Hi Everyone: Please use the comment section below to add final thoughts about the last section of As I Lay Dying: you can mention scenes that will stick with you, as questions, respond to other students' ideas, offer your take on what's at the heart of the book, or discuss a line or passage.
See you on Friday, Mr. Telles.
Just to put it out there — I am writing this, the final blogpost I will write for AP Lit, exactly one year after writing my first blogpost for the class. Things won’t be the same after this...
ReplyDeleteAs far as Faulkner goes, the last third of the book really picks up. The intensity really becomes apparent and the plot does seriously escalate, which makes those final five words, which may well be the five most shocking and exasperating concluding words that I've read in an AP Literature book this year, all the more jarring. If the scenes of Darl setting the barn ablaze invoked a sense of chaos that sends the book rushing forward like a high-speed train, the final segment of the book, those final words especially, sends it careening off of the cliff. The philosophical or psychological implications of Anse’s final actions are really paralyzing. As I Lay Dying starts in a place very different from the one in which it ends, and although that is to some degree what one would expect or perhaps hope for in a book it does not make the ending any less horrifying. At the beginning of the book there was the disorienting effect of being thrown right into the midst of things, but the story that we entered in medias res just moved along steadily with shifting narration and remained very opaque. I won’t say that things are perfectly clear, for me they definitely aren’t, but the portrait that I mentioned in my previous post has been completed. We have the reel, we have every piece of the portrait, and the picture that we can now step back from and look at is very, very dark. Many conflicts either manifest fully or burst into the foreground in the book’s final act. Darl, our once seemingly all-knowing narrator, is reduced to a psychological mess, and his almost paradoxically eloquent narration is replaced by the blank, dry words of Cash. When the very last section hits, it hits hard, because there is very little ornamentation in Cash’s narration. Darl doesn’t exactly slide into Elizabethan English, but he does have a way of speaking philosophically despite the limitations in the apparent dialect. The murkiness of the book in general is maintained, but the substantial events that transpire in these final pages felt much more accessible than earlier chaotic instances like the river crossing. Understandable or not, certain events will remain dumbfounding—they set Cash’s broken leg with cement!—but those moments especially seem to suggest the deeper problems within the family. The often brusque and brutal approaches that the family members have towards one another come into sobering focus with Addie’s lone section of narration. The Bundren matriarch has a despairing outlook on life and childbearing, and she conveys quite strongly that she is (or was, the chronological placement of her narration is unclear) waiting to die. Darl set the barn ablaze in what appears to be a wild attempt to bring the family’s journey to an end. He at least seems to be trying to give his mother’s body a more respectful end than the horrendous deterioration that becomes prominent as the family gets closer to its destination, though his approach is still violent. Anse’s utter selfishness makes his role as patriarch seem only manipulative and hollow, so the scolding from the Jefferson characters becomes all the more justifiable. On the whole though, for all of its darkness, its dissonance and its nuances, As I Lay Dying is a work of enigmatic depth and beauty.
The title of the book being “As I Lay Dying” certainly sounds just as depressing as the story actually ends up being. It is as if nothing can ever really go right for this family no matter what they try to do. They relation they all have to each other only further harms each person. It is as if one persons misfortunes always ends up turning into each of there own. The instance of Darl burning down the Gilipsie’s barn especially highlights this concept. However, eventually in this particular case the family disregards Darl in order to save the rest of them by claiming that he is insane and that caused his actions. The idea of birth throughout the novel also brought on a new level of despair. Addie herself found problems with being a mother to her own children as there are many indications that she never actually truly cared for any of them aside from Jewel. As Dewey Dell faces her own problems with her pregnancy and the idea of bearing children, she becomes absolutely terrified of the idea, going to any and all lengths to escape this problem. The way she begins to view men also appears to change as a result of her situation. This again connects her back to her mother as they both view birth as burden to themselves and perhaps even to women altogether. The ending of the book seemed to be rather abrupt as the loose ends were never really tied up but the misfortunes they all face only now appear to be clearer.
