Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying as a Mock Epic The title of William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying comes from Homer’s Odyssey when Agamemnon says to Odysseus‚ “As I lay dying‚ the woman with the dog’s eye would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades." Considering the fact that Faulkner used such a recognizable allusion as the title of his novel‚ it is logical to think that he wanted readers to consider his novel as an epic story. Faulkner’s text shares many of the same elements as famous epics‚
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As I Lay Dying by Faulkner is a strange work with a changing perspective that can leave the reader confused‚ and a story that can leave a reader with an uneasy feeling. In the action of the novel‚ Jewel risks his life to save his mother’s casket‚ the Bundren family is forced to sell almost all of their possessions‚ and the family “works together” to eventually bury their mother in Jefferson. The Bundren family is dysfunctional at times because of broken relationships between the children and deeply
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Faulkner ’s novel "As I Lay Dying" introduces us to an uncommon dysfunctional family‚ the Bundrens‚ and their story is told in a very exceptional manner. A wide range of Faulkner ’s novels are set in the U.S. South‚ most definitely because he was raised in that region. For that purpose‚ he created a fictional setting for several of his novels‚ the Yoknapatawpha County‚ including this one‚ where it is depicted as an actively hostile environment‚ with floods and heat. "As I Lay Dying" chronicles the death
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Moral Ambiguity in As I Lay Dying Although almost every character in the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner could be considered morally ambiguous ‚ or seen as having mixed morals‚ Addie Bundren tops the list. She narrates only one chapter in the book which is juxtaposed by the description of her by other narrators in preceding and following chapters. Faulkner makes a strong point this way concerning moral ambiguity as it seems‚ in the novel‚ that she is the pivot point on which other characters’
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Yes‚ I would definitely recommend this book as a classroom study. Even though my classmates of this generation would hate me because the book is indeed hard to read and understand‚ I believe that it contains important ideas and literary structure that can teach young generations to think in a new and creative way. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is an important book for student’s to read in their literature classes because of Faulkner’s interesting narrative techniques. This use of experimental
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As I Lay Dying‚ by William Faulkner‚ is a story about the Bundren family’s journey to bury Mrs. Bundren. Most of the family‚ however‚ has another reason to go to where Mrs. Bundren is being buried. The book itself is not meant to be taken seriously; Faulkner intended the book to be somewhat humorous. Because of the conflict between how the book is written and the book’s story‚ many scenes in the book that normally would be taken extremely seriously are now not as serious due to the book’s ‘dark humor
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William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying examines the connections and disconnections between speech‚ silence‚ and the meaning of words. However‚ having words is as good as having no words because the characters in this book‚ especially the members of the Bundren family‚ use words that obfuscate their true emotions. Faulkner uses his characters to portray speech as just another factor of nominalism and allows only silence to present the truth. Addie Bundren‚ even after death‚ is not completely silent through
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As I Lay Dying Journal Question #8 17 November 2009 In Chapter 24 of As I Lay Dying‚ Vardaman simply states “My mother is a fish.” At first‚ this may seem like a child’s ridiculous association of his mother’s death with the death of a fish. However‚ this connection allows Vardaman to overcome the highly complicated issues associated with death and existence. The abnormal disposition of this exchange characterizes Vardaman’s lack of ability to deal with the death of his mother in a reasonable
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<center><b>"Through the use of many characters monologues the narrative point of view presents an objective view of what really happened."</b></center> <br> <br>This statement is not adequate in connection with William Faulkner’s novel‚ As I Lay Dying. Though many points of view are expressed through the use of interior monologue‚ even when compiled‚ they cannot serve as an "objective" view of what really happened. <br> <br>There are many monologues by many different people‚ often with opposing ideas
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As I lay dying In the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner‚ the obstacles Bundrens suffered are not exact the result of forces being set against them‚ but instead‚ they are more sabotaging by what they did. As the last wish of a dying mother‚ Addie wants to be buried in Jefferson with her relatives. All of the family are committed to be on the journey to Jefferson to accomplish her funeral. But on the way to Jefferson‚ all the family have suffered various tragedies. Every event happens must
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