English 104 - Introduction to Narrative
08 Blog: As I Lay Dying
Jewel and Addie
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Europa Yang
Cora Tull and Darl express very different interpretations of which son each believes is most dedicated to Addie and connects most deeply with her. Both characters agree that Jewel is the son she favors. Darl first describes this relationship by saying “ma always whipped and petted (Jewel) more…That’s why she...
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Posted by eyang on November 18, 2003 at 10:02 AM
Cash's Coffin: Two Perspectives
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Liz Button
It is clear through Darl and Jewel's different portrayal of Cash's coffin-making that they differ in their views of the activity. Darl repeats fervently "a good carpenter Cash is," stating that the coffin he is making for her "will give her confidence and comfort," while Jewel laments the fact...
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Posted by ebutton on November 18, 2003 at 09:59 AM
Cash's Coffin: Two Perspectives
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying
It is clear through Darl and Jewel's different portrayal of Cash's coffin-making that they differ in their views of the activity. Darl repeats fervently "a good carpenter Cash is," stating that the coffin he is making for her "will give her confidence and comfort," while Jewel laments the fact...
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Posted by ebutton on November 18, 2003 at 09:59 AM
Wooden Eyes
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jeb Bobseine
A character with “wooden eyes” is described several times. Jewel is described so, as well as his father. These descriptions by Darl and Tull are striking, both in the similarity in their observations, as well as the difference. Darl, our first narrator, observes Jewel walking swiftly, powerfully, yet sees something...
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Posted by jbobsein on November 18, 2003 at 09:54 AM
Silences Speak Louder than Words
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Alex Smith
Provocative silence, or more particularly, the use of language “without the words” (27) describes several key moments in As I Lay Dying including the prominant theme of Addie's death. The children and Addie reflect on two very different views on death and the meaning of life, without any words being...
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Posted by asmith9 on November 18, 2003 at 09:52 AM
Instrument of Division
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jim Light
The world’s rugged, pastoral qualities shape the narration throughout As I Lay Dying. Though there are many voices, each articulates their piece of the larger story with an understanding of humanity’s necessary relationship to the land. One of the most potent symbols of this bond is the sound of Cash’s...
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Posted by jlight on November 18, 2003 at 09:45 AM
The real Cash
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Meredeth Lammert
Cora seems to feel the need to taint Cash’s reputation as a good son to Addie Bundren and a good carpenter that many people including Darl seem to make us believe. Cora sees him as selfish as Jewel and Anse, trying to “skimp” (p. 24) on things in order to...
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Posted by mlammert on November 18, 2003 at 09:26 AM
Sin vs. Salvation
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Taneisha Wilson
In Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying some characters are viewed differently through different eyes. In one such situation Cora a close friend and neighbor of the Bundren family wants to bring Addie Bundren to God, “ I begged her to kneel and…cast from it the devil of vanity and...
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Posted by twilson on November 18, 2003 at 09:13 AM
Cash's and Jewel’s View of the Coffin
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Mike Stratton
The building of the coffin is a source of concern, pride and jealousy for Cash and Jewel. Cashing is attempting to build a coffin which his mother is be proud of. “He (Cash) drags a second plank into position and slants the two of them into their final juxtaposition, gesturing...
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Posted by mstratto on November 18, 2003 at 09:06 AM
Cash and Jewel
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Aki Makino
“He drops the saw and lifts the board for her to see…” (48). Cash continues to work on his mother’s coffin while his mother lies in bed, waiting for death, and that seems to be the only thing he cares for most of the time “It wont balance. If...
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Posted by amakino on November 18, 2003 at 09:02 AM
The Nature of Being
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Monica Ruzicka
In the minds of her children, Addie Bundren’s death calls into question the nature of her existence. She loses a human identity and is forced to adopt other means of identity assigned by her children. Vardaman, young and innocently ignorant, likens his mother to the fish he caught earlier...
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Posted by mruzicka on November 18, 2003 at 08:35 AM
Transformation
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jannelle Richardson
The coffin is mentioned by several characters at numerous times throughout the novel. A coffin is a representation of death and loss and is usually purchased after the death of an individual. However this coffin is being constructed inside the house, directly outside Addie, the mother’s bedroom. The presence of...
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Posted by jrichar2 on November 18, 2003 at 08:16 AM
Vardaman and Dewey Dell in the Barn
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jennifer Bernstein
Both Dewey Dell and Vardaman encounter the same cow in the barn during the few hours after their mother’s death, but have very different feelings towards it. Vardaman, distraught, upset, and angry at the doctor Peabody, who he believes has killed his mother, displaces his violent feelings for his family...
