As I Lay Dying Figurative Language Analysis

Journal 1: setting
Most authors give small details throughout the novel of where and when a story takes place, and the reader must piece the bits together. As I lay dying is no exception and like any other book gives many examples of setting. First off you can tell that the story takes place many years ago through simple statements given throughout the novel. For example, when it says that all of the women inside of the house had to use fans to cool themselves it suggests that air conditioning was not around yet, therefore it was an earlier time. (Page 81) Also throughout the entire beginning of the novel Cash’s only tools for building Addie’s coffin are a saw and hammer, there is no mention of any newer power tools. Then when Anse is talking
Something that stands out about his use of figurative language is that nine times out of ten he uses it to describe nature. For example, Faulkner uses a simile to show that an entire day has passed in only 1 ½ pages. He uses the position of the sun to show that it is already evening. “The sun, an hour above the horizon, is poised like a bloody egg upon a crest of thunderheads.” (page 39) Another thing one might notice about Faulkner’s technique is that he tends to compare people, objects, or characteristics with animals. One example of this is when Faulkner compares Anse to a rooster. “His hair was pushed back and matted up on his head like a dipped rooster”. (pg. 43) This was when Addie was very near to death and many neighbors were visiting her on her deathbed. Anse is outside on the porch standing alone, and zoned out in his own world. Faulkner uses this simile to show just how much Addie’s sickness/almost death has affected Anse. The reader gets the image of just how much stress Anse has been put under. (Although his anxiousness probably has a little more to do with getting new teeth than Addie) Another simile in As I Lay Dying is when the women’s chatting coming from inside the house is compared to the buzzing of bees. “The women’s talking was buzzing like bees in a bucket from inside the house.” (pg. 81) The author is comparing the women’s
For one thing he forces the reader to submerge themselves in the story. Because he has removed himself as a narrator there is no one straight point of view to explain events or ideas and the reader has to compare the different opinions and differing viewpoints from all of the characters and determine for themselves the significance of a particular event. Another thing different about his technique is that it allows us to see the inner thoughts of ALL the characters rather than just one main characters. We see into the mind of each character directly and must analyze what we find there. He does not give any background information on any of his characters; instead the reader must examine characters inner thoughts and on their own determine what type of characters they are. Along with this we are able to see each event from many different perspectives. With multiple narrations the reader can see each event from all of the differing viewpoints and observe how each character saw it and their own opinion on it. Because of this ,we learn more about the character. His unique style lets the reader become a part of the novel by drawing them in more and forcing them to piece together their own idea of what each characters personality is like. Another interesting thing about Faulkner’s style is that he is careful to include outside narrators to remind the reader that the Bundruns are not typical people. For example,