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, doing all that they can for their children, and hope that they 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 Bundren and Cora Tull. The first person narrative acts as an important literary technique because it allows the reader to experience the opposing views of Addie and Cora; they are both mothers who act as foils to each other because of their diverse opinions and outlooks on motherhood, religion and life. The title of the novel—As I Lay Dying—suggests that there is a first-person speaker, which seemingly suggests that it is the voice of Addie Bundren, the dead mother. However, Addie actually communicates in the first person voice only once in the novel and besides the few beginning chapters, “she is dead, not dying” (Ross 305). As I Lay Dying is divided into fifty-nine sections and written in first person narrative with fifteen different viewpoints (Ross 300). Since there are fifteen different viewpoints, the point of view then shifts between each different narrator. Each narrator has a “unique, personal interpretation and reaction to the events of the novel” (Ross 301)... ... middle of paper ... ...elief in the almighty Lord is not as convincing; she believes that she is in charge of her own life and what happens to her throughout it, as well as after it. Cora believes that motherhood is remarkable and it is her duty to love, nurture and care for her children, as well as her husband. However, Addie sees motherhood as a burden and feels used when she bares four children for Anse. Cora is more than content with being a mother and the caregiver of her household while Addie wants more than what the role of a typical woman in this age has to offer her. Thus, Faulkner created two female characters that both had differing views on life and everything in it; conflict aroused in the minds of the characters toward each other, although it was never verbally expressed to one another; this might have been done so that the reader can relate to the character of their choice.
Yoknapatawpha County is a fictional county made up by William Faulkner in which As I Lay Dying takes place in; this is now the third novel to take place here. As I Lay Dying was one of the last novels written in the 1920’s by William Faulkner and within fifty-nine chapters, this novel features a unique narration of fifteen different first person narrators. Each chapter is written from that particular character’s perspective telling their version of what is happening in the novel, making this not only an interesting take on narration but a compelling read as well. Faulkner uses the characters use of language to help us identify and see glimpses into the lives of the Bundren family; through this we can understand the revenge and secrets from within the characters that is blind to the most if not all-remaining characters within the novel.
In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Moseley provides the reader an escape from the delusional world of the Bundrens and a glimpse of society, as it should be. Appearing only once in the novel, the elderly pharmacist is essential in emphasizing Faulkner's theme of moral values over self-seeking voracity in that he defends what he knows is right at all costs. Moseley is introduced in the small town of Mottson, where Dewey Dell wanders into his drugstore store with ten dollars from Lafe, and the intention of eliminating "the female trouble." (200) After much confusion, it is made clear that Dewey Dell wants an abortion, treatment that Moseley repeatedly refuses, despite her persistency. Discouraged, Dewey Dell eventually leaves, after a stern lecture from Moseley and advice to take the money and buy a marriage license. Moseley's morals, contrasting to the other characters' in the novel, may provide support for Faulkner's religious beliefs while adding a sense of righteousness to a world of iniquity.
“God’s will be done, now I can get teeth,” Anse says after Addie’s death. To some people, it may seem weird that someone wants new teeth, and to others, it might make them wonder if he’s sad about his wife’s death. Anse Bundren, a middle-aged man, has a reputation of being a lazy and selfish person. But how does that play a role in As I Lay Dying? How has Anse’s relationship with his family, his wife, and himself affect the outcome of the story? Another thing about Anse is his view of Addie’s death. How has Anse Bundren become dead in the story, but is really still alive?
In As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner comments on how death affects individuals differently and how sanity is not defined by a mental state but rather by a community of people. Varying viewpoints in narratives, allow the reader to gain insight into the character's thoughts. However, he uses perspectives outside of the Bundren family in order for the reader to create some sort of truth.
William Faulkner in his book, As I Lay Dying, portrays a Mississippi family which goes through many hardships and struggles. Faulkner uses imagery to illustrate an array of central themes such as the conscious being or existence and poverty among many others. From the first monologue, you will find an indulgence of sensual appeal, a strong aspect of the novel. Each character grows stronger and stronger each passage. One of the themes in As I Lay Dying is a human's relations to nature. Faulkner uses imagery to produce a sense of relation between animals and humans.
