I was looking through my old documents and found the original research paper I did for this book back in High School. Find it below to compare to the learning Screen!

In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, characterization, specifically through the multitude of narrators, transforms an otherwise pedestrian plot into a complex pilgrimage to the truth. As I Lay Dying is told from the perspective of fifteen different characters in 59 chapters (Tuck 35). Nearly half (7) of the characters from whose perspective the story is narrated are members of the same family, the Bundrens. The other characters are onlookers of the Bundrens’ journey to bury their mother, Addie. Each character responds to the events that are unfolding in a unique way and his or her reactions help to characterize themselves and others.
“…each private world manifests a fixed and distinctive way of reacting to and ordering experiences” (Vickery 50). They may choose to constrain their reaction to the realm of audible indulgence in the form of word, through the actions they take, or by reflecting upon the situation in contemplation. These responses shed light upon what kind of personality each character possesses.
On a conscious level the characters make decisions based upon three criteria. They can act on sensation, they can use reason for guidance, or they can act upon their innate intuition. “Faulkner is able to indicate the particular combination of sensation, reason, and intuition possessed by each of his characters… through a subtle manipulation of language and style” (Vickery 51). Faulkner portrays each character through their thought process and thus characterizes them as the product of their choices.
The eight non-Bundrens, friends, neighbors, and onlookers alike, are employed by Faulkner to characterize the family members, however the credence of their observation is important in the reader forming correct opinions of the characters. No one truly knows a person but themselves, however some truths may be gleaned from the inferences others make. “I saw… it was between [Addie] and Darl that the understanding and true love was” (Faulkner 24). The reader could either take the words for face value as true, or discard them as utter fiction. The decision is based upon the credence of the speaker. In this case the speaker is Cora, the overly religious neighbor. Although not initially apparent, it is later revealed that her view of Addie’s affection towards Darl is completely inaccurate. Cora bases her verbal reaction on Addie’s physical response, but does not take into account Addie’s reasoning. This example makes the importance of credibility, especially based on knowledge of the situation, more pronounced.
Furthermore, the onlookers’ narration needs to be free of bias for true objectivity. Faulkner lets the most detached characters of the book give the most objective views of the Bundrens, because they have no bias towards them. The stronger a character’s morals are and the stronger their predisposition, the more skewed their objectivity. Cora is a good example for distorted objectivity. As a deeply fervent religious character Cora is biased against Addie’s supposedly sinful ways stating, “the eternal and the everlasting salvation and grace is not upon her” (Faulkner 8). Cora’s husband, Tull, however, observes the Bundrens with an unbiased mind, simply retelling what he observes. His interpretation of Anse, the Bundren Father, gives an accurate portrayal of him. “[Anse] is hoping all the time he really can’t do it and can quit trying to” (Faulkner 32). Faulkner’s use of indirect characterization through the thoughts of onlookers must be sifted through to find the truly objective views.
“Faulkner’s greatness as an artist is due to…his ability to… make the real symbolic without sacrificing reality” (Campbell 28).As I Lay Dying contains a plethora of truths made apparent through the direct characterization of characters philosophies and religious beliefs. Many of the non-Bundrens hold philosophies that speak universal truths. Peabody, the level headed physician to the Bundrens recounts a childhood fallacy he has since been disabused of. “I can remember how when I was young I believed death to be a phenomenon of the body; now I know it to be merely a function of the mind – and that of the minds of the ones who suffer the bereavement” (Faulkner 52). Constant insight into characters moral fibers yields deep philosophical views that change a commercial plot into a dissertation on life.
The onlookers’ religious beliefs also highlight life lessons. Tull holds a seemingly absurd view on feminine purport to this world. “…the reason the Lord had to create women is because man dont know his own good when he sees it,” (Faulkner 71) thinks Tull. Although arguable, his simple statement is strewn together from shreds of truth. People are not islands, and moreover no one wants to be alone. Later Tull’s words amplify his religious thoughts when he states, “Never a truer breath was ever breathed. ‘The Lord giveth,’ I say” (Faulkner 30). Faulkner makes a point to point out the bond between Tull’s words and his thoughts, but also shows how words spoken are less powerful than thoughts thought, thus showing how words muddy intention. Through religious belief Faulkner speaks volumes about life.
