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Identity In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

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Often in literature a specific character is essential to illuminating the larger themes of the piece. In William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying, imagery and language are used to illustrate the fragility of existence and identity shown through his characters’ consciousness. The story revolves around the Bundren family, who are poor country folk, depicting an already ill Addie Bundren, whose dying wish is to be buried in Jefferson and her family’s journey getting her there. The family endures multiple obstacles before finally being able to burry Addie, along the way we see each character’s internal battles as well. Addie’s death triggers the reoccurring thought of death within the characters, ultimately altering their identities. Faulkner uses his ability to alter characters in order to portray …show more content…

This is magnified when Peabody arrives to check on her and describes her as if, “she has been dead these ten days” as “her face is wasted away so that the bones draw just under the skin in white lines” (38,5). Peabody’s description symbolizes the lack of life that Addie possessed near the end, showing how a person can still be alive but not exist. Through Darl’s narration of Addie’s death Faulkner again uses imagery to depict the uncertainty of identity and existence, “Her eyes, the life in them; the two flames glare up for a steady instant. Then they go out as though someone had leaned down and blown upon them” (43). It is Addie’s death that inspires the characters to question the strength of existence; Jewel fuels his emotions into loving his horse, Vardaman thinks himself into talking gibberish and thinks of his mother as a fish, and Darl believes that Addie no longer exists, “I cannot love my mother because I have no mother” (86). Through this Faulkner is able to convey how death may possibly erase what remains of one’s life after they cease to

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Darl plays a major role in the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. He is the second oldest in the Burden family and he also appears to be the most logical of the family. Darl is a tortured yet intelligent young man and throughout the novel, his intelligence, ability, and relationship with his mother affected his relationship with the rest of the family as well as his goals throughout the novel. An important thing to mention about Darl is that he seems clairvoyant.

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In Sanity Insanity takes on different forms. Some harm themselves or are a danger to others. Darl Bundren, however, is declared insane because he thinks differently from his family. Darl serves as the primary narrator in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, a story of one dysfunctional family’s journey through the Mississippi countryside to the town of Jefferson to bury their matriarch.

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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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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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As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner In the excerpt from William Faulkner’s Southern novel, As I Lay Dying the author structures his novel through the use of literary features such as allusion, similes a belittling yet humorous tone, concrete imagery and a stream of consciousness style in the passage. Faulkner throughout the passage not only describes Cash’s reserved character and Darls perspective imagination but he also foreshadows the struggle the Bundren’s will go through as they prepare to go on the journey of burying Addie. First, Faulkner has the speaker Darl create a gloomy mood by using similes to display the ambiance in the room. Then Faulkner alludes to the bible and uses concrete imagery to illustrate both the surroundings and Cash’s concentration and determination as he makes his mother’s coffin.

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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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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!”

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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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This type of writing is Porter using the stream of consciousness to exploit Granny’s delusive state. Even more damning, Porter writes at the end that Granny prayed for a sign, but nothing came and then she died. This is another example of hopelessness. In comparison, Faulkner’s story also conveys the same theme. In his story “Rose for Emily,” he begins the story with Emily’s death.

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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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