As I Lay Dying Questions and Answers
As I Lay Dying
What role do "buzzards" play in As I Lay Dying? Or maybe in Jewel's mind?
On a literal level, the buzzards that follow the Bundrens' wagon in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying are a constant reminder that Addie's body is decaying. The number of buzzards increases as time...
As I Lay Dying
How does the text As I Lay Dying show modernism?
Modernism has come to be identified with a few specific stylistic methods and a few over-arching themes. Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying exemplifies the hallmarks of modernism in both of these areas as...
As I Lay Dying
What would be a good thesis statement for a "As I Lay Dying"?
Considering how Faulkner’s use of language makes each of his words feel seeped with meaning, there are multiple arguments to consider when formulating a thesis on As I Lay Dying. When crafting your...
As I Lay Dying
In As I Lay Dying why does Darl say Jewel's mother is a horse?
Impassioned and wild and set apart from the family, Jewel has a special connection to a horse just as his mother has a special connection to him. "Jewel Bundren, Preacher Whitfield’s illegitimate...
As I Lay Dying
What does Cash's list of the thirteen reasons for beveling the edges of the coffin tell the reader about him?
Through Cash's description of making his mother's coffin, the reader can tell that he is very meticulous and also has a difficult time dealing with her death. Instead of engaging directly with his...
As I Lay Dying
Which character is an unreliable narrator in As I Lay Dying? Who believes the road is the source of his family's...
In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Anse Bundren believes that the roads are the source of his family’s problems. Let’s look at what he says about roads. First, roads bring bad luck right to...
As I Lay Dying
What did Addie’s father mean when he told her that “the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time”...
This particular quotation illustrates one of the book's main themes, that of the nature of mortality. In this part of the world, with its grinding poverty and chronic lack of opportunity, death can...
As I Lay Dying
What are the most prominent social issues in As I Lay Dying?
Although race is an overwhelmingly important theme on William Faulkner's work, it is more of a background issue in As I Lay Dying than in his other novels. However, racial inequality for Faulkner...
As I Lay Dying
What is the function of the italics in the "Darl" sections? HELP!
This is a very difficult question. The answer is not necessarily "out there" to be found, as Faulkner's use of italics in this novel are not entirely consistent. We can see some relationship...
As I Lay Dying
Who is Jewel's father, and why is this important to the story in As I Lay Dying?
In As I Lay Dying, Jewel’s biological father is Reverend Whitfield, the man who had an affair with Addie before the story begins. Jewel’s father is not Anse Bundren, the biological father of all...
As I Lay Dying
What are some allusions in As I Lay Dying?
An allusion is a term used by literary critics to describe an author referring to elements from literature, the arts, history, or popular culture within a text. Another term sometimes used to...
As I Lay Dying
Is As I Lay Dying a tragedy or a comedy?
As I Lay Dying blends elements of tragedy and comedy. Tragically, the Bundren children are reared by their lazy and selfish father (Anse) and by their mother Addie. Addie loves only her son Jewel,...
As I Lay Dying
What is the most ironic aspect of Addie's actual burial in As I Lay Dying?
In keeping with the air of Southern Gothic grotesquerie that pervades the book, Addie’s burial is a highly unusual affair, to say the least. As one would expect with the highly dysfunctional...
As I Lay Dying
Can you describe the relationship between Cash and Jewel in As I Lay Dying? How do they perceive themselves? How do...
Jewel and Cash see themselves in very different ways; Cash is a responsible son who sacrifices himself for his mother, while Jewel is the prized son who always receives his mother's attention....
As I Lay Dying
Why does Addie call Jewel her salvation?
Addie calls Jewel her salvation because he seems to be the one thing in life she got to choose. He is the bastard child of Whitfield, the minister. Having the religious leader be the father of...
As I Lay Dying
In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, why does Cora Tull believe Darl has a "natural affection" for his mother, and why does...
In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Cora indicates that Darl has a different relationship to his mother Addie than his brothers and sisters do that she, for some reason, can sense: It was like he would...
As I Lay Dying
Why does Vardaman call his mother a fish, and Darl call her a horse?
One of Faulkner's themes in "As I Lay Dying" is that of identity. Vardamen, the baby of the family, seeks to identify himself in relation to other members of his family. He repeats these...