ReplyDeleteAs I Lay Dying. What is there to say about a novel that purges so deeply into human emotions and family dynamics? Regardless of what I say it will never suffice as to how great this desolate novel is. It's title only foreshadows the desperation that is cast within the novel itself. Faulkner imp ores a variety of techniques to interest his audience including varying levels of dialogue as well as changes in perspective. Within this novel we are introduced to a multitude of characters, but the arguably most important being Darl. Darl is often seen as an "all-knowing" character, and is the most perspective out of the bunch. He is able to explore upon actions as well as their consequences, and is the only character to ever truly express his emotions. His perceptiveness often allows him to gain private knowledge, such as Jewel's illegitimacy and Dewey Dell's pregnancy. This trait often marks him as "queer" by locals, but it also characterizes him as by far the most dynamic and interesting character. All of this makes his action of setting the barn ablaze that much more interesting. Why'd he do it, and even more so, why is it significant to the book as a whole. As far as his purpose goes, I believe Darl was trying to end the long, drawn-out journey they had all been going on before his mother's body was grotesque enough to shame her. In addition to this, it could also be a revengeful tactic against Jewel, whom Addie often favored. By setting her body ablaze, Darl was finalizing her death, an action that would make it impossible for Jewel to be apart of her burial. Does this make Darl crazy? Of course not. I believe he was just pushed to his limits, and seeking an ending to the misery that continued with their journey. His laughter, sobbing, and third person dialogue at the end only proved how upset he was, but they are not the signs of a maniac when looked at closely. I believe the family used Darl as a scapegoat, and hoped that sending him off would end their problems as well. Anse only made matters worse by introducing the family to his new bride, which proves how much of a selfish, uncaring father he is to his children and their emotions, and his teeth are just icing on the cake. On another note, I agree with Katie's point of relation to Dewey Dell and Addie. I did not notice it while reading, but the similarities are almost identical. Perhaps Addie's outlook on raising a family rubbed off on her daughter? It seems as if Dewey Dell is beyond desperate right now, which makes me wonder if she will choose to end her life rather than waiting to die like her own mother. Overall, I believe the main purpose of this book was to demonstrate the full scope of human emotions in dealing with hardships, as well as the importance of actions/reactions. I am still unsure if I fully understood the entirety of the book, as I'm sure it is almost impossible, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and appreciated the message it beheld.
ReplyDeleteI was unsure of how I was going to like this book after the first section. It was at times difficult to follow and parts of it dragged on for what felt like way too long. However, as time went on I grew to really like the book, and all the Bundrens. I think the part of the book that stuck with me the most though was what Addie said during her part. It was interesting, because up until that point it seemed like everyone was claiming to have Addie's best interests in mind, but we couldn't really be sure what Addie wanted because she was unable to speak for herself. Addie talking about how Jewel would save her from the water and the fire was probably my favorite part in the whole book, because it not only refers to how Jewel just saved her coffin from the flooded riverbank, but it also foreshadows the burning of the barn where Jewel once again rescues her coffin from the fire. The ending where Anse remarries is somewhat frustrating, because I had been feeling like the book was coming to a close and now with that new plot twist it created a feeling of the book being one big vicious cycle starting over again from the beginning. I think it was a good way to end the book thought, because it definitely is shocking to read.
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty sure everybody is thinking what I’m thinking: what the hell was that ending.I must disagree with my colleague Elizabeth, I did not think it was a good ending. Everybody’s just hanging out and there is some consumption of bananas and out of nowhere their father returns a newly married man. The family had been on a long journey to bury Addie and soon after they finally accomplish their task, Anse has found another woman. However, this wasn’t exactly out of nowhere, but the “hints” before are discreet. In Cash’s second to last narrative he says they were “in front of Mrs Bundren’s house, hearing the music.” Every mention of the music relates to this woman. The music is plays before Anse shows up and then stops.
ReplyDeleteI really like what Katie has to say about this book, very true stuff. This book was indeed quite depressing. As I read, I felt like all of the characters were connected but disconnected. They were all around each other and they would talk to each other and things like that, but they never really talked. People seemed to keep things to themselves and not really interact with people in any significant way. They weren’t a close family and that was disappointing for me. Like Portrait of the Artist, but not nearly as severe, there was a disconnection between people. Although it wasn’t so much of a disconnection as it was just a lack of connection.
I was wondering if anybody had any ideas about what the significance might be of Cash being the character to end the book. Darl begins and Cash ends.
