As I Lay Boundren Character Analysis

Illegitimate child, Jewel has a different father than the rest of his siblings and Darl believes that “[he] cannot love [his] mother because [he has] no mother. Jewel’s mother is a horse” (Faulkner 95). Both Darl and Jewel have the same mother, but because Addie cheated and Darl is full of anger, he blames Jewel, the product of the affair. Not only does this worsen their relationship, but it makes it difficult for them to properly grieve. Faulkner defends the idea that placing blame on others within your family will only complicate situations more and restrict the ability for connections to flourish. While Dewey Dell, the only daughter, does not blame Darl for knowing about her pregnancy, but she does despise him for having knowledge of it and once said she had thoughts where “[she] killed Darl” (Faulkner 121). Struggling to feel a sense of belonging, Dewey Dell looks for anyone to be the victim of her anger and embarrassment. She resents her brother and breaks a possible alliance with him; meanwhile, Faulkner uses this situation to point out that one must take responsibility when one does something wrong in order for love to shine through the tough moments in life.

A very important comparison Dally and Johnny have is their parents. Johnny’s parents do not care about him. They either beat him or ignore him completely. “His father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him” (12). His parents are alcoholics and do not care if he comes home or not. Likewise, Dally parents also do not care about him. If he was put in jail by age ten, then his parents clearly do not care enough to discipline him. He rarely talks about his parents, but when he does, he has nothing nice to say. “‘Shoot, my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m dead in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter’” (88). Dally talks about his father with disgust, like he never did anything for him, which may be true. The way Dally’s parents and Johnny’s parents both do not care about them makes these two characters very similar.

I was pleased to have attended a lecture cosponsored by the Ethics Center, the Fresno State office of the president, the Fresno Bee and Valley PBS. The lecture began with Dr. Castro recognizing a few leaders on campus, including a past Fresno State president, Dr. John D. Welty and campus volunteer Mary Castro. Dr. Castro then mentioned a few things about Mr. Brooks stating that he is a columnist for the New York Times and an analyst for the PBS “News Hour” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Dr. Brooks also teaches at Yale University, one the finest university in the country. Dr. Castro continued by saying that he learned that Mr. Brooks office hours are from 9am to 1pm and how “cool” it sounded to him. I was surprised how many people attended the event. I was fortunate to find a seat. David Brooks mentioned how he has some remote roots in the Central Valley because his father grew in Chowchilla, CA but Mr. Brooks grew in New York.

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

It would seem that the primary struggle that Darl faces in the novel is the differentiation between “being” and “not-being” and the value, meaning, and importance of his own self. In the same way that Vardaman does not understand mortality, Darl does not understand himself, and this severely clouds his judgment when it comes to coping with the death of his mother. Darl seems to be a rational person at the beginning of the novel, but he plagues himself with questions regarding the fact that, “In a strange room you must empty yourself for sleep. And before you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are filled with sleep, you never were. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am or not” (Faulkner 80). Darl cannot navigate his own identity, and it seems that this, combined with his subpar relationship with Addie, leads him to attempt to cope by repressing his despair in multiple failed attempts to understand himself. Butchart notes that “By dissociating himself from his mother and employing dangerous defense mechanisms, Darl’s sanity atrophies” (Butchart 60). The descent to madness that Darl endures is a sympathetic plight to most readers, since Darl is arguably one of the more sympathetic characters in the novel, but this decline is ultimately guided by his inability to come to terms with himself and his actions, especially concerning the fact that he was not present at the death of his mother. Jewel copes with the death of his mother in a way that is similar to the method that Darl utilizes, in that he represses his feelings, despite the fact that his close connection with Addie allows the reader to assume that he is the most hurt by her death. Jewel then uses his grief to fuel his devotion to heroic duty, which is primarily seen in his efforts to save Addie from the burning barn and

Darry has to take care of his brothers and he does with his friends too .Darry lets his friends sleep on the couch when they don't have anywhere to go . Darry works two jobs just to be able to take care of his fam . Darry manages to keep a roof over his family's head . Darry somehow is unappreciated by his youngest sibling Ponyboy he is so ungrateful.

Throughout the book Jewel is distant and somewhat disliked by his family, but the journey could not have been made without him. In two separate occasions he risked his own life in order to save his mothers coffin. He is also picked on by Darl, but never freaks out and fights him or anything. Without Jewel Anse would not have gotten his teeth either.

