In literature, death is a topic that is largely written about. In the book Death in Literature, editors Outi Hakola and Sari Kivistö say, “No reliable information about death as an experience [...] emphasizes death’s nature as a secret and mysterious event [...] people therefore need to encounter the death experience in other ways. [...] Literature can provide us with ways of approaching death and imagining it from different perspectives” (vii). Both As I Lay Dying and The Year of Magical Thinking (from now on shown as Magical) are texts that are about death and how people cope with it. As I Lay Dying is a novel by William Faulkner about the Bundren family traveling to Addie Bundren’s hometown to bury her as a dying wish. Magical is a memoir …show more content…
Although both books focus on how death affects others and how people cope with it, Magical provides a better understanding of how people are affected, and deal with death because her book is in the style of a memoir. This provides a connection with readers that is relatable, while simultaneously making readers feel empathetic towards Didion.
Magical and As I Lay Dying are similar concerning how both novels talk about how people cope with death, however, Didion's memoir style of writing makes the topic of death and coming to terms with it more relatable to readers. In As I Lay Dying when Addie dies Vardaman is hysterical and breaks down. In order to cope with the death of his mother, his childish imagination leads him into comparing her to a fish, he had caught and killed earlier in the novel. During his breakdown Vardaman says, “Then I begin to cry. I can feel where the fish was in the dust. It is cut up into pieces of not-fish now, not-blood on my hands and overalls. Then it wasn’t so. It hadn’t happened then. And now she is getting so far ahead I cannot catch her” (Faulkner 53). Because Vardaman is so young and he had just witnessed his mother dying he
The Year of Magical Thinking is Joan Didion’s account of the year following the death of her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne. The book shows how she attempts to cope with the grief of the death of her husband while tending to her daughter’s, Quintana, severe illness. In the book Didion does something, which might seem abnormal to some people. While Didion is cleaning out her husband’s closet at work she cannot find herself throwing away her husband’s shoes because “he would need shoes if he was to return” (Didion). Joan Didion reactions to death is typically American because of how people in America cannot cope with death and refuse to accept the notion that their loved one has passed away while other cultures are able to accept the idea of death because their loved ones are not gone but still here with them.
Addie Bundren conjures up the central darkness derived from her death and directly or indirectly causes actions in which each Bundren character takes advantage of Addie. With the character's actions revolving around her death, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying reveals the truth about the people who surround a person may take advantage of him or her. The death of Addie Bundren shapes all of the character's actions in life including Addie's final request before her death. Addie takes advantage of her death by using it for revenge and inflicting final pains upon some characters, while the other characters use her to get what they want for their personal needs.
As a natural phenomena that occurs frequently yet is still not completely understood, death has confounded and, to a certain degree, fascinated all of humanity. Since the dawn of our species, people have tried rationalize death by means of creating various religions and even attempted to conquer death, leading to great works of literature such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Cannibal Spell For King Unis.
Addie is actually the perfect character to try and describe the lack or void of words and meanings. The very fact that she is dead and is talking about this void from the dead is important. In a way she is speaking from a void between life and death. Morna Flaum expresses this idea in her article, “Elucidating Addie Bundren in As I Lay Dying.” “Her condition of deadness, speaking from the void between is and not-is makes her the perfect vehicle for Faulkner to describe the indescribable, approach the unapproachable, express the inexpressible, as he so gracefully does, does-not. The placement of Addie’s chapter in the middle of her long journey from deathbed to grave is also significant.” Flaum goes on to say that this placement of Addie’s chapter
“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.
Eventhough As I lay Dying is a story revolved around the death of a mother, Addie Bundren, the true content of the story develops from information given to the audience through a multitude of narrators. The relationship between each family member and their association with Addie's death differentiates from person to person. Through her husband, Anse, we are introduced to his philosophy that man should keep stationary. Anse explains, "The lord put roads for travelling; why he laid them down flat on the Earth. When he aims for something to be always a-moving, he makes it long ways, like a road or a horse or a wagon, but when he aims for something to stay put, He makes it up and down ways, like a tree or a man" (24). In comparing a tree to a man, Anse feels that eventhough alive, man was not created to move about. This idea exhibits a lack of suspense within Anse, which may or may not have been Annie's desire to have an affair which lead to the birth of her child Jewel. Interestingly, Anse contradicts his own beliefs to fullfill his wife's wishes to be layed to rest next to her own family. This act can also be seen as selfish when Anse really desires a new set of teeth.
Toni Morrison’s Beloved tells a story of a loving mother and ex-slave who takes drastic measures to protect her children which later affect her entire life. In contrast, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying goes through the life of the Bundren’s after their mother passes away and their journey to get her coffin to Jefferson. The bond between a mother and her children is chronicled in these novels. Both Faulkner and Morrison explain how the influence of a mother can affect how a child grows and matures through her love and actions.
Death is a controversial and sensitive subject. When discussing death, several questions come to mind about what happens in our afterlife, such as: where do you go and what do you see? Emily Dickinson is a poet who explores her curiosity of death and the afterlife through her creative writing ability. She displays different views on death by writing two contrasting poems: one of a softer side and another of a more ridged and scary side. When looking at dissimilar observations of death it can be seen how private and special it is; it is also understood that death is inevitable so coping with it can be taken in different ways. Emily Dickinson’s poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” show both parallel and opposing views on death.
...ve different opinions and recognition of the situations that take place. Darl holds much understanding about death, and about the secrets of his family. Vardaman, however, possesses very little understanding throughout the novel because of his age and inexperience with death. In As I Lay Dying, Faulkner makes good use of contrasting these two characters. He makes it clear what the most significant things about Vardaman and Darl are in relation to the family, and Addie’s death.
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
From the dysfunctional family, to the crazy obsessions of the characters, “As I Lay Dying” and “Salvage the Bones” are quite similar. Both novels’ plots are similar, with the family starting off in a bad place, progressing to a worse situation, and coming back out of it in one piece. They also have their fair share of differences. With the most notable difference being their ethnicity, or the different attitudes and the different vibes from the characters. But, let’s look into how these similarities and differences add to the plot of the story?
People say the mind is a very complex thing. The mind gives people different interpretations of events and situations. A person state of mind can lead to a death of another person. As we all know death is all around us in movies, plays, and stories. The best stories that survive throughout time involve death in one form or another. For example, William Shakespeare is considered as one of the greatest writers in literary history known for having written a lot of stories concerning death like Macbeth or Julius Caesar. The topic of death in stories keeps people intrigued and on the edge of their seats. Edgar Allan Poe wrote two compelling stories that deal with death “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Raven.” In “The
Death in Do not go gentle into that good night and Death Be Not Proud
Many people find it hard to imagine their death as there are so many questions to be answered-how will it happen, when, where and what comes next. The fact that our last days on Earth is unknown makes the topic of death a popular one for most poets who looks to seek out their own emotions. By them doing that it helps the reader make sense of their own emotions as well. In the two poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickenson and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, the poets are both capturing their emotion about death and the way that they accepted it. In Dickenson’s poem her feelings towards death are more passionate whereas in Dylan’s poem the feelings
I was very excited to take Death and Dying as a college level course. Firstly, because I have always had a huge interest in death, but it coincides with a fear surrounding it. I love the opportunity to write this paper because I can delve into my own experiences and beliefs around death and dying and perhaps really establish a clear personal perspective and how I can relate to others in a professional setting.