"As I lay Dying" by William Faulkner

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses William Faukner's "As I Lay Dying". The author of the paper contends that the book should be understood and analyzed in the context of the modernist literary and philosophical movement. The author states that this movement in thought and art began in the early twentieth century and it is characterized by the central theme of the search for meaning and the understanding of existence in a modern world that seems devoid of meaning. The writer says that it is against this background that we should see the world that Faulkner created in "As I Lay Dying" and that this is one of his most significant works. The paper explores the central theme about the search for meaning in the contemporary world.

From the Paper:

"The early Twentieth Century was a time in which many artists and thinkers questioned and interrogated the status quo and the norms and conventions of society. Many factors precipitated this intense quest for new answers in the face of the dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs in the world. One of these factors was the First World War, which had led to the meaningless slaughter of almost an entire generation of young men. Another factor was the new discoveries that were being made in the sciences and particularly in psychology. The discovery of the subconscious levels of human motivation by Freud had a dramatic effect on the way that people in general perceived reality and also had a profound effect on thinker and artists. In this process, the view of a static objective reality was being questioned."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allen, Sharon Lubkemann. "Dispossessed Sons and Displaced Meaning in Faulkner's Modern Cosmos." The Mississippi Quarterly 50.3 (1997): 427+.
• Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury & As I Lay Dying. New York: Modern Library, 1946.
• Holland-Toll, Linda J. "Absence Absolute: The Recurring Pattern of Faulknerian Tragedy." The Mississippi Quarterly 51.3 (1998): 435. Questia. 10 December, 2007. <http://www.questia.com/>.
• Mellard, James M. "Something New and Hard and Bright: Faulkner, Ideology and the Construction of Modernism." The Mississippi Quarterly 48.3 (1995): 459+. Questia. 10 December 2007.<http://www.questia.com/>.
• Merrill, Robert. "Faulknerian Tragedy: The Example of 'As I Lay Dying." The Mississippi Quarterly 47.3 (1994): 403+. Questia. 10 December 2007. <http://www.questia.com/>.

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