Essay about William Faulkners As I Lay Dying - 469 Words

William Faulkners As I Lay Dying In William Faulkners novel, As I Lay Dying many points of view are expressed through the use of interior monologue, but even when they are all put together, they cant serve as an objective view of what really happened. In the book, there are many monologues by many different people, often with opposing ideas and beliefs. Together the novel is a book of half-truths, with each set of events formed by what the narrator believes is the truth. To each individual what they say and think they consider a reality, however, it is merely their own perception of reality and consequently it becomes subjective. In the following essay, I will describe the structure the author uses in the book and the underlying†¦show more content†¦The reader cant gain an objective idea of what really happened during that period of time. Another example of an actual incident and of peoples opposing views coming into conflict with the reality of what was going on was with Cora and Darl. He did not an swer. He just stood and looked at his dying mother, his heart too full for words (Faulkner 24-25). This is how Cora views Darl, as a kind and loving son, the private favorite and love of Addie. Darl however, appears to be indifferent to his mother and the three dollar load. Everyone else knows that Jewel is, in fact, the favorite child; this makes the characters unreliable in retelling the actual events to the reader. Each monologue is clouded with the viewpoints and ideas of the character narrating it, so it is impossible to have an objective account of what really happened. Using the form that Faulkner uses we can also see that while Darl narrates many chapters in the novel, and is viewed as the most reliable character, this idea is ruined when he is sent to an asylum. Darl has gone to Jackson. They put him on the train, laughing, down the long car laughing; the heads turn like the heads of owls when he passed (Faulkner 254). In Darls final monologue he refers toShow MoreRel atedWilliam Faulkners As I Lay Dying2018 Words   |  9 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying presents a broken family whose members are not all sound of mind. They all present different ways in which their sense of self can be viewed as broken. Even though there is no forefront hero depicted within the novel there is definitely evidence that suggests that some of the heroes are capable of heroic characteristics. Though there is rampant selfishness and immorality some redeeming qualities of the Bundren family shine through. The trait that most resemblesRead MoreWilliam Faulkners As I Lay Dying Essay1482 Words   |  6 PagesIn As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner uses the characters Anse and Cash, and a motif/symbol in My mother is a fish, to reveal the psychological and societal problems of the twenties and thirties. Written as soon as the panic surrounding the stock market in 1929 started, Faulkner is reported as having, â€Å"took one of these [onion] sheets, unscrewed the cap from his fountain pen, and wrote at the top in blue ink, As I Lay Dying. Then he underlined it twice and wrote the date in the upper right-handRead More William Faulkners As I Lay Dying Essays990 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Faulkners As I Lay Dying   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his book, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner pioneers new and interesting literary forms. His most obvious deviation from traditional novel writing was the new style of narration in which he used all the main characters as the narrator at one point or another. This allowed the reader to gain insight into the character’s thoughts, and also to prove very interesting and entertaining. Faulkner also ignores all boundaries that sane people have placed uponRead MoreAnalysis Of William Faulkners As I Lay Dying1840 Words   |  8 PagesMarvin Gaye, â€Å"If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.† The psychology of humans can be expressed in two groups, stable or not. These two groups can be applied to a psychoanalytical approach of William Faulkner’s, As I lay Dying. In this story, the Bundren family suffers the loss of Addie Bundren a loved wife and mother. Anse and the rest of the family, honoring her last wi sh, make the trip to Jefferson to bury her with her relatives. During the trip every thingRead More William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying Essay2412 Words   |  10 Pagesâ€Å"The past is never dead. Its not even past.† ― William Faulkner In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, characterization, specifically through the multitude of narrators, transforms an otherwise pedestrian plot into a complex pilgrimage to the truth. As I Lay Dying is told from the perspective of fifteen different characters in 59 chapters (Tuck 35). Nearly half (7) of the characters from whose perspective the story is narrated are members of the same family, the Bundrens. The other charactersRead MoreEssay on William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying1045 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Through the use of many characters monologues the narrative point of view presents an objective view of what really happened.† This statement is not adequate in connection with William Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying. Though many points of view are expressed through the use of interior monologue, even when compiled, they cannot serve as an â€Å"objective† view of what really happened. There are many monologues by many different people, often with opposing ideas and beliefs. Together the novel isRead MoreEssay about Addie Bundren in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying2831 Words   |  12 PagesAddie Bundren in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying Woman is the source and sustainer of virtue and also a prime source of evil. She can be either; because she is, as man is not, always a little beyond good and evil. With her powerful natural drive and her instinct for the concrete and personal, she does not need to agonize over her decisions. There is no code for her to master, no initiation for her to undergo. For this reason she has access to a wisdom which is veiledRead MoreCharacters Giving Monologue William Faulkner’s Novel, As I Lay Dying807 Words   |  3 Pagesliterature is fundamentally entwined with the psyche.† William Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying, institutes elements of the psych which allow the text to be analyzed through the psychoanalytic lens. There are several events that go unexplained in the novel and they all seem to revolve around Darl; the psychoanalytic lens can explicitly be applied to his character to best illuminate his spontaneous behaviors and asses his abrupt actions. Faulkner’s novel fixates on multiple characters delivering monologuesRead More William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and in Virginia Woolf’s A Mark on the Wall - Subjective Narrative1514 Words   |  7 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and in Virginia Woolf’s A Mark on the Wall - Subjective Narratives in Modernist Texts Like many other modernist texts, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying employs many unreliable narrators to reveal the progression of the novel. One of the most interesting of these narrators is the youngest Bundren child, Vardaman. Like the rest of his family, Vardaman is mentally unstable, but his condition is magnified due to this lack of understanding of life andRead MoreAs I Lay Dying And The Crucible Essay834 Words   |  4 PagesIn As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, women are perceived in ways that fit the time period they are written in. The Crucible deals with women being accused of witchcraft and regarded as witches. In As I Lay Dying the few women in the story, are not highly regarded or of high status. Both authors depict women in different ways, but with similar attitude towards women. Even though The Crucible and As I Lay Dying were works from different time periods, the portrayal