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How Does Faulkner Present Anse Bundren In As I Lay Dying

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It is always important to remember that with every story there comes more than one side to the story. William Faulkner presents this thought in a challenging way in his novel As I Lay Dying. He does this by having each of his fifteen characters in the novel narrate from their own perspective. This allows the reader to connect with the characters on multiple levels from what others say about them to what they have to say about themselves. There are only three chapters that are dedicated to the narration of Anse Bundren. Even though this is true, the reader still develops a picture of the way he acts and behaves through how his family members describe him. The ways that these family members perceive Anse change the reader’s view of him constantly throughout the novel. William Faulkner makes Anse Bundren the most complex character in As I Lay Dying through his role as a father, his flaws, and through the way he is perceived by others. When Anse is first introduced in the novel, the reader gathers a negative image of him because he is portrayed through the eyes of Darl. He says, “…he tells people that if he ever sweats, he will die. I suppose he believes it” (Faulkner 17). Darl describes his father as …show more content…

His greed causes him to take money from his own kids without telling them. The fact that Anse takes Cash’s money from his pocket when he is unconscious shows how embarrassed Anse really is to ask for money and that he does not like confrontations. Anse is ashamed of himself for his lack of wealth and does not want his kids to view him as a failure any more than they already do. Anse refuses to accept favors from anyone that is not a part of his immediate family because he is prideful. This is established by his refusal to sleep in Armstid’s house by saying “I know it’s a imposition on you” (Faulkner 181). Anse also declines the use of Armstid’s team; instead, Anse sells Jewel’s most beloved possession: his

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773 Words | 4 Pages

There was some money owed after Peabody(the doctor) paid his visit. Of course Anse was very angry. Anse said, “And now I got to pay for it, me without a tooth in my head…”(Faulkner 37) His teeth were more of a priority. Instead of using the money on his dying wife or his children he was much more concerned about his appearance over his

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838 Words | 4 Pages

Betrayal is defined as, “an act of deliberate disloyalty" (vocabulary.com). In William Faulkner’s book, As I Lay Dying, there is a lot of betrayal between the Bundren family. From, Addie having an affair to most of her family travelling to Jefferson for selfish reasons. The Bundren family is a lying and selfish family. Most of the characters betray Addie specifically in many ways.

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4925 Words | 20 Pages

Though the novel has a simple basic plot structure, the author interlaces it with a complex mix of tragic and grotesquely funny elements. As I Lay Dying is told in fifty-nine monologues of varying length. Most of these monologues represent the thoughts of the Bundrens themselves,

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921 Words | 4 Pages

With many unforgettable classic novels out there for us to explore, I have chosen As I Lay Dying for this year's course because it depicts the ideal standards of a classic novel by portraying emotion, connecting with the reader, and leaving room for thought. Some might argue that there are other classic novels that will be a better fit for the program, such as Lord of the Flies. However, As I Lay Dying can connect

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1129 Words | 5 Pages

The narrative, As I Lay Dying, develops a reading of the Bundren family. Each of the family members including the mother that is dead, narrate about themselves in relevance to the entire family. By writing about relatable problems for the audience to relate to, Faulkner discusses the loss of the mother, Addie. Dealing with a significant family loss, Anse, already justifies that Faulkner is fulfilling his own vision of the writer’s duty. The author reflects on Addie, who is the mother in the entire story and

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1616 Words | 7 Pages

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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560 Words | 3 Pages

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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713 Words | 3 Pages

“No; the other one. He puts the saw down and comes and picks up the plank he wants, sweeping pa away” Darl treats his father with disrespect which foreshadows Addi’s revenge on Anse. By reading the beginning chapters we see how Faulkner shows Anse as uncaring and selfish. One of the reasons why Cash shows resentment to his father is because Anse stands idly by and pretends to be working while all he is doing is getting in his way like when he recounts that him and Vernon were looking for the saw and he whole time

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1216 Words | 5 Pages

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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764 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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2627 Words | 11 Pages

Religion in As I Lay Dying The time and setting during which the novel was written are very important for understanding William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. This novel was written in 1930 Mississippi; during this time Mississippi was very religious. Unsurprisingly, Christianity and religion also plays a big role in As I Lay Dying particularly through imagery and symbolism that connects different characters to religious figures, including Jesus Christ.

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721 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner portrayed the female characters as people who are always subjected by men and face numerous struggles of the everyday, rural, Southern woman in the 1930s. The three main female characters of the book are Cora, Dewey Dell Bundren, and Addie Bundren. Their lives are harder than men due to being repressed by the masculine-ruled society at the time. Both Dewey Dell and Cora resign themselves to their faith, but Addie broke the social norms of this era and paved her path by doing so.

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1117 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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2437 Words | 10 Pages

Over the course of the novel, Faulkner explores existential behaviors and questions about the meaning of life and death, as well as trying to understand the purpose an individual has in an irrational world. Characters such as Darl, Addie, and Vardaman all convey existentialistic behavior leaving them to view the world from a different perspective than other characters such as Jewel. Throughout the novel, Addie, Darl, and Vardaman all act differently than Jewel due to their existentialist ideas. Although it is important to understand the world around us, if we become submerged into our own thoughts and try to understand the complex world around us, we might lose ourselves in the process. At the heart of the entire novel is Addie Bundren, as her death and decision to be

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1554 Words | 7 Pages

This was not an easy decision, but his heroic mindset almost caused the loss of his life when a foe attempted to kill him. Juxtaposing heroic decisions, in As I Lay Dying, characters base their actions on selfish desires and greed. The mother, Addie, had asked to be buried in Jefferson near her hometown. The family then treks through terrible conditions of strong storms, an underwater bridge, and lack of money to replace missing goods. They stay with her rotting body for days in the wagon on their way to the city.

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