Religion In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

Throughout time, religion has played a big role in many people’s lives around the world. Religion allows an outlook for those who seek help from faith and a higher power. But we also see religion playing a big role in the writing of many authors over the decades. Religion can be a positive tool in writing, although, we see in William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” religion and faith is exploited in the south where the novel takes place. Many characters in the story show signs of faith and religion in their own passages, while their actions and behavior do not conform to their moral standards or beliefs. This is known as hypocrisy and is a reoccurring trait in many of the characters. Each of which show different signs of hypocrisy, such as Addie’s
Whitfield claims to be a man of god as a reverend, he speaks the word of god to the whole community of Christians. But we can see that he comes off hypocritical in the sense that he rarely follows his own advice. By committing the act of adultery with Addie he is going against everything he stands for since she is a married woman. But in her death he confesses his sins to god and we see that he is making a mockery of the situation. Whitfield says, “When they told me she was dying, all that night I wrestled with Satan, and I emerged victorious” (Faulkner 761). He claims to have spoken with God that night and interprets what he says as unusual. Whitfield conveniently takes Addie’s death as God letting him off the hook. He says, “O Lord. Thou knowest the extent of my remorse and the will of my spirit” (Faulkner 762). And for him to even consider to confess his sins, it takes her to be on her death bed. And in the end he never confesses his sin, and maintains his priestly
While Cora’s passages hint towards a self-righteous path as you can see during the course of her narration. She preaches her words of faith to nearly everyone else in the novel and talks to them about their negative actions. Although, Cora also contributes certain examples of hypocrisy, even though they may not be as noticeable. She says, “In my husband and children I have been more blessed than most” (Faulkner 699), but then goes on to explain what “trials though they have been”. Making her seem to be hypocritical towards her family, even though she is blessed with the most she makes comments such as these to show her self-righteousness. Another could be when she decides to bake a cake to earn some extra money and says “Riches is nothing in the face of the Lord, for he can see into the heart”. In this quote she is not only contradicting herself, but if she was actually a religious person she would be able to understand that money means nothing to God. Cora often mocks Addie too, for her behavior and says that she is not a true mother because a true mother should love their children. She then accuses Addie of not knowing her sins when in fact Addie truly understands all of her sins. Cora at that point says that, "Because it is not us that can judge our sins or know what is sin in the Lord's eyes"(Faulkner