A Critical Analysis of William Faulkners As I Lay Dying essays

A Critical Analysis of William Faulkners As I Lay Dying essays William Faulkners novel, As I Lay Dying is the story of one familys experiences of the death of their mother and wife, Addie Bundren, and the experiences the family members go through in an attempt to fulfill what they think is a simple wish she had for her funeral arrangements. Addie Bundrens dying wish is to return to her homeland of Jefferson, where she grew up to be buried with her people as William Faulkner says in the opening of As I Lay Dying. Faulkners novel is set over a six day period in the state of Mississippi that starts in the mythical county of Yoknapatawpha County. The Yoknapatawpha County referred to in William Faulkners As I Lay Dying is closely modeled on Lafayette County, Mississippi and both the real and fictional counties are roughly bounded on the northeast by the Tallahatchie River; in the fictional county the Yocana River to the south is named the Yoknapatawpha (Tuck, 1). Tuck refers to this land that to as William Faulkners mythical kingdom is situated in northern Mississippi and is the setting for several of his novels including As I Lay Dying (Tuck, 1). This land is also the land that William Faulkner calls home therefore his familiarity with the layout and the population helps Faulkner add a great amount of detail to his novels that adds color and imagery to his novels that helps the reader in imagining and setting the scene while adding to the plot of the story. Faulkners remarkable success in this novel (As I Lay Dying) is achieved by an accumulation of incongruities, stated Volpe in his Readers Guide to Faulkner. (Volpe, 127). This is because of the different styles of narration used by the many different narrators in As I Lay Dying. Matter of fact there are fifteen different narrators in the novel As I Lay Dying help tell the story. As I Lay Dying is constructed out the thoughts and feel...