Vardaman is the youngest member of the Bundren Family who responds to his surroundings with a mix of colloquial words and contemplation. He suffers the same loss as the others, but due to his lack of maturity is unable to affect a synthesis between thought and emotion, and instead undergoes a kind of dismemberment of his identity, much as his family’s identity does (Magill 1058). He feels regret when Addie dies, a sensation he mistakenly connects to the death of a fish, and then he relates her to the fish (Faulkner 84). Vardaman’s inability to articulate his sensations illustrates his immaturity and lack of credence as a narrator.
Vardaman is a lost youth who is too young to understand theology, and thus does not understand the concept of God or religion. However this is not to say he is faithless, in fact he possesses absolute faith to his family, as demonstrated by his naïve acceptance of Dewey Dell’s explanation for the expedition. “[The train set will] be there come Christmas, [Dewey Dell] says, shining on the track. She says he won’t sell it to no town boys” (Faulkner 102). Vardaman is characterized as a gullible character with confidence in his family through his blind faith.
Dewey Dell is a selfish teen, prematurely pregnant, whose true motive for the journey is to find abortion pills. She is extremely volatile and is constantly in motion, from fanning her dying mother, to pouncing upon her brother Darl moments before he is institutionalized. She attempts to justify her actions through words, an attempt to unify thought and action, but ends up creating excuses for her actions. To explain her pregnancy she simply states, “And so it was because I could not help it” (Faulkner 27).
Her claim to universal truths is somewhat skeptical due to her lack of credibility; her deepest observation is of her own unborn child. “It’s like everything in the world for me is inside a tub full of guts,” (Faulkner 58) thinks Dewey Dell. Her shallow explanation of how important her child is will never be understood by her because of her failure to realize her ideas through thought or action.
Dewey Dell’s religious beliefs can only be inferred from her actions. An abortion, an act of sin, which she conscientiously pursues, proves her lack of faith. Jewel is another character whose religious affirmations are hard to gauge, due to his lack of narration and inner thoughts explained.
Jewel is the middle child, and incidentally the only child not related to Anse by blood. He is the product of Addie’s affair; a venture into the forsaken sin of adultery, rather than the hollow act of fulfilling the meaning of the words “husband and wife” (Vickery 54). His language is terse, as are his actions, which proves a coherency of reason and reaction. His actions speak louder than his words, but are meaningless reflections of his inner motives, and therefore can not divulge the intricacies of life. However, Jewel does act as Addie’s pawn in her revenge, as he saves her coffin countless times and perpetuates the savage journey (Magill 1058).It is important to note though, that Jewel is the only truly independent character in the novel besides Addie (Tuck 39). He is confident in his actions without the presence of Addie, unlike the other Bundrens, especially Anse.
Anse is the father of the Bundrens, but certainly not a father figure. He lacks the paternal wisdom expected of fathers and repeats words and actions as meanings, rather than giving them meaning. He reduces the richness of events to threadbare clichés as an onlooker, rather than participant and should therefore be considered an unpersuasive source of truth (Vickery 51). However Faulkner allows Anse to make a somewhat credible philosophical statement. “When He aims for something to be always a-moving He makes it long ways, like a …road… when he aims for something to stay put, He makes it up-and-down ways, like a…man” (Faulkner 36). An interesting theory to consider, nonetheless his philosophy is somewhat flawed, since man is meant to be always a-moving.
Anse is a selfish character, as characterized by his zealous hunger for new teeth, “but now I can get them teeth,” (Faulkner111) and his lack of respect for Addie’s funeral procession. Anse is overtly religious, but lacks convictions for his theologically justified machinations. “God’s will be done… Now I can get them teeth” (Faulkner 52). He simply uses religion for its face value, again mimicking words rather than giving them meaning.
Cash is the eldest son and only skilled workman of the Bundren Family. His aptitude in woodworking emphasizes his mature capacity to fuse words and actions, reason and intuition (Vickery 51). His thoughts can be considered credible due to this maturity.
