Multiple Analogy

The number four is the first number that can be visualized in three dimensional space. The tetrahedron (a four sided pyramid) is the essential 3D shape of the tetrahedron. Tetrahedron SAS employs an ‘empty’ tetrahedron with no bottom as their logo. According to the mission statement the company is focussed on “[d]eveloping and designing natural and synthetic antioxidants for applications in Therapeutics, Nutrition or Cosmetics.” They work with the building blocks of nature for their business.
As an investment the business uses the tetrahedron to not so much represent growth (a spiral would be better suited) as to represent the multidimensional use of the product they offer. Also as matter is made of only four particles, the use of the four sided tetrahedron speaks to the creation of ‘natural compounds.’ Furthermore, as a fledgling company the four planed figure relates to a safe investment.
The nature of the logo allows for a possible misreading of the company however. The fact that the bottom of the tetrahedron is missing could represent transparency in the organization. An attempt at visualizing a phrase such as ‘you can see our inner workings.’ However, there is no element within the logo to suggest such a reading. The logo is in fact empty which bodes poorly for the company as a sign of possible faux façade. Also the logo is outlined in green. On the one hand green is the color of organic material, on the other green is the color of greed and money. Both readings may be accurate though. A company exists not for the benefit of others, but for the health of itself.
The logo then is multifaceted and can be read in a myriad of ways. Along the same vein, Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is multifaceted and affords similarly expansive interpretations.

Multiple Design

The multiplicity of As I Lay Dying is best understood through the juxtaposition of the number four. Four is the first number to represent depth. As an encyclopedic piece Faulkner creates a work that has extreme depth. Each element adds a new dimension to the work and even the conventional levels such as narration are multiplied.
The number four represents the world we live in and also describes the main directions of the novel. Anse constantly considers the world he lives in as movement to either the left or the right, horizontally across the surface of the earth. Addie (his wife) dwells on ideas of transcendence; she imagines a column of smoke which rises away from the earth in a vertical movement. These cardinal directions represent the structure of reality.
Four may stand for stagnation, and on a trivial level that is true (the novel is not changing, it just is) but it is also the soundest in terms of structure. Faulkner’s deep novel is solid, it never feels lacking, and as a result it can be digested an innumerable number of times and still satiate. A beautiful novel is multidimensional, it entertains and enlightens the reader on more than just one level. Soap operas have intricate plots, but they aren’t going to be garnered any beauty contest awards.

Multiple Experience

Faulkner plays with the structure and form of this novel masterfully. The novel is encyclopedic in of itself which Calvino attributes to the multiple nature of novels. The novel could be told from any of the narrators perspectives individually but cumulatively each of the narrators adds depth to the novel. Faulkner creates a multiple 1st person omniscient point of view which jumps from one character to another without ever employing an unbiased narrator. Although the reader is privy to every thought of the narrators (indeed even partially constructed thoughts are exposed) they must take each thought with a grain of salt. Just as people are able to lie to themselves, so too are the characters able to have thoughts that hide their true intentions (Anse’s object for the funeral).
Faulkner immerses the reader in his network of connections. The town that he invents (Yoknapatawpha) is the backdrop to some of his other novels and gives the town more dimension than just the view of one novel. The novel approaches each scene from a different view, but never reexamines the same one providing a linear yet broken narrative. At time the narration delves into intricacies (such as many of Darl’s earlier chapters, and later Cash’s) while other times the prose is shallow (Cash’s initially).
There is a balance between the interior monologue (and inner dialogue between oneself in Darl’s case after he goes ‘crazy’) and the spoken dialogues which shows a depth of forms. Faulkner also utilizes multiple tenses. Certain sections of the work are italicized in order to indicate past events.Finally, at times the work deals with matters of deep importance (Addie’s philosophical debate on the meaning of words, Darl and Vardman’s conversation about what death means symbolically and lexically, Cash’s analysis of what it means to be ‘crazy’) while other times the novel remains blithe concerning itself with the price of cakes (Cora).