Vardaman An American Character

As I Lay Dying is a novel by William Faulkner that chronicles the journey of the Bundren family (Anse, Dewey Dell, Darl, Jewel, Cash, and Vardaman) to bury their recently deceased mother, Addie, in Jefferson. Throughout As I Lay Dying, Faulkner treats Darl as the de-facto narrator of the novel, endowing Darl with the most passages in the novel and endowing him with an omniscient perspective of the events chronicled in the book. Jewel, however, gets the opposite treatment from Faulkner; he only is designated one passage in the entire book and is known for being self-centered and close-minded. In terms of the motivation of traveling to Jefferson, Darl has none, while Jewel’s sole purpose is to give Addie a proper burial. By the end of the novel,

The critical loss of an extremely close family member is detrimental to most. Individuals cannot evade death and reality always catches up to them. However, everyone has their own methods of subduing the weight of the inevitable loss within our lifetimes. Within George Bernard Shaw’s letter “She Would Have Enjoyed it”, regarding his mother and her cremation, his attitude shifts from ominous to light-hearted and nostalgic using key details, imagery, and diction in order to convey his feelings and cope with his loss.

Family Dysfunction is the main theme in As I Lay Dying. The reader can see this from the beginning when Cash is building a coffin outside his mother’s window, where she can see it. Surprisingly, Addie does not seem offended of her son building her casket outside the window. Right before she dies, she asks her husband to do her a favor and

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.

Darl Bundren, arguably the leading character in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, is the voice of 19 of the 55 chapters of the work, significantly more than any other single character. Over the course of the novel, Darl experiences a descent into madness, illustrated by Faulkner with a stream of consciousness narrative. This style of writing is the rawest form that a character can exist in, and the most distinct from the author. As Faulkner has made clear through Addie Bundren, Darl’s recently deceased mother, language is important. In context, this means that Faulkner’s use of language should not be overlooked when analyzing any aspect of his writing. That being said, by examining the exact grammar, Faulkner clearly outlines Darl’s disintegrating sanity using his internal dialog.

A morally ambiguous character in As I Lay Dying is Anse Bundren. Anse Bundren’s dedication and determination to fulfil his wife’s wish counterpoises the fact that he is self-centered and neglectful towards others. With his two biggest goals in mind, burying his wife and getting a new set of teeth, Anse Bundren demonstrates the theme of self-interest vs. heroic actions. Most of the members of the Bundren family have goals at the end of their journey to Jefferson, but Anse’s two goals are both the most selfish and altruistic goals of the book.

The Bundren family from William Faulkner's As I lay Dying are a unique family, in that they don’t fit the mold of what most would think a family should be: a unit. They disconnect as a group, often saying one thing while thinking another. While Addie’s burial is the central reason for their journey to Jefferson, some family members have motives of their own. Evident in that half of them with the exception of Darl, Cash and Jewel have other reasons than to bury Addie in Jefferson.

The most significant part of As I Lay dying is located on Page 212 in the point of view from Darl, he states “Your mother was a horse, but who was your father, Jewel?” This is significant because this is Darl reveals his awareness of Addie's bad son, asking him who his father is. Darls verbal attack with Jewel, who has a history of being physical, leaves him infuriated. Jewels reaction makes Darl continue to taunt him . An exaple of Syntax is how Faulkner chooses to use italics at the end of Page 213

Vardaman is the youngest child of Addie and Anse. Throughout the whole novel Vardaman did not seem to quite understand death. Although his age was never given we can assume he’s much younger through his childlike thoughts and how he speaks like a kid. He was traumatized from his mother's death and would deal with it in many different ways. In Vardaman's thoughts comparing his mom to the fish he had caught made perfect sense.

William Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying, tells the story of a family that journeys cross-country with the intentions to find a proper resting place for their mother, Addie Bundren. After reading for only a short time, it becomes clear that two of her sons, Jewel and Darl, play a much larger role in the story than the other siblings. One could find many good points to support either character being labeled as the protagonist of the story, such as the various tensions that can clearly be seen between them. That being said, Darl is, without a doubt, the best possible choice. He is forced to overcome more obstacles, including alienation from his entire family, than any other character, and is truly a changed person by the end of the novel.

However, the man who said he could put her in the pictures was simply using her, and she was deluding herself to make her life bearable. If she admitted to herself that she was a failure, and hadn’t an ounce of actor in her, she wouldn’t have been able to stay with Curley and keep her pride. She would have either left the ranch, and Curley, or would have lost her will, and been an absolutely dull person. When she died, “the meanness and plannings and discontent and ache for attention were all gone from her face” (101). She was only ‘happy’ in death, because she knew in her heart that her dream was a sham, so she lived a tangled, busy life trying to distract herself from the impossibility of her dream. She truly was lonely for company, because being around Curley made her realize her position and question her dream. Her dream was her anesthetic, dulling her mind to the pain of the world.

Many mothers, regardless of age or situation, share sympathetic life ideals. They all share the common goal of raising their children wholesome; they want to create an environment of love, nurture, and support for their children as well. A mother’s effort to implant good values in her children is perpetual; they remain optimistic and hope that their children would eventually become prosperous. However, some women were not fit to be mothers. Thus, two different roles of a mother are portrayed in As I Lay Dying written by William Faulkner. Faulkner uses the literary technique of first person narrative with alternating perspectives. By doing so, Faulkner adds authenticity and the ability to relate (for some) to the two characters Addie

Another facet of Freud’s defense mechanisms that Faulkner employs in his novel is the use of rationalization. There are several instances throughout the Bundrens’ journey where they act irrationally to fulfill Addie’s wish of being buried in Jefferson. According to Freud “rationalization is a mechanism involving post hoc logical explanations for behaviors that were actually driven by internal unconscious motives” (Friedman 49). The Bundrens did not even begin their journey to Jefferson until ten days after Addie had died. The journey to Jefferson itself was unreasonable for the Bundrens to complete. Jefferson is far away, the bridge to get there was flooded, and they are a poor family who must rely on others to help them along their journey. While Anse, Addie’s husband, does not appear to be grieving and does not mention Addie’s death, we learn that “his mind is set on taking her to Jefferson,” despite warnings of rain and a flooded bridge (Faulkner 86).

After quickly recovering from the storm of grief which showered her, Louise comprehends her own independence; “‘Free, free, free!’” (202). Something of which she has not possessed before. Not to mention, Louise holds great passion for the future without her husband influencing her decisions, “...(the) long procession of years to come (...) would belong to her absolutely” (202). As the story continues, it becomes evident that Mrs. Mallard’s confidence and jubilance holds direction in her long life to come. Ironically, however, Louise only lives to see the next few minutes of her life. As the shock of seeing the living dead births a heart attack; “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease- a joy that kills” (203). Ultimately, her gluttonous behaviour and extreme state of joy lead her to an untimely death when her eyes lay upon the presumed dead, Brently

In William Faulkner's novel "As I lay Dying" the reader learns about each character through the eyes of that person so to speak. Most of the important characters minds are revealed through the unique personalities and idiosyncrasies of the Bundren family, and those they encountered. One of the characters is Addie Bundren, the matriarch of the clan, and the person who's death this story moves upon. Although Addie is dead for most of the book, Faulkner still shows Addie's feelings and attitude in a chapter in which she seemingly speaks from the dead. From this scene we learn about Addie's personality. As a whole Addie is a pessimistic and unfulfilled woman, who marries the ignorant Anse Bundren on a whim. Addie