Identity In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

This art piece is a visualization of a existential crisis. Many characters in many books have trouble identifying self and what defines a person or life. In As I Lay Dying, Vardaman, a six year old boy, is having trouble understanding his mothers death. He creates a concept to cope with death by referring to the alive fish as fish and the dead fish as “not-fish.” He also breaks down, when trying to understand the concept of existence and death. He says “I am crying now. I am not anything. Dewey Dell comes to the hill and calls me. Vardaman. I am not anything.” These are some very deep and philosophical thoughts for such young kid trying to understand the world. He also has one of the most famous quotes of the book when he said simply “My mother is a fish.” Also in …show more content…
Edna begins to understand that her identity is not fit for the roles society as given her. Her individualistic nature is a result of questioning one’s existence. In Doctor Faustus, Faustus questions existence in reference to the soul and if a man without a soul is a man, and if they are the same man. When questioning his existence he also has to consider how important his soul is because he is selling it to the devil. So he must decide weather his soul is worth all the riches and to decide this he must decide how much of his existence is made of his soul. Is he his soul? Is he his body? Is he only the combination of his body and soul make him and if they were separated they would be two separate beings neither of which are him? The art piece shows a silhouette man with a question mark across his face. The silhouette is a common technique that hides the identity of a person. The question mark simply implies the unknown nature of one’s identity and existence. The price tag is there to represent the question Faustus posed about the price of his soul and it also leads to more questions about identity when we try to put a price on

Show More

Related Documents: Identity In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

Darl Bundren's Journey