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Posted by jbernste on November 18, 2003 at 07:33 AM
Jewel vs. Cash
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Eric Davich
Jewel and Cash seem to be competing for the favor of their mother. Jewel criticizes cash for making a coffin where their mother could see it because it implied that he “want[s] to see her in it” (p. 14). Jewel continues to talk about Cash as if he were slow...
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Posted by edavich on November 18, 2003 at 03:28 AM
A Vision of Light
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Ryan Hurd
Lamps, lanterns and lights are mentioned by different characters in As I Lay Dying and these references reveal hidden traits about each character that otherwise might go unnoticed. When Vernon describes his encounter with Cash during the rain storm he brings with him a lamp to go downstairs to aid...
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Posted by rhurd on November 18, 2003 at 03:16 AM
Lessons in Detachment
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Katie Mitterling
Traumatized by his mother's death, Vardaman is able to process only one thought—"My mother is a fish"(84). The abruptness of his mother's death forces Vardaman to deal with her sudden nonexistence. By projecting his mother onto the dead fish, Vardaman's misconceptions of both life and death become personified. Overwhelmed...
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Posted by kmitterl on November 18, 2003 at 02:56 AM
Dealing with Mom's Death
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Chris Johnson
After Addie Bundren dies, two of her sons, Vardaman and Darl, start referring to her in very strange ways. Though their descriptions are very different from one another, they say much about how each character deals with his mother’s passing. Vardaman’s claim that his “mother is a fish,” (p. 84)...
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Posted by cjohnso2 on November 18, 2003 at 02:55 AM
The Nails in the Coffin
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Dan Herzberg
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, tells the story of a poor Southern family trying to cope with the imminent death (and eventual burial) of Addie—the mother and wife. While Addie is still alive in the early part of the book, she is mostly confined to her bed. Just outside...
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Posted by dherzber on November 18, 2003 at 02:28 AM
I hate my own brother!
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Dro Joseney
From the start of ASILD, Darl and Jewel seem to be in a competition for something. None of these two characters directly state what their fight is over. In fact, it is Cora who hints the reason for the fight to the reader by saying “Jewel, the one [momma] had...
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Posted by cjoseney on November 18, 2003 at 02:17 AM
The Talks About the Box
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Julie Calareso
Throughout As I Lay Dying, Addie’s coffin is discussed in great detail, and even when it is not being specifically referred to, the sawing and hammering noises are noted as being in the background. For example, “I go on to the house, followed by the Chuck. Chuck. Chuck. Of the...
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Posted by jcalares on November 18, 2003 at 02:14 AM
Darl
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Alex Krippner
There is an acknowledgeable difference in the way the character if Darl is described by various other characters. This discrepancy is most clearly recognizable in the narrations of Tull and Dewey Dell. While both seem to identify an extra-perceptive quality that Darl possesses (one of the reasons he could possibly...
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Posted by kkrippne on November 18, 2003 at 01:44 AM
Animal and Maternal Themes
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Frank Chi
The constant shift in narration allows Faulkner to instill different mindsets to the reader. While this method proves perplexing at times, it enables him to create alternative interpretations of one character or theme. In the death of the mother, family members reflect their understanding of her death through animal themes....
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Posted by fchi on November 18, 2003 at 01:39 AM
How holy art thou?
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Torri Parker
The “holy prayer” event described by both Addie and Cora is seen in two totally different lights. “I prayed for the poor blind woman as I had never prayed for me and mine.”168 Cora feels that Addie is an endangered soul, and the only way to save her from...
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Posted by cparker on November 18, 2003 at 01:38 AM
Can Silence Speak Louder Than Words?
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Nicole Colucci
Addie and Cora have contrasting wishes for their respective deaths. While Cora hopes to “be surrounded by loving faces” (23), Addie would rather die alone than be embraced by family members whose love is forced and superficial. Addie explains, “I would think how words go straight up in a thin...
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Posted by ncolucci on November 18, 2003 at 01:15 AM
Perception of the Brothers
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Kelsey Hughes
In As I Lay Dying, the different narrators give very various accounts of both Darl and Jewel. Cora and Darl portray Jewel as the favorite son who doesn’t deserve this title because of his lack of concern for Addie. Cora sees Darl as the perfect son: “Except Darl. It was...