His reason is later perfectly explained through his thoughts about insanity. “Sometimes I think it aint none of us pure crazy and aint none of us pure sane until the balance of us talks him that-a-way” (Faulkner 233). Although grammatically incorrect this idea shows his mature understanding of his morals and beliefs, unlike the other Bundrens who flounder helplessly in attempting to express themselves. This philosophical view certainly holds weight and illustrates how Faulkner uses emotionally in tune characters to divulge life lessons.
Darl is the most disparate character encompassing all modes of response – words, contemplation, and action – and of consciousness – intuition, reason, and sensation – but is unable to integrate them (Vickery 51). His perspective is divided from the onset of the novel, when he “imagines” exactly how his brother Jewel appears as he takes strides through a house where Darl is not a witness (Kinney 161). His speech is extremely colloquial while his thoughts are on another plane entirely, which emphasizes the rift in his words and thoughts. As he watches the funeral procession he becomes aware of its absurdity and eventually looses himself in reckless abandon (Kinney 167). At one point his minds anxieties try to manifest themselves through his attempt to burn Addie’s coffin along with the barn she is housed in. Though his reasoning is sound he is unable to communicate himself through actions and is eventually judged crazy.
Though on the surface Darl is crazy, his mind and his narration is the most abundant and often insightful. The bulk of the novel’s plot consists of his interpretations, and observations of events, as well as projections of events he can not see, but knows to be happening (Kinney 162). He realizes that the other Bundrens are selfish, with the exception of Jewel (Kinney 167). Furthermore he is the only member to realize that the journey itself is a farce as well as a meaningless reenactment of gestures and words.
Darl closely follows his mothers lead as is apparent by their similar qualities. Addie’s transcends religious boundaries into a self controlled realm where she is able to regenerate herself through her children (Morris 154). She does this by molding the identities of her children and even through death setting a linear path for them to follow, in this case her funeral procession (Wadlington 79). Darl is a shadow of his mother and throughout the novel it becomes apparent that he is experiencing vicarious accounts of other characters’ experiences. (Morris 154). Darl’s religious beliefs closely mirror his mother’s, as do his philosophical beliefs.
“Since there is not virtue attached simply to the meticulous repetition of its words and gestures, it is the individual who must give meaning and life to ritual by recognizing its symbolic function” (Vickery 52-53). This is Addie Bundren’s own philosophy that shows complete symbioses between intuition and thought. Her deep understanding of the relationship between words and actions leads her through life cynical but aware of her self. Darl holds a less mature understanding akin to Addie’s ability to deconstruct words into functions then reconstruct the words upon another entity (Morris 156). His realization of the travesty that is the interment comes when he realizes that “superficial chattiness moves up…quick and harmless” (Kinney 163). The final similarity between Addie and her son Darl is their views on life. Addie knows that the purpose of life is to get ready to stay dead a long time (Faulkner 169). Darl finds the purpose of his life when he yearns to “ravel out into time”; he is ready to stay dead a long time (Kinney 166).
As I Lay Dying is a masterpiece that explores philosophical and religious truths through a simple plot. The characterization of multiple characters through their ability to articulate their feelings gives credence to, or detracts credibility from their beliefs. In a quote Faulkner sums up the meaning of his work saying “beneath that false blandness the true force of it leans against us lazily” (Faulkner 158).Works Cited

Campbell, Harry Modean, and Ruel E. Foster. A Critical Appraisal. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1970

Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York; Vintage Books, 1985

Kinney, Arthur F. Faulkner’s Narrative Poetics Style as Vision. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1978

Magill, Frank N. “William Faulkner.” Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Englewood Cliffs: American Libraries, 1985

Morris, Wesley. Reading Faulkner. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1989

Tuck, Dorothy. Crowell’s Handbook of Faulkner. New York; Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1964

Vickery, Olga W. The Novels of William Faulkner A Critical Interpretation. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959

Wadlington, Warwick. As I Lay Dying: Stories out of Stories. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992