When I Lay Dying Addie's Death

Words: 860

Pages: 4

Open Document

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner centers around the Bundren family before and after the death of Addie Bundren, the mother. Although she only narrates one chapter, her presence is a driving force behind the plot that is constantly expressed in her children. Every word regarding Addie, every piece of her personality, and how her death and life affect others shows how one individual can impact others, how one event can cause so many more, and how an individual’s family lives on when they pass. Within the first few pages of the novel, it is established that Addie’s coffin is being built in front of her bedroom window, where she lays sick. Her son, Cash, a carpenter who is building the coffin, is extremely careful with his work as well as careful to show Addie every single board …show more content…
This pessimistic view of life is littered throughout, but it is especially prominent in the scenes in which Cash is building her coffin. Despite her ailment, she is constantly attempting to make sure that what she is building fits her standards. Additionally, the coffin is a symbol of death, which Addie is aware is imminent and will last forever. Addie’s coffin plays the role of a timer, given that it is finished shortly after her death. Addie’s pessimistic view of life also affects her children and her marriage. Before her marriage to Anse, she worked as a school teacher. Addie expresses that she enjoyed discipling the children as it made her feel as though she was not alone and now a part of their lives. This desire to have other individuals be aware of her existence is the cause of her marriage to Anse. Additionally, Addie’s marriage is not an ideal one given that she believes life is only a way to prepare for death, as she believes that Anse does not love her. Furthermore, she believes that she is better off alone, which Anse violates by simply being in a relationship with

Bundren Journey Research Paper

When following the Bundren journey, you must follow the three T’s: Teeth, Tummies, and Tying the Knot! These seemingly unrelated desires drive the Bundren family's bizarre odyssey. William Faulkner defies all expectations and delves into the intricate web of grief and family dynamics through his distinctive style of writing. In Faulkner's novel, As I Lay Dying, the use of these themes is shown as the Bundren family grapples with the aftermath of mother and wife, Addie Bundren's passing. Faulkner's…

Words 1079 - Pages 5

Sample Essay Addie Bundren English

writes “Addie’s family members were part of the situation that she needed to create to sustain herself: Anse is thus linked with aggression, Cash with symbiosis, Darl with denial, Jewel with guilt, and Dewey Dell and Vardaman with death”. All of this can be determined by her reaction to the birth of each child, and the way she treated them up until her passing. Her attitude toward her children, whether love, hostility, or indifference, helps them define themselves and their response to her death. She…

Words 1151 - Pages 5

As I Lay Dying Dal Bundren Character Analysis Essay

The Enigma of the Bundrens William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying has some rather interesting characters; among them is Darl Bundren, an enigma of the story. He essentially is the most articulate, as well as prolific, amongst the Bundren family and he is given most of the monologue narrations. Through him the reader has a better understanding as to what is going on in the story. He is depicted as mysterious due to his clairvoyant nature and aside from that, characters in the story also seem to notice…

Words 877 - Pages 4

The Bundren Family In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

With a mother close to death, a self-absorbed father, and children uninvolved with each other, William Faulkner portrays the Bundren family from the beginning of his novel, As I Lay Dying, as disjointed and dysfunctional. The family’s journey to Jefferson to bury Addie further exposes their singular, competing agendas, leading the reader to believe that the purpose of the trip is not just to lay Addie to rest. Two of the more ostensibly single-minded characters, Dewey-Dell and Anse, appear to have…

Words 1164 - Pages 5

As I Lay Dying The Bundren Character Analysis

In the southern gothic novel, As I Lay Dying, the Bundrens, a poor family whose matriarch has recently died, are left with the moral obligation to bury her body in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi. Though many of the family members are enduring this grueling journey for selfish motives, Jewel recognizes his essence in the world after the pivotal moment of his mother’s death: which is to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. In the early section of the novel, it is clear why Addie sees Jewel to…

Words 1374 - Pages 6

As I Lay Dying Essay

Amna Ali Mrs. League 2-16-14 Honors American Literature 5th Period Deranged Salvation The novel As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner represents Jewel Bundren as a harsh and angry man, who fiercely loves one soul, Addie Bundren. It emphasizes the theme of salvation, loss, and the lack of love. Pale, wooden, and rigid, Jewel is exceptionally divergent from the…

Words 949 - Pages 4

As I Lay Dying Tragedy

Would you consider As I Lay Dying a comedy? Or a tragedy? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. It is not possible to classify As I Lay Dying as one of the two. The answer is much more complex than the question. As I Lay Dying is a tragicomedy. The mixture of comedic and tragic content is its best in the novel. Any reader would have some specific events stuck in his memory. There are so many examples in the novel of such kind. For instance, Addie laying in her bed, and her head raised…

Words 333 - Pages 2

What Is Dal Boundren's Concept Of Death And Rebirth

The Death and Rebirth of the Bundrens The term “death and rebirth” as used in this text refer to what Joseph Campbell discusses in The Power of Myth. It doesn’t mean literal death and rebirth, but rather metaphorical death and rebirth, meaning “[casting] off the psychological posture that you happen to be in at the time so that you may come into a better one” (Campbell 141). This is a prevalent motif in myths; for example, it is seen in the well-known story of Jesus’s death and resurrection. His…

Words 500 - Pages 2

As I Lay Dying Essay examples

Death is a very prominent experience and basis of the title in William Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying. There are many instances of “death” that occur during the hours leading up to and after the death of Addie Bundren, the matriarch of the family. After multiple readings of the book, the death of the institution of the family continued to resonate as a major death that occurred. This novel is structured to read as, I think, personal accounts from each of the characters and their insight into…

Words 842 - Pages 4

Family In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

In As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, the theme of family is not presented in a positive way. Addie, who is married to Anse and is the mother of Darl, Jewel, Cash, Dewey Dell and Vardaman, dies in the beginning of the novel, immediately igniting tensions and lack of communication within the family, particularly through the siblings as Addie’s favorite child was Jewel as she lacked love for her husband. Anse too reveals a similar feeling toward his wife. "Hit ain’t begrudgin’ the money," he says…

Words 283 - Pages 2