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Posted by khughes2 on November 18, 2003 at 01:07 AM
Jewel's Horse of Course
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Dan Yingst
In As I Lay Dying one of the most interesting issues is that of Jewel’s horse and his relationship to it. To Jewel the horse is a symbol of his independence and of his ability to own something for himself. In a world that is filled with poverty Jewel’s ability...
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Posted by dyingst on November 18, 2003 at 01:06 AM
Disjointed Narrative, Disjointed Family
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Tasha Graff
No one in the novel seems capable of dealing with death. Anse is concerned about “[trying] to do as she would wish it” (106), with regards to burying Addie with her family, but he is also happy to go on the journey so he can get teeth – “But now...
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Posted by tgraff on November 18, 2003 at 12:46 AM
How Darl, Jewel, Anse and Cash Handle Addie's Death
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jeff Nolin
From the way certain members of the family handle the mother’s death, which is different by most of them, we can learn a great deal about the members of the family. Anse sees Addie’s death as just more bad luck from that “durn” road behind the house. He seems to...
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Posted by jnolin on November 18, 2003 at 12:36 AM
Your mother may be a fish, but why don't you bury her already?
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Greg Pearson
As I Lay Dying traces the journey of a family as they slowly transport their mother to her final resting place in Jefferson, 40 miles away. Along the way the narrative bounces from one family member to another as each relates his or her reaction to or interpretation of the...
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Posted by gpearson on November 18, 2003 at 12:18 AM
A Non-Mother
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Erica Michel
The way Vardaman and Darl view their mother in the novel demonstrates that both of them view death in a particularly existential manner. For Darl, he has no mother anymore because she has ceased to exist. His mother was and if she was, she no longer can be an...
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Posted by emichel on November 18, 2003 at 12:11 AM
A Thinking Man
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Sophie Wiss
One of the most prominent narrators in As I Lay Dying, Darl seems to invoke opposite feelings from people. In Tull’s description of crossing the fallen bridge, he explains to Cora “how Darl jumped out of the wagon and left Cash sitting there trying to save it,” to which Cora...
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Posted by swiss on November 18, 2003 at 12:04 AM
Addie as an animal
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Alix Roy
Each member of the family describes their mother differently after her death. Vardaman, the youngest son, is given an entire chapter in which he says only one sentence: “My mother is a fish” (84). The reasoning behind this statement appears to stem from an earlier scene in which Vardaman kills...
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Posted by aroy on November 17, 2003 at 11:40 PM
The Tragic Ford, as Depicted by Darl, Vardaman, and Tull
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Alex Paul
Throughout As I Lay Dying, many events, people, and things are described from two different character vantage points. One event in particular, however,—the attempt to ford Addie’s coffin across the river—is narrated from the perspective of three characters: Darl, Vanderman, and Tull. The way each of these narrators describes the...
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Posted by apaul on November 17, 2003 at 11:13 PM
Darl is not like his father
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Emily Hubbard
A character that is conversely described by two characters is Darl. The first description of Darl is a positive one which claims Darl “is different from those (the family) others. He was the only one of them that had his mother’s nature, had any natural affection,” (p. 21). Here, Darl...
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Posted by ehubbard on November 17, 2003 at 10:33 PM
favortism vs. love
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Ryan Helminiak
Addie's partiality regarding her children is not a matter to question. She describes her partiality as she says, "I refused my breast to Cash and Darl after their time was up" (175) - apparently not so with Jewel. Darl confirms that "ma always whipped and petted him [Jewel] more (18),...
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Posted by rhelmini on November 17, 2003 at 10:32 PM
Dewey Dell and Vardaman in the barn
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Emily Sheffield
Although both Dewey Dell and Vardaman escape to the barn to be alone with their thoughts and emotions, each character describes a different experience while in the barn, and both misinterpret the other’s reasons for being there. Vardaman runs to the barn to be alone because he is so overcome...
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Posted by esheffie on November 17, 2003 at 09:52 PM
Mother/Daughter Tilt
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Matthew Roy
When it comes to certain events, things, or people in "As I Lay Dying," the characters evince several differences in opinion. Nevertheless, the first scene in which the reader clearly sees two distinct opinions comes when Cora describes how she had saved eggs to bake cakes that she was hired...
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Posted by mroy on November 17, 2003 at 09:45 PM
Unfair Judgments
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Niki Alvarez
A character that is described in two different ways in As I Lay Dying is Jewel. Jewel’s brother Darl describes him as saying things “harshly [and] savagely” and just being an overall angry person. The reason that Jewel is so upset is because he believes one of the reasons his...
