Faulkner’s southern gothic novel, As I Lay Dying, has a uniqueness to it that is demonstrated in the way he chooses to tell this story. The Bundren Family, the family whom the story centers around, make up the majority of the stories narration with a few chapters in the point of view of outsiders. The story centers around the journey the Bundren Family takes to Jefferson to bury Addie Bundren, the mother of the family. The story is narrated by fifteen different people, seven of which are Bundren’s. Throughout the progression of the story, the events are not told in a linear fashion and several of the same events are described in the eyes of various types of people, making many of the narrators unreliable. The various narrations help us
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The chapter narrated by a now dead Addie Bundren reveals the most shocking secret of the Bundren Family. Addie reveals that she had an affair with the local minister, Whitfield, and was impregnated by him. Her favorite son, Jewel, was a product of this affair. Addie ultimately reveals what she thought of her family: “Now [Anse] has three children that are his and not mine” (176). Addie’s big reveal confirms the suspicion that she only ever loved Cash and Jewel. Throughout the journey, Darl taunts Jewel by asking his who his who his real parents are, insinuating that Addie’s past still haunts her children and they are now left to deal with her consequences. Addie’s chapter is so interesting because Faulkner places it towards the end of the story. The chapter interrupts the narrative of the family’s journey to reveal part of the families dynamics and how, even after death, Addie got her revenge on Anse for giving her a child she did not want: “My revenge would be that he would never know I was taking my revenge” (173). By sending them on this journey, Addie dispatched her revenge. Due to Anse’s past mistakes, the family suffers throughout the journey, proving time is not a linear progression but rather a return to past …show more content…
Faulkner’s point can be relevant to all times in humanity. Our past mistakes haunt not only as individuals but as a community as a whole. Many races are still plagued by the previous nightmares that other humans inflicted upon them. Many countries still hold grudges against the previous transgressions of another countries former generations. Many people are still defined by previous issues they have faced. By using a southern setting for his novel, the traditionalism of the South pushes the idea forward that previous things will always haunt the present, and even after death or a new generation, the old problems must still be faced
The chapter narrated by a now dead Addie Bundren reveals the most shocking secret of the Bundren Family. Addie reveals that she had an affair with the local minister, Whitfield, and was impregnated by him. Her favorite son, Jewel, was a product of this affair. Addie ultimately reveals what she thought of her family: “Now [Anse] has three children that are his and not mine” (176). Addie’s big reveal confirms the suspicion that she only ever loved Cash and Jewel. Throughout the journey, Darl taunts Jewel by asking his who his who his real parents are, insinuating that Addie’s past still haunts her children and they are now left to deal with her consequences. Addie’s chapter is so interesting because Faulkner places it towards the end of the story. The chapter interrupts the narrative of the family’s journey to reveal part of the families dynamics and how, even after death, Addie got her revenge on Anse for giving her a child she did not want: “My revenge would be that he would never know I was taking my revenge” (173). By sending them on this journey, Addie dispatched her revenge. Due to Anse’s past mistakes, the family suffers throughout the journey, proving time is not a linear progression but rather a return to past …show more content…
Faulkner’s point can be relevant to all times in humanity. Our past mistakes haunt not only as individuals but as a community as a whole. Many races are still plagued by the previous nightmares that other humans inflicted upon them. Many countries still hold grudges against the previous transgressions of another countries former generations. Many people are still defined by previous issues they have faced. By using a southern setting for his novel, the traditionalism of the South pushes the idea forward that previous things will always haunt the present, and even after death or a new generation, the old problems must still be faced