As I Lay Dying Group

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dizzyx1
dizzyx1
Student
High School - 10th Grade

What are some allusions to Greek literary tradition in "As I Lay Dying"?

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Posted by dizzyx1 on Monday March 10, 2008 at 7:10 PM and tagged with allusions, as i lay dying, characters, darl, greek, mother, themes.

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  1. jamie-wheeler Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    One of the main allusions to the Greek literary tradition comes when Darl burns down the barn to honor his mother's death.  The Greeks believed in a quick and dignified burial.  For example, in Sophocles' Antigone, the heroine defies the rule of the king and sacrifices her life in order to bury her brother with proper respect.  What's more, the typical Greek send-off in death was to erect a funeral pyre, so the burning of his mother's corpse is in line with the Greek tradition.

    As the barn burns, Faulkner has Darl make a direct reference to the Greeks as well.  Darl watches Jewel and Gillespie struggle.  Darl says, "They are like two figures in a Greek frieze, isolated out of all reality by the red glare."  A greek frieze is a sculpture that typically depicts some sort of pivotal moment in the lives of both gods and mortals, captured in stone forever. 

    Darl watches his own epic historical battle and to him time seems to stand still; the figures appear larger than life. 

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/lay-dying

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    Posted by jamie-wheeler on Monday March 10, 2008 at 8:45 PM

  2. lizbethlongoria
    lizbethlongoria

    Thank you very much

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    Posted by lizbethlongoria on Wednesday April 9, 2008 at 12:11 PM