Fear Of Death In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

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The fear of death and appearance of death is a stressor that many of us have. As Kayne West once said,“Nothing in life is promised except death.” Most fear death, even though it is inevitable. This makes one wonder, if death happens to everyone, why do we all fear it? We fear death for many reasons: The fear of the unknown, the fear of being alone, and the fear of what happens when we are deceased. In the book “As I Lay Dying,” Faulkner describes the fear and appearance of death as experienced by the Bundren family.
Death is a scary thought especially when it’s one’s family member. In the story “As I Lay Dying,” Addie watches through the window as her son builds her coffin. Cash describes the way he builds the coffin for his mother. “I made it on the bevel. One: there is more surface for the nail to grip. Two: there is twice the gripping-surface to each seam. Three: The water will have to seep into it on a slant. Water moves easiest up and down or straight across.” As
Addie’s father made a comment to her before she died. “My father said that the reason for living is getting ready to stay dead.” This statement made by Addie’s father shows that everyone thinks about death differently. Addie’s father thinks of death as just a reason to live your life. Some of us fear death and others just know their time is up when it is up. Our society all dies no matter what, so one needs to live their life to the fullest.
The appearance and fear of death is a topic one often avoids. We avoid this topic because it is not known what happens when we die. We don’t want to think about those we love living without us. We also don’t want to miss out on sharing the lives of those important to us. One only lives once, so we need to make our life the best it can be. Faulkner describes the fear and appearance of death because it’s a topic one can relate to. Death is inevitable caused by nature that one cannot

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