William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1945, he was known for writing novels, short stories, and poetry. William Faulkner’s fifth novel, As I Lay Dying, published in 1930. The novel takes place in Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, in the 1920s. This fictional county is very similar to Lafayette County in Mississippi, where Faulkner grew up. Known for how Faulkner wrote this novel, As I Lay Dying consists of fifteen different narrators, each chapter throws a piece of the puzzle that is eventually put together by the reader. As the story continues on, the narrator changes as well. Faulkner gives the characters an allusion of having a scatterbrain mentality. Each character seems to have their own issued addon to the main problem
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Each character of the novel is developed from one chapter to the next. By writing in what’s known as stream-of-consciousness, Faulkner achieves the effect of really getting the characters to connect personally with the reader and thus developing more of what the character is like. For example, Vardaman is young and it’s hard for him to grasp the concept of death. After seeing a dead fish that has been cut into pieces Vardaman states that his “mother is a fish” (84). Thus, in order to reveal Vardaman's character of being an innocent kid who has yet to learn what death is, Faulkner connects two similar ideas and symbols together. For from the consciousness of Varadman, Faulkner connects a dead fish to the death of the mother. Which reveals what is in the mind of the character. Furthermore, when the mother dies, Darl’s reaction reveal more about the character. After his mother dead Darl doesn’t “know what I [he] am [is]” and “if I [he] am [is] or not. Jewel knows he is, because he does not know that he does not know whether he is or not.” (80). Thus, Faulkner’s shift in views allows the reader to understand what’s going on mentally with Darl. Because after the death of Addie, to whom Darl was very close to, he becomes disconnected from the real world for he questions what he is and if he is or not. This effect if only created …show more content…
Thus, allowing the reader to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. In the beginning and halfway through the middle of the novel, the reader views Darl as an elegant, complex, and simply a smart character but he is seen as strange by his family and friends. In fact, by the end of the novel we see Darl ends of being sent to an Asylum for he is believed to be “insane.” By having t fifteen different perspectives/views/voices, the reader can argue if the Darl is really “insane” or not. The way Faulkner has presented the story there is not a right or wrong answer to the question, Is Darl really “insane”?. Thus, depending on the point of view and to what extend the point of view is reliable, one can can possibly answer the
Each character of the novel is developed from one chapter to the next. By writing in what’s known as stream-of-consciousness, Faulkner achieves the effect of really getting the characters to connect personally with the reader and thus developing more of what the character is like. For example, Vardaman is young and it’s hard for him to grasp the concept of death. After seeing a dead fish that has been cut into pieces Vardaman states that his “mother is a fish” (84). Thus, in order to reveal Vardaman's character of being an innocent kid who has yet to learn what death is, Faulkner connects two similar ideas and symbols together. For from the consciousness of Varadman, Faulkner connects a dead fish to the death of the mother. Which reveals what is in the mind of the character. Furthermore, when the mother dies, Darl’s reaction reveal more about the character. After his mother dead Darl doesn’t “know what I [he] am [is]” and “if I [he] am [is] or not. Jewel knows he is, because he does not know that he does not know whether he is or not.” (80). Thus, Faulkner’s shift in views allows the reader to understand what’s going on mentally with Darl. Because after the death of Addie, to whom Darl was very close to, he becomes disconnected from the real world for he questions what he is and if he is or not. This effect if only created …show more content…
Thus, allowing the reader to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. In the beginning and halfway through the middle of the novel, the reader views Darl as an elegant, complex, and simply a smart character but he is seen as strange by his family and friends. In fact, by the end of the novel we see Darl ends of being sent to an Asylum for he is believed to be “insane.” By having t fifteen different perspectives/views/voices, the reader can argue if the Darl is really “insane” or not. The way Faulkner has presented the story there is not a right or wrong answer to the question, Is Darl really “insane”?. Thus, depending on the point of view and to what extend the point of view is reliable, one can can possibly answer the