As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, is a novel not only unique in structure but in context. The reader is given a chance to read the thoughts of a variety of characters with diverse personalities as a result of the distinctive structure based on fragments of interior monologues. A very distinctive character found in this novel is Vardaman, mainly because he represents the innocence that the other characters lack. This boy is the youngest of the four children of Anse and Addie Bundren, and quite innocent and naive. These main characteristics make Vardaman more vulnerable to Addie's death, giving way for him to be trapped in denial and to state different ways to keep his mother alive. Vardaman proves to be innocent yet logical due to the association he does of his mother with a fish, his way to keep his mother alive even though she is already found dead and blame Peabody for Addie's death. Being naive and innocent is a mixture that gives way for Vardaman's reactions to embrace non-acceptance and as a product, permit him to associate his mother with an animal, a way for his mother to not go from "is" to "was". Moments before her death, Vardaman had caught an enormous fish, and entered the room where his mother laid. He was anx
Vardaman's innocence allows him question the significance of existence, of why people can be there and suddenly not be. This combination feeds his denial towards his mother's death and continues to search for logical ways to keep her alive. Addie is already dead, and the coffin being made by Cash is finished. The family places her in the coffin and puts the lid in place. Vardaman starts asking cash " Are you going to nail her up in it, Cash? Cash? Cash?" (Faulkner,65). This reaction is related to a past experience that he had when he was accidentally locked up and could not open the door because it was to heavy, and consequently could not breath "because the rat was breathing up all the air" (Faulkner, 65). The next morning they found him laying asleep on the floor and " the top of the box bored clean full of holes " (Faulkner, 73). This act expresses clearly how he rejects the fact that Addie is absent. He cannot bear the fact that she is dead, therefore treating her as if she were still alive by putting holes in her lid so she can breath. This reaction is quite logical. Vardaman simply associates his past experience, being locked up and unable to breath, with his mother's experience, being locked up in a coffin with a shut lid on top. Finally, Vardaman continues to react in relation to Addie's death. A very common response of an individual to someone's death is to relate it or even blame someone for that loss. Before Addie's death the doctor Peabody is called to see if
Some common words found in the essay are:
Peabody Addie's, Dewey Dell, Cash Faulkner65, William Faulkner, Addie Bundren, Finally Vardaman, Peabody Vardaman, Lay Dying, addie's death, mother alive, mother fish, logical reactions, alive vardaman, crying confused, mother moments, combination innocence, mother transformed, Cash Cash, experience locked,
Approximate Word count = 1000
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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