William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying
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Fulfilling a promise they had made to their mother, Addie, Cash, Darl,
Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman, in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, journey
across the Mississippi countryside to bring her body to be buried in Jefferson,
alongside her immediate family. Each one, in turn, narrates the events of this
excursion as they are perceived. Though all of the family members are going
through the same experiences, each one expresses what they see and how they
feel by exercising their individual powers and limitations of language. What
each character says as well as how he/she says it gives insight into that
character's underlying meanings.
Darl, for example, uses his linguistic skills to gain power as narrator.
He possesses the ability to pick up on things unsaid and to read other
people's actions. Dewey Dell describes his intuitiveness when she says that “
he said he knew without the words, and I knew he knew because if he had said
he knew with words I would not have believed…and that's why I can talk to him
with knowing with hating with because he knows” (27). He uses his gift of
realizing things without them having to actually be told to him to gain
credibility with the reader. Who would doubt a narrator who possesses that
type of adroitness? Also, his language is clear and reflective. He uses
similes and metaphors and appears to have an acute awareness of spatial
relationships. Darl's sophisticated perception and poetic linguistics give him
the means of reaching for and maintaining his role as a competent observer and
reporter. However, his position does create certain problems for his siblings.
Tull describes Darl's “look” as being uncanny.
"He is looking at me. He dont say
nothing; just looks at me with them
queer eyes of hisn that makes folks
talk. I always say it aint never
been what he done so much or said or
anything so much as how he looks at
you. It's like he had got into the
inside of you, someway. Like somehow
you was looking at yourself and your
doing outen his eyes." (125)
It is the same penetrating gaze that gives Darl so much power that
makes the others around him so uncomfortable, especially Dewey Dell. She feels
that his strange knowledge of what has not been said is an invasion of her
privacy. “The land runs out of Darl's eyes; they swim to pin points. They
begin at my feet and rise along my body to my face, and then my dress is gone:
I sit naked on the seat above the unhurrying mules, above the travail” (121).
“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.
In the early 1900s, the American South had very distinctive social classes: African Americans, poor white farmers, townspeople, and wealthy aristocrats. This class system is reflected in William Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying, where the Bundrens a poor, white family, are on a quest to bury their now deceased wife and mother, Addie in the town of Jefferson. Taking a Marxist criticism approach to As I Lay Dying, readers notice how Faulkner’s use of characterization reveals how country folk are looked down upon by the wealthy, upper class townspeople.
In 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, “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-hand corner"(Atkinson 15) We must take care to recognize Faulkner not as a man of apathy, but one of great compassion and indignation at the collapse of the economic foundation of the U.S. This is central in appreciating the great care with which he describes the desolation and poor landscape of Yoknapatawpha County, which is where As I Lay Dying takes place.
William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying takes place in the fictional town of Yaknapatawpha, Mississippi in the 1920’s. It is set in the summertime in the ‘deep south’, which had continual dry and hot conditions. The novel tells of the quest of the Bundren family to bury Addie Bundren in Jefferson, where her family was buried. The Bundren family goes through many unexpected trials on this journey, but still manages to bury Addie where she requested. Among her children, were two of her four sons, Darl and Vardaman. They both had different perspectives and ways of understanding people and Addie’s death. Darl and Vardaman’s perspectives differed widely because of the age difference and maturity levels.
“As I Lay Dying”, is a well known novel, written by William Faulkner, who tells a story about a dying mother and her one last dying wish. The Bundren family tries to attempt to grant the mother’s, Addie Bundren, last wish but each character had his or her selfish reasons for actually traveling to where Addie Bundren wished to be buried at. The journey to Jefferson burial grounds had the Bundren’s helping one another through the different situations that occurred, but also the Bundren family had many differences between each character that caused betrayal to one another.
Norma’s mother was a flapper so she was not one to hold to the social conventions of the times; however, because she was raised in a devout Mormon household, race would be the area where she would not budge. It was no surprise to me that Norma would also learn to snub her nose at those conventions that seemed ludicrous to her, such as whites not associating with blacks, but Norma’s decision to fraternize with a man of color in spite of her mother’s stance, would bring to the forefront what C. Wright Mills, in his article The Promise, coined as personal troubles and issues. For Norma, choosing to be involved with June’s father would bring up issues of character surrounding the social acceptability of a white girl consorting with a black man, especially when everywhere she looked; society, would shout unequivocally that it was not acceptable (1959). So, when she discovers that she is pregnant, she finds herself in quite the predicament. Norma is a walking contradiction in my opinion. Although there is no doubt in my mind that she loved her children, her desire for autonomy and a name, made it impossible for her to navigate the minefields of race, thanks to the Hollywood elite who would hang the framework through which Norma would
There are plenty of different kinds of books written, and published today. It’s a interesting form of entertainment that still holds up along side modern adaptations, like television or games. Books have a wider open door to visualization and interoperation. People can read things differently according to their own experiences. It’s up to the author to still allow that room for interoperation while keeping the books characters and plot on track. Looking at a book from the point of one main character, people may want to relate themselves to that character. That way they can feel and experience that change the character does.
