The quest theme has been apparent in literature throughout societies and time periods as an enduring concept that allows for widespread uses. In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, the Bundren family embarks on a physical journey that places them within the confines of an absurd existence. Their quest, one that subjugates them to the trials and tribulations that would weather the toughest stones, is trekked for a mutual goal of each family member: to bury their dead matriarch, Addie. In forcing the family on this emigration to a seemingly unreachable destination, Faulkner pushes them to the very limits of humanity and constrains them to not only accomplish what they set out to do, but also to introspectively look at why they are doing it, why
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Faulkner took this family and subjected them to the harshest forms of Hadean punishments he could imagine: flood and fire. The family is shoved into a blazing crucible that drowns them in their most primal fears. The first major obstacle to completing the burial is met when the family discovers that the bridge that would carry them across the raging river is downed. Against the well-meaning advice of a sage neighbor, Anse, the patriarch, decides to trudge forward with the days-old funeral procession in order to not delay the interment any longer. After Anse, Vardaman, and Dewey Dell cross the “thick dark current,” only Cash, Jewel, and Darl remain, and they are prescribed the task of getting the wagon over to the other side (141). Inevitably, the family is found by misfortune when a log forces them to abandon the wagon and Addie’s aquatic body (because, according to Vardaman, she is a fish) is floating down the river. Her body, in its hollow case, is saved when Jewel makes a daring effort and risks his life to save his mother’s putrid corpse. Less than a week later, after battling the elements and fate itself, the family is once again thrust into the crucible of life. Darl, in a borderline-insane endeavor to let Addie finally be at rest, lights a barn ablaze with the coffin and Addie’s body in it. Against all odds, Jewel, once again, saves the day. He darts within the burning building …show more content…
They are “going to town” in order to bury Addie, and that’s it (100). This, however, is a superficial notion that none of the members of the family are willing to admit, at least to each other. Lurking beneath each of their steely façades is an ulterior motive that defines the journey for each individual. Vardaman is going to town to obtain a toy, a train set that he believes is “shining and waiting” for him in Jefferson (100). Dewey Dell is making the journey in order to meet with a pharmacist so she can get “’a little medicine’” so she can terminate her pregnancy (247). Anse is going along because he promised Addie he would bury her there after she gave birth to Darl, and also because he wants to buy himself some new teeth so he can “[eat] the victuals” that he has forsaken for so long (191). Cash, who loves and labors for Addie so much, intends to buy a graphophone while in town, but is stopped from doing so when Anse steals his money (258). The only Bundrens that seem to have pure intentions are Jewel and Darl. Even Addie has no deeper desire to be buried with her family, requesting to have this done only a revenge against Anse for stripping her of her independence and self after she had Darl. An overarching need to satisfy the outward projections and manifestations of society’s preconceived notions pervades the journey, but the real reason, the founding motivation, lies within the individual. Armstid’s
Faulkner took this family and subjected them to the harshest forms of Hadean punishments he could imagine: flood and fire. The family is shoved into a blazing crucible that drowns them in their most primal fears. The first major obstacle to completing the burial is met when the family discovers that the bridge that would carry them across the raging river is downed. Against the well-meaning advice of a sage neighbor, Anse, the patriarch, decides to trudge forward with the days-old funeral procession in order to not delay the interment any longer. After Anse, Vardaman, and Dewey Dell cross the “thick dark current,” only Cash, Jewel, and Darl remain, and they are prescribed the task of getting the wagon over to the other side (141). Inevitably, the family is found by misfortune when a log forces them to abandon the wagon and Addie’s aquatic body (because, according to Vardaman, she is a fish) is floating down the river. Her body, in its hollow case, is saved when Jewel makes a daring effort and risks his life to save his mother’s putrid corpse. Less than a week later, after battling the elements and fate itself, the family is once again thrust into the crucible of life. Darl, in a borderline-insane endeavor to let Addie finally be at rest, lights a barn ablaze with the coffin and Addie’s body in it. Against all odds, Jewel, once again, saves the day. He darts within the burning building …show more content…
They are “going to town” in order to bury Addie, and that’s it (100). This, however, is a superficial notion that none of the members of the family are willing to admit, at least to each other. Lurking beneath each of their steely façades is an ulterior motive that defines the journey for each individual. Vardaman is going to town to obtain a toy, a train set that he believes is “shining and waiting” for him in Jefferson (100). Dewey Dell is making the journey in order to meet with a pharmacist so she can get “’a little medicine’” so she can terminate her pregnancy (247). Anse is going along because he promised Addie he would bury her there after she gave birth to Darl, and also because he wants to buy himself some new teeth so he can “[eat] the victuals” that he has forsaken for so long (191). Cash, who loves and labors for Addie so much, intends to buy a graphophone while in town, but is stopped from doing so when Anse steals his money (258). The only Bundrens that seem to have pure intentions are Jewel and Darl. Even Addie has no deeper desire to be buried with her family, requesting to have this done only a revenge against Anse for stripping her of her independence and self after she had Darl. An overarching need to satisfy the outward projections and manifestations of society’s preconceived notions pervades the journey, but the real reason, the founding motivation, lies within the individual. Armstid’s