ipl-logo

William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

549 Words3 Pages

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
“She would tell me what I owed to my children and to Anse and to God. I gave Anse the children. I did not ask for them. I did not even ask him for what he could have given me: not-Anse. That was my duty to him, to not ask that, and that duty I fulfilled. I would be; I would let him be the shape and echo of his world. That was more than he asked because he could not have asked for that and been Anse, using himself so with a word” (Faulkner, 174). In the novel, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, there are many passages that tend to be perplexing and difficult to understand, if not read closely by the reader. Although there are many passages in the novel that are compelling, the passage expressed by the deceased …show more content…

At the beginning of the passage where Addie said, “She would tell me what I owed my children to Anse and to God” (Faulkner, 174), she was referring to Cora. She felt that Cora was trying to control her life and tell her how it should be for a married woman. Although Addie didn’t agree on Cora’s ideas, she didn’t give her opinion to her about how she felt. Cora would even tell Addie that she wasn’t a true mother but Addie would think of her words as “quick and harmless” as she spoke (Faulkner, 173). Moreover, when Addie spoke about Anse and the children, she said that she never wanted them. Anse primarily forced Addie to have children so they could help with the essential farm duties just like any other basic family in the south in this time period would do. Additionally, out of all her children she birthed, the only one she cared for was Jewel. The affair she engaged in with Whitfield was the only time she found love in her life, and Jewel reminded her of that time of serenity. Throughout the book, the reader views Addie as a peaceful and innocent character while her children and husband are viewed as apathetic. In reality, Addie was a selfish individual because of the acts she explained in her chapter. Not to mention, there was another part of the passage where Addie elucidates her disinterest in Anse by saying, “I did not even ask

Show More
Related

Betrayal In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

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.

Read More

Write An Essay On Adeline's

1302 Words | 6 Pages

But while Adeline “appears as spotless as ever” (Opie, 1999: 75), the same cannot be said of other supposedly virtuous women: Maynard’s sisters. Opie reveals to the reader Her position in society as a woman placed her at the mercy of men’s insensible disposition. It is my opinion that with the help of these contradictions between the “qualities” which society attribute to Adeline and what she actually stands for Amelia Opie plays so as to show the Can it then be a matter of surprise that “she seems to be more ill-judging than vicious” (Opie, 1999: 79) in the eyes of the

Read More

Allegory In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

1959 Words | 8 Pages

Jewel Bundren is presented as a martyr and a Christ allegory in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. However, unlike Christian martyrs Jewel is never rewarded for his sacrifice. Instead insufferable characters like Anse and Cora receive rewards. This discrepancy reveals that Faulkner believes that religion

Read More

As I Lay Dying

1129 Words | 5 Pages

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).

Read More

How Does Faulkner Use Symbolism In As I Lay Dying

166 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout his novel As I Lay Dying William Faulkner demonstrates how one selfish act can be the source of pain and suffering for many. Faulkner utilizes symbolism and point of view to express the burdens each of the Bundren’s carry and the toll it takes on them. Anse enforces Addie's wish to be buried in Jefferson, “His mind is set on taking her to Jefferson” (Faulkner 86), but moving her after her death causes the Bundren's to endure unnecessary hardships. The coffin that carries her becomes a physical burden that is a symbol of the family’s grief, and their own separate problems making the trip to Jefferson necessary and painful.

Read More

Addie Bundren In As I Lay Dying

1736 Words | 7 Pages

During the chapter that Addie narrates, she says that, “I gave Anse Dewey Dell to negative Jewel. Then I gave him Vardaman to replace the child I had robbed him of. And now he has three children that are his and not mine. And then I could get ready to die.” (AILD 60).

Read More

As I Lay Dying Literary Analysis Essay

713 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Addie's Voice In As I Lay Dying

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).

Read More

Insanity In As I Lay Dying Essay

1339 Words | 6 Pages

Knowledge at the Price of Insanity Throughout William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying, Darl Bundren is never able to have a complete way of identifying himself and experiences an increasing detachment from his family during their trip to bury their dead mother, Addie. . In an attempt to make everything better Darl sets the barn on fire. An act he believes to be very practical, but others see as insane. The connection is completely severed when he is sent away to an asylum in Jackson because of his attempt to end the nightmare journey he and his family were on.

Read More

Faulkner's A Lesson Before Dying

141 Words | 1 Pages

A Lesson Before Dying is a story about a young black man, named Jefferson, and a black school teacher, named Grant Wiggins, in Louisiana shortly after World War II. The young man was scheduled to be executed via electric chair for a crime he did not commit, thus making his only incorrect action being standing at the wrong place at the wrong time. The white jury that was a part of his trial did not recognize this because one of the outcomes of the incident was the death of a white man, and this time period was riddled with racial problems. Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, wanted Grant to try to make Jefferson mentally strong before he was put to death, and after lots of doubt and conflict from certain characters in the novel, Grant , along

Read More

A Literary Analysis Of William Faulkner's Barn Burning

683 Words | 3 Pages

Literary Analysis of “Barn Burning” Many times the decisions we need to make in life can be difficult to make. This is evident in William Faulkner's “Barn Burning”. The main character can either let his father burn down a barn or betray him and alert the authorities of his criminal actions.

Read More

Female Characters In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

721 Words | 3 Pages

She is the one female character that challenges the standard of a southern, rural woman. Unlike Cora she isn’t obedient to her husband nor God. She cheated on her husband, Anse, with a minister and isn’t sexually satisfied by Anse. Addie isn’t happy with the traditional way of life of having a husband and kids, “So I took Anse. And when I knew that I had Cash, I knew that living was terrible…”

Read More

William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

624 Words | 3 Pages

What is a male? What is a female? Are they not one? If not, what makes one superior to the other? Equality, in its purest form, is the prevention of discrimination against any one gender.

Read More

Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop For Death

1000 Words | 4 Pages

“Because I Could Not Stop For Death” by Emily Dickinson is a poem about death being personified in an odd and imaginative way. The poet has a personal encounter with Death, who is male and drives a horse-carriage. They go on a mysterious journey through time and from life to death to an afterlife. The poem begins with its first line being the title, but Emily Dickinson’s poems were written without a title and only numbered when published, after she died in 1886.

Read More

Analysis Of Carl Sandburg's Cool Tombs

560 Words | 3 Pages

Everyone from the president of the United States, to the common man will all meet at the grave. This poem will forever serve as a reminder in American literature in that death is peaceful, rather than

Read More

More about William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

Related Topics

Open Document