As I Lay Dying
What do the buzzards represent in As I Lay Dying?
In As I Lay Dying, the buzzards represent the presence of death and the presence of those who prey on death. Jewel, for example, likens his siblings, such as Dewey Dell, to buzzards, waiting for...
As I Lay Dying
What details show the differences between the Bundrens and the Tulls, in terms of socio-economic class?
In As I Lay Dying William Faulkner tells the tragic story of the Bundren family’s quest to bury their mother. The Bundrens are a poor family in the rural South, and there are a few details from the...
As I Lay Dying
What literary devices are used in As I Lay Dying?
Several literary devices are used in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. The most obvious is the title’s allusion, or reference, to The Odyssey by Homer. The novel’s title alludes to Agamemnon’s...
As I Lay Dying
How is Cash Bundren a hero?
As I Lay Dying is rife with selfish and senseless characters. However, Cash Bundren stands out as a character whose dedication, compassion, and sacrifices contrast with the rampant self-interest in...
As I Lay Dying
Who is the most dynamic character (the one who changes the most over the course of the novel) in the novel?
Darl is probably the most dynamic character in the book, in the sense that he undergoes the greatest change. His defining characteristic is perceptiveness, and that characteristic does remain...
As I Lay Dying
In As I Lay Dying, we get multiple perspectives of the same event from individual characters. Using examples from...
With fifteen different narratives in the form of stream of consciousness, the reader of As I Lay Dying understands that there are fifteen different realities--no absolutes. In this way, the reader...
As I Lay Dying
Significants of Bananas The use of bananas is seen numerous times within the book and i have absolutely no clue what...
I see the bananas as something longed for which shows the limitations of the Bundren's imagination and/or aspiration. Anse only longs for teeth and a new wife, Dewy Dell not to be pregnant and...
As I Lay Dying
Which character is the most heroic, and what ultimately does the story say about the ideal of heroism?
This is a challenging question because Modernism complicates how we define heroism, and Faulkner tends to be rather tricky in how he presents character. In a traditional sense in which the hero...
As I Lay Dying
Why does Dewey Dell hate Darl so intensely in As I Lay Dying?
Dewey Dell and Darl share a trait: both have the ability to "talk without the words," although Darl possesses the trait more acutely than his sister. When he sees Dewey Dell, he knows she is...
As I Lay Dying
What is an example of skillful artistry in William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying?
William Faulkner is a writer who appreciated good writing. He wanted to be judged at least as much by the skill of his phrasing as by the themes or ideas dealt with in his works. He was, in fact, a...
As I Lay Dying
In the last part of the novel, Cash says “That it is better so for him. This world is not his world; this life his...
I think that Darl deserves to be free of the burdens of his family, and it is touching that Cash is able to see that Darl deserves something better. However, I concur with #2 in that he does not...
As I Lay Dying
Who said, "That was when I learned that words are no good" and "Its better to build a tight chicken coop that a...
In her only narration, Addie--already dead--narrates the following: And when I knew that I had Cash . . . That was when I learned that words are no good; that words dont ever fit even what they...
As I Lay Dying
Does Darl deserve our sympathy or our contempt? Cite quotes or examples from the passage to support your points.
Darl is responsible for telling more of the story than anyone else, and we should sympathise with the burdens which he carries, as he is the character who has the most empathy for others. In this...
As I Lay Dying
How is Addie's maternal influence on the children different from Anse's paternal influence on the children in As I...
Addie's influence on the children is more toxic than Anse's because, while he is indifferent to them, she actively dislikes most of her children and has a preference only for Jewel. Cora notes that...
As I Lay Dying
What is the significance of the chapter in which Cash makes the coffin on a bevel?
We can say that the two concepts that anchor this novel are family and psychology. These concepts are intertwined in some complex ways and we can see this exemplified in the chapter that depicts...
As I Lay Dying
What are some allusions to Greek literary tradition in "As I Lay Dying"?
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...
As I Lay Dying
How dysfunctional is the Bundren family in As I Lay Dying?
Just to add to the strong points of the above response: Addie is so perverse in her hatred of Anse that she dislikes all of her children but the "love child" that she has had with the minister,...