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Posted by nalvarez on November 17, 2003 at 09:40 PM
Horse or Fish
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Drew Fulton
Twice in the novel Addie is described as an animal. The first occurrence is a chapter from Vardaman’s point of view that is only five words, “my mother is a fish” (84). This simple statement tells a lot about his character. Vardaman is Addie’s youngest son and struggles with understanding...
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Posted by afulton on November 17, 2003 at 09:37 PM
What is Sin?
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Britta Bene
There is a conspicuous difference between the ways Cora and Addie view religion and the word of God. Cora believes that mortals cannot judge their sins, as this privilege is solely reserved for God: “it is the Lord’s part to judge; ours to praise His mercy and His holy name...
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Posted by bbene on November 17, 2003 at 09:24 PM
Addie's Coffin
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Eli Maitland
Throughout the novel, there are numerous references made to Cash's ongoing project of constructing a coffin for Addie. He works meticulously on the coffin, perfecting every little aspect of it, so that when the time comes for his mother to pass away, she will have an adequate resting place. Faulkner...
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Posted by emaitlan on November 17, 2003 at 09:23 PM
Cora's Superficiality
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Merrie Railsback
Cora’s perception of the character of Jewel is very telling in its superficiality. Cora assumes that Jewel would not stay to say goodbye to his mother because he is selfish, and the death of his mother does not concern him. “Not him to miss a chance to make that extra...
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Posted by mrailsba on November 17, 2003 at 09:12 PM
Differing Reactions to Addie’s Death
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Ged Wieschhoff
Faulkner allows his reader to become more understanding of his characters by having different characters narrate their (and others’) responses to Addie’s death. Peabody’s reaction to Addie’s death (narrated by Peabody) is one of the first reactions the reader encounters. Peabody narrates, “I believed death to be a phenomenon...
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Posted by gwieschh on November 17, 2003 at 09:07 PM
“Addie is” versus “Addie was”
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Molly McCarter
The classification of the corpse of Addie as a “thing” versus a “person” is an important choice. Anse and Samson disagree on this classification, revealing insight into each of their characters. Anse still speaks of Addie in the present tense. She is not a corpse, a shell of the...
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Posted by mmccarte on November 17, 2003 at 08:44 PM
unspoken secrets
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jin-Sun Kim
Dewey Dell is pregnant with Lafe’s baby, and no on knows except her brother, Darl. Earlier in the novel, they both recount the conversation they had when Darl “confronts” Dewey Dell with his discovery. When Dewey Dell recalls it, she remembers Darl being quite speechless and not many words had...
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Posted by jkim3 on November 17, 2003 at 08:39 PM
Addie's Sin and Salvation
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Kira Chappelle
From the beginning of the novel, several characters reveal that Addie Bundren favored Jewel over her other children. This favoritism is a mystery, particularly to Cora. “Not [Jewel] to miss a chance to make that extra three dollars at the price of his mother’s goodbye kiss” (21-22), Cora says, though...
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Posted by kchappel on November 17, 2003 at 03:13 PM
Jewel vs. Darl - Who's the "good" guy?
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Meghan Gillis
Jewel is an intriguing and mystifying character. There is only one “chapter” in As I Lay Dying where one reads solely from Jewels perspective. It is through this that one can see Jewel’s true admiration and fondness for his mother as he states, “it would be just me an...
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Posted by mgillis on November 17, 2003 at 02:18 PM
Two Brothers – Two Distinct Observations
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jason Lewis
The reader is provided insight into the lowering of Addie’s coffin from her bedroom down to the wagon through the eyes of both Cash and Darl. At a time when the boys should show the utmost respect for their deceased mother, the brothers give two unique interpretations of the event....
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Posted by jlewis2 on November 17, 2003 at 12:18 PM
Darl and Cash: Beveling the Coffin
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Andrew Morrison
Cash’s construction of Addie’s coffin dominates the beginning of the novel. We learn of it before we know who the characters are and what exactly is taking place. Two strikingly different depictions of the process are given by Darl and Cash (pgs. 75-83). Darl gives a very complete description of...
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Posted by amorriso on November 16, 2003 at 05:24 PM
Defending Their Innocence
Category: 08 Blog: As I Lay Dying | Jade Dunn
There is one section in the beginning pages of As I lay Dying where two different characters narrate the same section of the plot. Young Vardaman (pgs. 53-57) describes his experience of blaming Peabody for his mother’s death, running out to the barn to set Peabody’s horses loose, and...
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Posted by jdunn2 on November 15, 2003 at 07:00 PM