In the novel, Moseley highlights the cause of the Bundren family's dysfunction by providing positive contrast against their warped morality. Throughout their journey, almost all of the characters are depicted as simple-minded people from the country, lacking ethics and motivated only by selfish desires. While Jewel, Cash, and Dewey Dell are all focused on their own single object, task, or problem, and Anse with gaining possessions for himself, Moseley cares for others. He instructs Dewey Dell to "take that ten dollars and get married with it." (203) Later in the novel, after Dewey Dell had been tricked in her second attempt at an abortion, Anse steals the money to spend on himself. Dissimilar to Anse and McGowan, Moseley is honest, despite the fact he could have easily deceived Dewey Dell in the same ways. Faulkner uses these virtuous qualities of Moseley to distinguish the corrupt traits of the Bundrens.

He usually doesn’t get along with his brother, Jewel, and often scrutinizes and makes fun of him, most likely out of pure jealousy. At one point, Darl goes so far as to try to keep Jewel isolated from his mother as she is dying. Darl also has what can only be described as telepathic abilities. He is the only character in the book that can accurately describe what is occurring at locations other than the one he is at. This ability is discovered when it becomes obvious that Darl knows of Dewey Dell’s pregnancy, despite the fact that she has maintained absolute secrecy in the matter. In fact, Darl discovers Addie’s death telepathically, and is able to tell Jewel about her death before either one of them have even returned to the house to see her. Darl’s own telepathy will become the biggest obstacle he is forced to confront in the novel, and it will eventually lead to his demise.

In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, the Bundren family embarks on a journey to lay their dead wife and mother, Addie, to rest in a coffin built by one of their own. The family members each have obstacles they face in addition to grieving for their lost loved one, some physical, some mental, some more serious than others. However, could it be possible that Addie’s death has brought the family closer in the corpse’s journey to her resting place? The journey to Jefferson latched on more obstacles to the family’s feet, but they were able to overcome them in the end and reach their destination. However, despite having each other, in the very end, perhaps the family remained more divided, as there was already the weight of poverty and Addie’s death

One of the many issues addressed by literary works is that of isolation. Namely, one finds the separation of one character from another, and the resulting sense of solitude, to be a recurring theme in certain works. Such works include the unrelated, yet equally masterful novels, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, 1984 by George Orwell and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. This theme, however universal as it may be, differs between each novel both in its appearance and its purpose. As I Lay Dying mainly utilizes isolation in order to emphasize the distance between the members of the Bundren family, and of course between said members and those outside of the family.

In the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, the oldest Bundren child, Cash Bundren, is a straightforward person. Cash doesn’t speak a lot, because he only says what truly needs to be said, and in that, Cash only does things that seem like a logical course of events. Cash is a character that helps the story of the bundrens be told rationally, and grounded. Many of his actions result in being unintentionally selfless, which help make Cash rise to a quiet leadership role in the Bundren family. Repeatedly throughout the novel, Cash sees

In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Cash Bundren is the oldest son of Addie Bundren. He is the carpenter of the family and the most religious of them all. Throughout the story, he never wants to give up and logically thinks through every situation. Without Cash Bundren, As I Lay Dying would be completely different than it is. Cash’s caring, logical thinking, and perfectionism helps build Addie’s coffin perfectly, and he also shapes the other characters and gives optimism for them.

In the novel Catch Me If You Can by Frank William Abagnale, Frank is a well defined static character. Even though he faces different challenges throughout the novel, he remains the same a the end of the story as he was in the beginning. Being said this, he still continued to run away from his problems and did cons. He is a confident individual who ran away from home at a young age to find a life for himself. Frank is a smart, young and charismatic boy. During his early teen years, his parents started to go through a divorce, which left him torn between whom to choose to stay with. After learning about the divorce that was about to take place, Frank decides to runaway. Frank states, “One June morning of 1964, I woke up and knew it was time to go.

“ I'm a simple Village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.” I am Nujood, age 10 and divorced focuses on a young girl, Nujood who is born in Khardji, Yemen, which at the time was considered one of the poorest areas that lack stability for families . in her book she talks about the struggles encountered; one being that she was arranged to be married to a man three times her age; which her father facilitated and arranged to happen. She is taken to another city where she resides with her now to be husband and his mother. Her mother in law insist that Nujood husband abuse her because “ she is his possession. Later on she is raped