I do not have much to say about the book, so forgive me if this is a little short. The ending was blunt, somewhat out of nowhere, and practically just drops everything onto the floor and refuses to pick up the pieces. While this can be a rather annoying way to end a book, it actually fits the book a lot more than an ending that is satisfactory and wraps everything up. Because this is a book that is basically about documented chaos. Nothing goes as plan, hell is breaking loose from every possible angle and everything that can go wrong does and often with catastrophic results. And when the chaos is not a drastic life-or-death situation (such as trying to cross the river), it presents itself in a more subtle tone by some of the fixations that the characters have that they keep obsessing over and it can make them go a little crazy. For example, Vardaman keeps fixating on the fish that he caught and cut up, which was later cooked and eaten by the family. Through this fixation his mind warps to the connection between the fish and Addie, thus another repeating fixation "my mother is a fish" is born and it haunts Vardaman throughout the book. But aside from the heavy repetition of phrases that can get really obnoxious the book was pretty good. All of the characters were wonderfully deranged (if not infuriating at times) in their own unique ways. Who would have thought that a book with a plot so simple as a family going to bury their dead mother would be so dark and chaotic- where everything falls apart in giant masses and crashes through the floor and all you, the reader, can do is sit and take it all in.
ReplyDeleteI hardly know how not to get so mad I tear the book to pieces and burn holes in every page that mentions Anse--How is it Faulkner can get to me like that?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Anse does a disgusting amount of harm to others by not doing anything. He did as Addie told him--brought her body to lie, staying dead forever, in Jefferson. Cash exhibits characteristics uncannily like his fathers--failing to warn Darl that he would be forcibly committed to Jackson, and to get his leg fixed, and to tell anyone about Jewel’s situation earlier in the book; he built Addie’s coffin at her command, and Anse, too lived by Addie’s word. Addie lived to stay dead forever, so living by her word is perhaps the worst thing short of being Anse himself.
The book comes together around Addie’s one chance at narrating, wherein she provides an answer to life, the universe, and everything--”the reason for living is to get ready to stay dead a long time.” When Addie talks about whipping her students, she expresses the idea that existence is existence only where it affects others who exist--in a less confusing way, when she whipped the boys, they were aware of her and she felt united with them in the pain she was causing them at being alive. “now I am something in your secret and selfish life.” It is along this train of thought that Addie tells how she married Anse, how she gave him two children, took one for herself, and gave him two more to make up for the one she took as her own. Any child of his was not her own--he was nothing anymore, because she became sick of him--Anse was no longer Anse, but was as insipid as the words used to describe him. Addie describes Anse as being dead, and that’s why she turned to Whitfield. Anse is never took joy out of being something in other people’s secret and selfish existences--he just doesn’t want to be beholden to no one. essentially, Addie and Anse are opposites. Addie’s relatives are all dead--lying horizontal in the ground, staying dead for a long time. Anse once mentioned how horizontal things move and upright things stay put, so it took Addie dying and going horizontal to move and get away from Anse. she lived to stay dead a long time with her relations in Jefferson.
The scene wherein Darl shows Vardaman how Addie is talking inside her box to god, asking him to hide her from the sight of man, wherein she turns in her coffin and looks at Vardaman and he asks Darl, how can she see through the wood--the hole are in the top--this is the scene that will stay emblazoned in my mind. It is macabre, grotesque, and it is beautiful. This could be seen as an instance that expresses Darl’s insanity, but I think not--Darl is not insane, merely disturbed, as Anse should be; but Anse is dead, like Addie described him being, and he would sooner put his son in a madhouse than be sued. Anyways, if you have to be in close proximity with your mother’s corpse, you could be horrified, or you could allow yourself to be amused and to look closer into what being dead means.
I will be honest, I had a very hard time reading this book due to recent circumstances. I agree with Katie Russo though, from what I was able to read in the books, it was just as depressing as the title. I knew right away that I would not enjoy one page of the book. Every single moment and seen in the book is about the family and how they are dealing with the death of their mother/wife. It drives me insane how sad it is. Each member of the family began to deal with the death differently. It WAS interesting for me to read and see how each character dealt with death. Death is a funny thing, it changes people and causes them to act in ways that are hard to picture. In this book, the death of Adi drives every character crazy in their own way, and the struggles they went through for Adi were sad. The book only gave me a reminder about how awful death it, and what it really feels like to lose someone you love.
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