William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying"

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the theme about the search for structure and meaning in world that seems to have neither, in William Faulkner's novel, "As I Lay Dying". The paper also explores the more obvious theme about death and dying and explains that Faulkner explores these themes through the various perspectives and subjective thoughts of the characters in the novel.

From the Paper:

"As mentioned, the search for identity is emphasized by the central theme of death and dying. The proximity of death and dying throughout the novel (Addie's slowly decaying corpse) emphasizes the search for meaning in the face of death. It also reminds us that we are in a continual process of dying. The novel also plays on various underlying metaphorical connotations. This is alluded to by Vardaman's attempt to understand his mother's death. He cannot conceive of her death rationally and sees her as a "Fish" which he has eaten. This image also has ironic connotations of resurrection and rebirth which underpins much of the central meaning of the work. In this regard some critics ( Swiggart P. 1962) view the novel in a mock- heroic light. From this perspective the book has the outward appearance of a heroic journey to bury the mother. There are also heroic characteristics to the novel in that the family faces dangers such as floods and fire. However the heroic is undercut by the often petty and selfish motives of the family."

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