As I Lay Dying analysis
In the first reading of As I Lay Dying, the characters seem to be temporarily lonely and separated from their loved ones. However, upon reading the novel a second time, I realized that their isolation from each other is permanent and their loneliness is more like a disease. I do not believe that Faulkner meant for the reader to sympathize with any of the characters and, when distracted by the sometimes unclear plot, I did not question why the characters were so alone; I could understand how they were unappealing to potential companions. Yet the most pathetic part of this novel is not the ignorance nor laziness of the characters, but the fact that they are each so separated from each other. I still do not sympathize with any of the characters, although upon further analysis, they resemble people I know and even myself. However, I am shocked to realize that each character is suffering from his own emotional paralysis. The theme of death is very physical in the first reading, in the second, it is entirely emotional. I would expect a reaction of pain or anger from the family members after Addie's death, which some characters seem to display. Yet what appeared to be a period of mourning is rather a state of inner comatose in which
Cash is the only child that does not completely suffer from emotional paralysis, although he is severely physically injured during the family's trip to Jefferson. Faulkner highlights that each character, including Cash after his leg is broken, is almost physically useless despite his seemingly great potential for work. The juxtaposition between the characters' emotions and physical condition becomes clear in the second reading; the deceased mother and the wounded brother being the only characters whose sense of emotion remains at least intact. Cash sees that nobody he knows is emotionally connected to their actions, rather they view them as the actions of a stranger: "It's like there was a fellow in every man that's done a-past the sanity or the insanity, that watches the sane and the insane doings of that man with the same horror and astonishment."(238). the characters lack any real emotions that they allow themselves to feel. They consider each other to be dead, causing themselves to be dead also. Each character has already or does let go of his feelings toward the remaining family members, severing all ties he has with the world. It becomes obvious in reading for the second time that Addie and Anse pushed away a
Some common words found in the essay are:
Lay Dying, Addie Anse, Jefferson Faulkner, emotional paralysis, lay dying, , reading lay dying, reading lay, own emotional, inner comatose, sympathize characters, believe faulkner, addie's death,
Approximate Word count = 827
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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