As I Lay Dying
What is the significance of Reverend Whitfield?
Reverend Whitfield is the man with whom Addie has an affair during her marriage to Anse, and he is also the father of Jewel. Whitfield gets to narrate one chapter, and, during this section, we...
As I Lay Dying
In As I Lay Dying, why does Jewel only get one chapter?
This is an interesting question requiring us to engage in some conjecture. We can only surmise about what the reasons for this might be. Some evidence we might consider: Jewel and Addie are...
As I Lay Dying
What are examples of hypocrisy and paradox in the characters of As I Lay Dying?
To some extent, the entire novel constitutes one huge paradox. Addie’s family members profess their loyalty and devotion to their mother and the ostensible purpose of their trip is to bury her, but...
As I Lay Dying
In William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying, what does Vardaman mean by the phrase "my mother is a fish"?
Vardaman Bundren in William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying is a six-year-old child, brought up in an eccentric family living in the rural south, who has just been traumatized by the death of his...
As I Lay Dying
How does William Faulkner's use of stream of consciousness contribute to the tone of his novel As I Lay Dying?
William Faulkner’s decision to use the “stream of consciousness” technique in his novel titled As I Lay Dying gives the novel a number of different tones, since the separate consciousness of each...
As I Lay Dying
In As I Lay Dying what is the importance of the names given to the children Darl and Jewel? Is there any other meaning?
Jewel is given the name Jewel because his birth is the product of an affair between Addie, our main character, and the town clergyman, Whitfield. He is Addie's Jewel because he was a byproduct of...
As I Lay Dying
How does Dewey Dell explain why she got pregnant in "As I Lay Dying"?
Dewey Dell rationalizes that her pregnancy was not her fault. She and Lafe were picking cotton near the woods "and the secret shade," and she said, "will I or wont I [have sex] when...
As I Lay Dying
Discuss the morality of actions in the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.
Despite being described as useless and ineffectual, Addie Bundren’s husband, Anse, fulfills his promise to bury her among her own family members in Jefferson. This was a moral action, as he could...
As I Lay Dying
Should Darl have been sent to a mental facility in As I Lay Dying?
At the end of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Darl Bundren is sent to an insane asylum, but this is ironic and even tragic as he may be the sanest member of his family. Let's explore this in...
As I Lay Dying
When the Burdens finally reach Jefferson, we find a modern town with cars and gramophones. Why is this startling and...
Jefferson's modernity is startling because the Bundrens have been depicted as living such pre-modern lives that much of the story seems as if it were actually set in the nineteenth century. The...
As I Lay Dying
How would you characterize the preacher in As I Lay Dying?
Whitfield in As I Lay Dying is a failed minister and the epitome of religious hypocrisy. Faulkner utilizes the character as a veiled criticism of organized religion and those who are leaders within...
As I Lay Dying
About Anse Bundren: On p.193, Armstid says, “Well, that’ll be the last they’ll ever see of now, sho enough. Come...
In addition to what the other educators have shared, I'll argue that Anse's complete helplessness and uselessness as a person make him need other people—and for those people, such as his neighbor,...
As I Lay Dying
What are some grotesque characteristics found in As I Lay Dying by Faulkner, and what does that say about society at...
The bulk of the novel concerns the journey the Bundrens take to Jefferson to bury their dead matriarch Addie. The family is ignorant and grotesque. However, the term "grotesque" in literature...
As I Lay Dying
How can I write a thesis statement about existentialism in As I Lay Dying?
A thesis statement needs to introduce your main idea and a "controlling" idea to give body and contrast to your essay. Your topic appears to be to find and explain examples of existential themes in...
As I Lay Dying
What is one element of As I Lay Dying that qualifies the book as "modernist"?
Modernist literature often concentrates on a “personal relationship with the past”. The overwhelming subtext of As I Lay Dying deals directly with this concept, focusing thematically and...
As I Lay Dying
In As I Lay Dying, what is Addie's secret?
Cora and Addie are discussing the relative challenges of womanhood, and it is here that we think Cora realises that Addie has a secret she will not reveal. Cora grumbles about Addie that- You’d...
Showing 1-50 of 98