Reactions to Death in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying :: Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying

Reactions to Death in Faulkners As I Lay DyingEventhough As I go down Dying is a story revolved around the death of a mother, Addie Bundren, the true content of the story develops from information given to the audience through a multitude of narrators. The relationship between each family member and their association with Addies death differentiates from person to person. Through her husband, Anse, we are introduced to his philosophy that man should keep stationary. Anse explains, The lord enthrone roads for travelling why he laid them down flat on the Earth. When he aims for something to be always a-moving, he makes it long ways, like a road or a horse or a wagon, but when he aims for something to stay put, He makes it up and down ways, like a shoetree or a man (24). In comparing a tree to a man, Anse feels that thus farthough alive, man was not created to move about. This idea exhibits a lack of suspense within Anse, which may or may not have been Annies desire to have an affa ir which lead to the birth of her child Jewel. Inte tranquillityingly, Anse contradicts his own beliefs to fullfill his wifes wishes to be layed to rest next to her own family. This act can also be seen as selfish when Anse really desires a new set of teeth.Other narratorss ideas on emotional state are presented through the death of Annie. For example, DArl represents seperation from the rest of the world. Riding with Jewel, DArl suggests that, It takes two people to make you, and one people to die. Thats how the world is going to end (27). In this thought, Darl explains that even though a person is created by the life of two people, in the end, that life will die on its own. The fact that Darl is so open to jaw about his surety of Annies approaching death, distinguishes him from Jewel or Dewy Dell, who cannot speak about it. Darl therefore is an outcast of the family, which is later explained by his participation in the war.By writing As I Lay Dying through the thoughts of a vari ety of narrators, William