Throughout history, humankind questions their place within the universe. In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, the preoccupied Bundren family struggles on their journey to bring the decaying Addie Bundren to Jefferson, forty miles away from their home. The children Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell and Vardaman each display their own internal conflict, distracting them from the death of their mother. Although Vardaman and Darl demonstrate an quizative outlook on life, William Faulkner displays Darl’s
In the novel as I lay dying, the death of Addie Bundren has several characters confused and questioning themselves with the rather sizable questions of existence and identity. Vardaman becomes perplexed and horrified by the transformation of a fish he caught and cleaned into “pieces of not-fish,” (pg53) and he associates that image with the transformation of Addie from a person into an indescribable nonperson. Jewel never really speaks for himself.His sorrow is presented for him by Darl, who says
William Faulkner creates a setting within As I Lay Dying where objective truth does not exist and is dependent on individual perception. Using the narrative technique of stream of consciousness, Faulkner enables the reader to overcome the inadequacies of language, giving the a glimpse of psyche of the characters. Throughout the novel, there is a tension between the perceived analysis of characters, based on words and actions, and their inner feelings, thoughts and motivations. Almost as though, the
Addie is not only characterized as stereotypical, but as revengeful and presumptuous; thus, her complexity as a character is vastly different than the others. Addie is a school-teacher whose death triggers the novel’s leading action. Her rival relationship with her husband leads her to devote all her time and effort to her favorite child, Jewel. Addie’s downfall is
Paul held a Jewish holistic perspective on humans (although not consistently).8 Rudolf Bultmann offered an individualistic and existentialist interpretation of Paul’s letters.9 In his view, “The soma is man himself (sic!), while sarx is a power that lays claim to him and determines him.”10 Ernst Käsemann reintroduced a collective-oriented perspective, and suggested that σάρξ in Paul speaks of humans as part of God’s creation and inevitably existing in a physical context.11 Robert Jewett stated that
awareness, the draft, and ultimately, the Vietnam War. Regardless of the situation, it becomes inherently clear how substantial a role religion plays in this novel through the lives of the characters and the inventiveness of the author. While Irving incorporates the impact of cultural events on the lives of John and Owen,
and Mr. Hyde Jekyll talks about his inner conflict and realization “It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date . . . I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements” (Stevenson