As I Lay Dying Character Analysis

Most works of literature often use events and objects to display a deeper meaning to the current situation. In As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, there are many references that connect the Bundren family to mythological, Biblical, and classical allusions. Faulkner’s use of various types of allusions emphasizes the characters’ behavior and relationship to each other.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your vision is clear, your whole body will be full of light” (). Ever since the creation of mankind, the eyes exist as the window to the soul. Taking one look into a person's eyes can leave you with more knowledge than ever thought imagined. Love, anger, lust, hatred, sympathy and guilt can all express themselves in just one glance. William Faulkner knew of this interesting trait and applied it to his 19___’s novel “As I Lay Dying”. Each character possesses their own unique traits and personalities which drive them to fulfill their end mission: burying their mother in Jefferson. To express their personalities, Faulkner incorporates a variety of similes and metaphors all relating to the eyes. This technique sheds light of their selfish ways. These selfish qualities, not the love for their mother, cause the Bundren children to succeed in their mother's dying wish.

The trait that most resembles a heroic quality can be traced within the selflessness within the novel. The acts of selflessness can then be traced within the three eldest Bundren brothers Jewel, Cash and Darl. Jewel Bundren is not a man of words and only has one vocal chapter in the novel. His heroic selflessness stems not from how he expresses himself but instead from his actions. Jewel Bundren is often described as wooden and disconnects his emotions from both the other characters in the novel as well as the reader. Though he is cold, Jewel balances his outward appearance with selfless actions. Jewel’s only emotional connection his family is through Addie. It is because of this connection that drives him relentlessly forward with the mission. He shows dedication to his family when he searches valiantly for Cash’s tools after the river crossing. Jewel is motivated through his connection to Addie to connect to his family. Finally, he is so devoted to delivering his mother towards Jefferson to the point that he

She becomes a wife and a mother. She loves her children and they adore her. When she grows old they will take of her, and when she dies, they long for her the rest of their days. The concept of such a desired and completed journey of motherhood and womanhood is dismantled in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. On a spectrum of maternity, characters Cora Tull, Addie Bundren and her daughter Dewey Dell each represent a different degree. Cora is a dedicated mother, Addie struggles to accept the idea of motherhood, and Dewey Dell rejects the role altogether. Through these female characters, Faulkner also aims to point out the absurdity of the universal experience of womanhood.

1. Which are the most intelligent and sympathetic voices in the novel? With whom do you most and least identify? Is Faulkner controlling your closeness to some characters and not others? How is this done, given the seemingly equal mode of presentation for all voices?

For example, when Anse complains about having to feed Jewel’s horse, Jewel angrily, “looked at pa, his eyes paler than ever. “He won’t ever eat a mouthful of yours,” he said. “Not a mouthful. I’ll have to kill him first. Don’t you never think it. Don’t you never (32 136).” Jewel shows no respect for Anse due to his hatred toward him. Jewel hates Anse in spite of his isolation. In addition, Darl explains how Addie was concerned about Jewel saying, “Ma wanted to get the doctor, but pa didn’t want to spend the money without it was needful (32 130).” This shows the difference in Jewel’s relationships between his mother and Anse. Jewel probably feels like Addie was the only trustworthy person he loved. When Addie died, Jewel felt he lost the only person he respected.

As I Lay Dying covers the story of a family as they journey to bury the mother, Addie, in her hometown after her death. They all go through the same situations but each experience different emotions and thoughts. They express these through the language they use. What each character says as well as how he/she says it lets the reader see the

While Darl does embark on the cross-country journey with the rest of his family, he never fully supports or commits himself the idea. This resurfaces towards the end of the novel when it becomes apparent that Darl feels embarrassed about traveling across the country with his mother’s corpse. The result of these feelings is Darl’s decision to burn down the barn that is sheltering Addie’s coffin. This gives the reader enough information to make an assumption as to what the Bundren family’s opinion of Darl really is: Could they perhaps view him as a

The author of As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner, really contributes to the aspects of literature through his ability to tell a seemingly incredible story through only the “stream-of-consciousness” technique. Faulkner takes his insight beyond the piece, through other’s views and thoughts. Although the characters might be acting differently upon each subject or handling each action in opposite ways, the tone and theme that he uses really brings the whole piece to a perfect balance. In As I Lay Dying, Faulkner displays contradicting elements through the reactions of the family members towards the mother’s death with the use of dialogue, tone, imagery, and internal conflict.

reason that it was her dying wish. He wanted to get those teeth. I highly doubt Anse would have dragged a dead corpse around for two weeks or so if he’d had a full set of teeth in his mouth. When Addie was about to die, he sent his two sons away to load wood for a measly three dollars. Jewel and Darl did not get to say their last

One part that was surprises was when Jewel takes off with his horse after Anse tells him “he’s traded it for a mule” especially since it means giving up the horse for which he worked so hard for day and night. This could have been a perfect time for Jewel to get out of town live is own life and away from the Bundrens but instead he does come back because of Addie Bundrens his mother. It is hard to see it, but Jewel loves his mother a lot because she would always back him up on his decisions. Keeping in mind that Jewel may not be a part of the Bundren family but according to Addie he is still her son and to her “he’ll be the one to save her from the water and the fire” (56). In fact he also feels closer to her because he can’t feel close to the rest of the family because he doesn’t get along with some of them.

In the novel, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, the Bundren family suffers greatly on their journey to bury Addie. During their journey, Darl seems to be out of place, and is considered to be unusual by society. He is placed in a mental institute for burning a barn, acting as a scapegoat in the novel. 1. The entire Bundren family benefit from Darl’s fate.

He was a product of Addie's infidelity to Anse, an act that was on Addie's mind until the day she died. The guilt she felt, even to the husband she had no love for, was so overwhelming that she produced both Dewey Dell and Vardaman to "negative" the sin that was Jewel's birth. Her self-worth was then so low that she felt she was ready to die after her recompense to Anse was finished. "And now he has three children that are his and not mine. And then I could get ready to die" (Faulkner 176). Addie had strong opinions on sin, as shown in her one chapter of the novel. She recounts an instance with her neighbor Cora Tull: "She prayed for me because she believed I was blind to sin, wanting me to kneel and pray too, because people to whom sin is just a matter of words, to them salvation is just words too" (Faulkner 176). Addie's sin with Jewel seems to perplex other members of the family through their journey to bury her; Darl's inability to mentally communicate with Jewel leads him to question Jewel's origin. Darl also seemed to put his views into the mind of Vardaman, though the poor neglected child was confused enough. Addie and Anse's relationship, as explained in Addie's narrative, has an obvious lack of intimacy, closeness, and meaningfulness. This can be seen as a sin inherited by their daughter, Dewey Dell. Her sexual curiosity and naïveté lead her to an unwanted pregnancy with a father, Lafe, who does not care about her.

Mood: The mood of my story is a depressing, sympathetic and a mix of cheerful mood. The story begins off of a young teenager who isn’t very positive about her body and lets her mind take over (Skinny) and tells Ever everything. The story then leads to giving sympathy towards Ever. In the book, you start to feel sorry for what Ever has to go through. Lastly, you begin to feel cheerful. Ever starts doing what she needs, leading to success. She begins to take the steps she needs to live a long, healthy life, instead of the one she was living previously.

In the novel “After The First Death”, multiple characters act cruelly to each other to accomplish a goal. Miro is a terrorist involved in a hijacking. His job is to kill kate. Artkin is another terrorist mostly in charge of the demands of the hijacking after Antibbe is killed. The General, who is the leader of the Inner Delta, is in charge of the negotiation As a result Miro, Artkin, and the General do what they think is right for their country even though it might not go well.