In life people often think that the life they live in is either a good one and do not think that a change would do their life any good. In reality change is good, but Emily in the short story "A Rose for Emily'; thinks that the life she has lived through is the one to keep and does not want to change it even though to us we might think of her life as a tragic and deprived one.
William Faulkner, a Nobel Prize winning author, wrote the novel "As I Lay Dying" in six weeks without changing a word. Considering the story's intricate plot, not changing a single word seems like it would take a literary genius to complete. Many people agree that Faulkner could very well be a genius due to the organization of this story. Faulkner uses fifteen different characters to narrate and allow the reader to analyze each of their point of views. Through the confessions of each character, the reader is able to form his or her opinion about different characters and issues. Since some narrators are unreliable for different reasons, it could be confusing to form opinions. One character that is easily understood is Dewey Dell Bundren. She is the only daughter in the Bundren family and ends up being the only woman in the family. "As I Lay Dying", the story of a family's journey to bury their mother and wife, is also the story of Dewey Dell's journey toward maturity. Along their journey to bury their mother, the characters, like Dewey Dell, seem to evolve through their encounters with other people. Faulkner depicts Dewey Dell as a very monotonous person in the beginning of the book. In the beginning, Dewey Dell is seen fanning her mother, picking cotton, or milking cows. However, towards the end of the book, her repetitiveness is lost. Towards the end of the novel, Faulkner specifically shows Dewey Dell in numerous situations becoming a mature individual.
“Sustainable agriculture involves food production methods that are healthy, do not harm the environment, respect workers, are humane to animals, provide fair wages to farmers, and support farming communities” (Table, 2009). Local farming methods do not always use sustainable methods. Researching about the methods local farmers use is important in the decision to buy locally.
Poetry is the wind for a trapped and wounded soul. A great example of a wounded soul is, Sylvia Plath. She was an immaculate poet, who expressed her personal troubles through writing. As Plath’s life smouldered into a heap of dust at the age of 30, her poetry grew and bloomed. In the years before her death, her most troubled period, Plath penned three of her most well-known poems, “Daddy”, “Lady Lazarus” and “Tulips”—all three illustrating the horrors of despair with strong, expressive literary devices. Plath, who committed suicide in 1963 at the age of 30, has been hailed ubiquitously as one of the most acclaimed and preeminent poets of the 21st century. Plath’s poetry was influenced by tragic events in her life and her prolonged battle against her deep depression and obsession with death. Plath’s personal issues made her the definition of a confessional poet. In the poems, “Daddy”, “Tulips”, and “Lady Lazarus”, Plath confesses her emotional and nervous breakdowns during her endless depression.
Furthermore, there are several things that make up Googles great organizational culture. Google’s culture is all about the people who make up of the company. Building great products depends on great people. There are more than 40,000 Googlers behind the tools that you use every day (Google.com n.d.). Google hires smart and determined individuals and favor ability over experience
Throughout Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying, a prominent difference between the characters Anse and Addie appears in his/her contrasting depiction of word meaning. According to the mother, Addie, words are bad and do not signify their designated meaning. In comparison, her husband, Anse, continually stresses and believes in his spoken promise or word to bury Addie in Jefferson. Incidentally, the juxtaposition between the two character’s theories of word meaning emphasizes an alternative comical view toward the burial of Addie. Her burial is sacred to the family due to the promise of the father’s word and yet based on Addie’s meaningless attempt at revenge toward her husband.
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer who suffered from depression. The death of her father, when she was only eight years old, was what triggered her depression. And because of that, most of her work revolve around the death of her father and her attempts of suicide. In her poem Lady Lazarus is about her attempts of suicide and how she feels about death. This theme of death and suicide can also be seen in the poems Daddy, which is about her deceased father, and Edge which is about a person who is about to commit suicide. Sylvia plath´s poetry centrally tends to discuss suicide and death as the main subject, which can be exemplified by the poem Lady Lazarus.
Sylvia Plath’s life began on October 27, 1932. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts to the parents of a German and Austrian background. Otto Emil Plath, her father, was an expert on bees, and a professor of German and biology at Boston University. Plath’s mother, Aurelia, had a master’s degree in English and German. Three years later, Sylvia was greeted with a baby brother named Warren on April 27, 1935. Ironically enough, they were both born on the 27th. Plath proved herself a bright, young girl. Her first poem was published at the age of eight. She started school two years prior to everyone else her age (“The Life”). A majority of Plath’s life was spent on the North Atlantic coast near her hometown. “Her parent’s backgrounds and her love for the sea provide much of the imagery for her...