William Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying – Essay – ShitStainedPenis
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William Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying
As I Lay DyingIn William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Addie Bundren, who is the one dying, is the central character. Her misery is shared by the family and those with whom she has interacted in life, just as Addie likes it. Her eventual death and the proceding events serve to unite the family in further sharing her despair.  Addie regrets having children, with the exception of her third son, Jewel (an illegitimate child conceived of her affair with Reverend Whitfield). Children represent growth and vitality, which Addie has difficulty experiencing as she feels stagnant, wasting away with the Bundrens. Excluding Jewel, whom she coddles, she treats all children (including her own) with cruelty, because she can only connect with them this way; She needs others to suffer alongside her to feel validated.Addie was a school teacher who “[looked] forward to the times when [her pupils] faulted, so [she] could whip them.” (Faulkner, 170) Beating children made her feel respected, acknowledged, and connected to life. “Now you are aware of me!” (Faulkner, 170), she thought, as she drew blood from the students, making them feel suffering as she did; she reveled in the intermingling of “blood strange to [theirs] and strange to [her own]” (Faulkner, 170), validating her existence through their analogous fluids.Similarly to her disdain for her pupils, whose vitality eludes her without her implementation of cruelty, she despised her first-born son, Cash, who violated her “aloneness” through his existence by being a burden and an obligation. (Faulkner, 172) His birth made her realize that “living was terrible.” When he reaches adulthood, Addie (as well as the rest of the family) treats Cash with a negligent, unappreciative disregard, even though the text reveals that Cash is the Bundrens’ stabilizing anchor. (Faulkner, 171)

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(2017, 12). William Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying. EssaysForStudent.com. Retrieved 12, 2017, from
“William Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying” EssaysForStudent.com. 12 2017. 2017. 12 2017 < "William Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying." EssaysForStudent.com. EssaysForStudent.com, 12 2017. Web. 12 2017. < "William Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying." EssaysForStudent.com. 12, 2017. Accessed 12, 2017. Essay Preview By: ShitStainedPenis Submitted: December 17, 2017 Essay Length: 491 Words / 2 Pages Paper type: Essay Views: 371 Report this essay Tweet Related Essays As I Lay Dying Analytical Essay In the novel, As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, two characters ,Darl and Jewel Bundren, each cope with their mother’s death and deal with 598 Words  |  3 Pages An Examination of Southern Dialect as Seen in the Works of William Faulkner An Examination of Southern Dialect as Seen in the Works of William Faulkner In the writings of William Faulkner, the reader may sense that the 2,791 Words  |  12 Pages William Faulkner & Robert Frost Essay #1: William Faulkner & Robert Frost William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily is about a poor and unfortunate woman, named Emily, who leads a 1,042 Words  |  5 Pages A Shape to Fill the Lack: As I Lay Dying, by Willian Faulkner One of Faulkner's central themes in the novel is the limitation of language. From the inability of the characters to communicate with one another, to 870 Words  |  4 Pages Similar Topics William Shakespeare Williams Coffee Pub Get Access to 89,000+ Essays and Term Papers Join 209,000+ Other Students High Quality Essays and Documents Sign up © 2008–2020 EssaysForStudent.comFree Essays, Book Reports, Term Papers and Research Papers Essays Sign up Sign in Contact us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Service Facebook Twitter

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William Faulkner And Lay Dyingin William Faulkner. (July 2, 2021). Retrieved from https://www.freeessays.education/william-faulkner-and-lay-dyingin-william-faulkner-essay/