In the novel All Over but the Shoutin’ Rick Bragg shows the love and devotion of what every mother should have through his mother. The only woman that Bragg truly cares for and takes time out of his day is for his mother Margaret Marie. Bragg tries to do the best for his mother and tries his best to make her proud of him. Bragg learned early in life that his mother strived to give her children everything possible. For Mrs. Bragg her children are the reason she wakes up everyday and tries to make a better life for them.
“As I Lay Dying, read as the dramatic confrontation of words and actions, presents Faulkner’s allegory of the limits of talent” (Jacobi). William Faulkner uses many different themes that make this novel a great book. Faulkner shows his talent by uses different scenarios, which makes the book not only comedic but informational on the human mind. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is a great book that illustrates great themes and examples. Faulkner illustrates different character and theme dynamics throughout the entire novel, which makes the book a humorous yet emotional roller coaster. Faulkner illustrates the sense of identity, alienation, and the results of physical and mental death to show what he thinks of the human mind.
Through an intimate maternal bond, Michaels mother experiences the consequences of Michaels decisions, weakening her to a debilitating state of grief. “Once he belonged to me”; “He was ours,” the repetition of these inclusive statements indicates her fulfilment from protecting her son and inability to find value in life without him. Through the cyclical narrative structure, it is evident that the loss and grief felt by the mother is continual and indeterminable. Dawson reveals death can bring out weakness and anger in self and with others. The use of words with negative connotations towards the end of the story, “Lonely,” “cold,” “dead,” enforce the mother’s grief and regressing nature. Thus, people who find contentment through others, cannot find fulfilment without the presence of that individual.
Another of Faulkner’s female characters is Cora, the opposite of Dewey. Cora is the conventional, unreasonably traditionalist, subservient lady, who might have been the standard for a southern homestead ladies in the 1920s. By exhibiting Cora as shallow and unintelligent, Faulkner prompts the reader to have adverse feelings and dislike Cora.
Death is inevitable to all forms of life. In giving birth to a typical family, Flannery O’Connor immediately sets the tone for their deaths, in the story, A Good Man is Hard To Find. O'Connor’s play on words, symbolism and foreshadowing slowly paves the way for the family’s death.
In As I Lay Dying (1930), Faulkner creates the deceitful, insensitive character, Anse Bundren, who will do anything to get what he wants, even if it means stealing and injuring his own children, symbolizing the avarice and apathy that can result from a world of non education, poverty, and overall suffering.
With the final lines give us a better understanding of her situation, where her life has been devoured by the children. As she is nursing the youngest child, that sits staring at her feet, she murmurs into the wind the words “They have eaten me alive.” A hyperbolic statement symbolizing the entrapment she is experiencing in the depressing world of motherhood.
A horrific aspect of life that many people have a difficult time dealing with is death. The thought of death scares people because as humans we do not have a way to comprehend something that we cannot test, see or even have a grasp of. When a person loses a loved one they get scared by this reality of that they do not know where they are going and when they make it there how will it be for them. In William Faulkner's book, As I Lay Dying, we go through the process at which a family loses a “loved” one and we follow the family all the way until the deceased, Addie Burden, is buried in Jefferson. In As I Lay Dying you see the steps of grieving are different for many people and some of the people will come out destroyed and others without a scratch. The character Cash goes through a process of grief, odd to most in his way of grief we do not see pain because of the pressure he puts on himself to finish the journey for the family. Cash’s brother, Jewel, seems to snap from the pain of losing his mother and he let the pain ingulf his life. Finally, the last
Darl Darl, the second child of Anse and Addie Bundren is the most prolific voice in the novel As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner. Darl Bundren, the next eldest of the Bundren children, delivers the largest number of interior monologues in the novel. An extremely sensitive and articulate young man, he is heartbroken by the death of his mother and the plight of his family's burial journey. Darl seemed to possess a gift of clairvoyance, which allowed him to narrate; for instance, the scene of Addie's death. Even though he and Jewel were away at the time.
The title of the novel—As I Lay Dying—suggests that there is a first-person speaker, which seemingly suggests that it is the voice of Addie Bundren, the dead mother. However, Addie only actually communicates in the first person once in the novel and besides the few beginning chapters, “she is dead, not dying” (Ross 305). As I Lay Dying was divided into fifty-nine sections and written in first person narrative with fifteen different viewpoints (Ross 300). Since there are fifteen different viewpoints, the point of view then shifts between each different narrator. Each narrator has a “unique, personal interpretation and reaction to the events of the novel” (Ross 301). The tone varies from narrator to narra...