Essay on As I lay Dying Seminars

She was the only one who understood. She listened without judgement, held her when she cried, and was there for her when she was at her loneliest. It was hard without her being there. She felt as if she had no one to talk to. Steven was too young, Garnet was not the talking type, and Pearl? Well, they just didn't get along. Actually never got along. She was the reject gem; the product of a Homeworld experiment that none of the "real" gems wanted to speak of. It was almost sacrilegious.

“Tuesdays with Morrie” and “The Death of Ivan Ilych” both portray a character who is dealing with a serious terminal illness and advance knowledge of their deaths. One story is based on the realistic life of an American professor with the story’s characteristics tone from the 1990’s while the other is set during nineteenth century Russia. Even though Morrie Schwartz and Ivan Ilych both suffered from the illness, their dissimilar lifestyles and beliefs led to different perspective on facing death. One views the knowledge as a blessing and an opportunity to share his life experiences before making his final good-byes, the other agonizes in pain and begs for an

Another example, is when Addie speaks. She speaks to reveal her selfishness. She admits to having an extramarital affair with the local preacher, who is Jewel’s biological father. The reader can see this when Addie says, “I gave Anse Dewey Dell to negative Jewel. Then I gave him Vardaman to replace the child I had robbed him of” (176). Further, Addie admits that she wants to be buried in Jefferson because she wants to spend eternity as far away from the Bundren’s as possible.

However, Jewel has a much different view of their journey. Jewel sees it as a way to make up to his mother for not being there when she passed (Faulkner 48). Therefore, he does everything in his power to get her there . . . including running into a burning barn and nearly drowning to save her coffin (Faulkner 154 and 221). These acts, although seemingly heroic, arise as truly selfish and shallow. These shallow acts can exist through Jewels “pale eyes” which look “like wood” (Faulkner 4). This simile compares Jewel to a simple substance which mirrors how his actions towards his mother are self-absorbed. Wood is two dimensional and shallow. When Jewels refuses to let the past go and continuously holds on to the idea of upsetting his mother, he in turn works for his own benefit. Jewel seeks his mother's approval out of self absorption and not out of love; he acts shallow and hollow like wood. In turn, Jewel ignores his siblings and continues to push towards

The aim of a hospice is to improve the quality of life of the dying

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

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

In Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young African-American, Jefferson, is caught in the middle of a liquor shootout, and as the only survivor is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During Jefferson’s trial, his attorney calls him a hog in an effort to persuade the jury that he could not have possibly planned a crime like this. Having heard this, Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma, calls on the local school teacher, Grant Wiggins, to visit Jefferson in prison and help prove to the community, more importantly the white people, that Jefferson is indeed a man, not a hog. Throughout the book, Grant often contemplates why he is helping Miss Emma; he debates within himself whether he should stay and help Miss Emma and

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.

William Faulkner uses language in a unique way in his novel As I Lay Dying. Language is a form of expression to show thoughts and emotions. Faulkner uses it to convey the individual characters’ thoughts and feelings. He also uses it to draw a line between language and true expression. He shows the limitations of language and the difference between language and words.

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.

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

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.

In the midst of undergoing a serious life-altering incident, one often experiences the feeling of a paradigm shift. It is amazing to see how our perspectives of the world shift when forced to reflect on what is truly important. Such is the way with death. Being near death causes a sharp realization of what is truly important in life--love of family and friends, faith in God, and making the world a better place to live in--and enables one to not merely accept this, but apply it to their life as well. All those typical, average daily worries and concerns about homework, professional careers, food, sleep, personal grooming, etc., while important and necessary in everyday life must seem unbelievably miniscule when the death has wiped ones