valuable. Faulkner views America as a place where people often have more compassion or intelligence than they let on, especially in the rural areas. Everyone is capable of having these traits, but not everyone uses them.

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In the novel as I Lay Dying, William Faulkner describes the Bundrens family journey to the burial of their mother. Each character's emotions and problems to this situation are displayed throughout the many character chapters that Faulkner uses to recreate the trip in the reader's mind. From this we learn a lot about each character's traits and behaviors. A pivotal moment that takes place in this book is when Darl decides to burn down the barn his mother's coffin laid in because it serves as a last reminder that not all events set off a universal reaction, events are shaped by the perspective and experience of the person witnessing them. When Darl sets the barn on fire it is his way of showing respect and love for his mother as he feels he is benefitting her by giving her a cremation and laying her to rest.

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Unlike most novels, identifying a single main character in As I Lay Dying is difficult, since the novel does not have a single narrator and follows an entire family’s journey. The novel surrounds mainly seven characters: Addie, Anse, Cash, Jewel, Dewey Dell, Darl and Vardaman Bundren. Each of these character narrates several sections in the novel, and all show important information and accounts of what happens. The entire family not only advances the main plot of burying Addie, but has their own subplots that are equally if not more important to them. For example, Dewey Dell not only travels with the family to bury Addie, but along the way seeks out a doctor to help her get an abortion.

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Faulkner composites a family that is far away from perfect, instead the family members each face a tribulation that connects to the death their mother. With the supporting passages Faulkner demonstrates how the novel, As I Lay Dying fulfill his own vision of the writer’s duty, which is to express the problems by appealing to pathos, introducing relatable problems, and discussing family dynamics. Faulkner fulfills the writer’s duty by introducing problems the writers can relate to. Faulkner inspires readers to write about, “problems of the human heart... with itself which can make good writing...because that is only worth the sweat agony” (Faulkner 14-15).

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The family's treacherous journey to Jefferson is filled with danger and excitement, yet Faulkner gives many doses of humor throughout the novel. The characters employ themselves in outrageous acts of irony, from Addie's rejection of her most devoted son, to Anse's concern with his false teeth instead of Addie's death, to Vardaman's calling his mother a fish. This irony would not have been evident if it were not for Faulkner's use of multiple narrators. Faulkner was enchanted by Freudian theories of psychology when he wrote this novel, and recounting the story through various perspectives allows the reader to understand each character's reaction. This enhanced the dark humor throughout the novel because the reader can see into each family member's thoughts on her death.

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In the novel, As I lay dying by William Faulkner, the Bundren family go through a mental journey of loss and death of their mother later to go on a physical journey to bury their mother. To the conclusion of any novel, many have an opinion on what is much happy or not a happy ending. In the case of the ending to As I lay dying, include no real burial of how the mother wanted, which was the point of the physical journey in the first place, secrets comes out, one of the five the siblings gets taken away, and many are left with unfinished business, was not a happy at all for most of the characters. The novel is narrated by 15 characters that are not all part of the Bundren family but in some way connected.

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In the novel, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner shapes the plot based on the looming presence of the absentee protagonist, Addie Bundren. The reader’s knowledge of Addie accumulates through the monologues of other characters, so the reader gains only bits and pieces of Addie’s character. However, after her death, the reader obtains a better understanding of Addie’s voice through her own monologue and as a result, is characterized as cold and selfish. Through the use of similes and interior monologue, Faulkner shows Addie’s tendency to detach herself from the people in her life, which relates to the novel’s overall theme of solitude as Addie adheres to her father’s philosophy that the reason for living is no more than “to get ready to stay dead a long time” (169).

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Jewel can be seen as getting angry at the fact that Darl had already accepted the fact that Addie was dead and that he still cannot accept this fact. Throught the scene, Jewel’s dialogue is largely angry and directed at his family, as he says things like “‘Shut up, Darl’” and “‘Shut your

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Through these events, Emily formed an unhealthy dependency on her father. When he passed away, she kept his body for several days, until the town took him away to bury him. By using these flashbacks of Emily’s past, Faulkner causes the reader

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In A Rose for Emily, William Faulkner talks about Emily, a southern woman from a rich family and her struggles in keeping tradition over the radical change that her area and her life is going through. Also, Faulkner expresses how trying to live in the past while the world is in development can lead to mental diseases like the psychologically disease that Emily developed through her life. The story is a reflection of the gothic fiction which is full of mysteries, assumptions, and transformations and that makes the story a good example of the gothic literature. Throughout the story, many gothic elements are represented to support and strengthen the story.

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