About the book it was the book william faulkner drafted while he was working the night shift at a power plant. This edition reproduces the corrected text of as i lay dying as established in 1985 by noel polk. Comparing the sound and the fury, as i lay dying, andabsalom, absalom. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. As i lay dying is faulkners harrowing account of the bundren familys odyssey across the mississippi countryside to bury addie, their wife and mother. Cash bundrens tool box in faulkners as i lay dying southeast. It was his seventh novel, published in 1930 when he was 33 he died in. During the journey, several difficulties are encountered. With james franco, tim blake nelson, jim parrack, ahna oreilly. There is no reliable narrator, no clear protagonist, and no. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy.
As i lay dying summary from litcharts the creators of. As i lay dying questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on as i lay dying. Unlike darls narrative, which reveals a degree of education, dewey dells narrative is broken with misspellings and incomplete sentences. Parents need to know that as i lay dying is an adaptation of william faulkners great 1930 novel, written, directed by, and starring james franco. As i lay dying, novel by william faulkner, published in 1930. Addie bundren the wife of anse bundren and mother to cash, darl, jewel, dewey dell, and vardaman. An exschoolteacher and mother of five children, addie becomes ill and requests that she be buried with her family in the town of jefferson. See a complete list of the characters in as i lay dying and indepth analyses of addie bundren, darl bundren, and jewel bundren. I picked up as i lay dying a few weeks back because id never read any of faulkners work before and wanted to give him a go. The first section belongs to darl bundren, who introduces us to his brothers cash and jewel and his dying mother, addie. The novel begins with darl, the second of addie bundrens children, describing how cash, addies oldest son and a skilled carpenter, is outside building her coffin. Addie is a mostly absent protagonist, and her death triggers the novels action. As i lay dying cliffsnotes study guides book summaries.
Plot summary of faulkners as i lay dying the novel as i lay dying opens with the scene of the ill addie bundren lying on the bed. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Also download as i lay dying pdf for free and buy hard copy of the book. As i lay dying is told by fifteen different narrators over the course of fiftynine narrative sections. In this book, and others of this series, it was commonplace to find sentences that stretched on for a page in order to create mood, multiple. In this book, and others of this series, it was commonplace to find sentences that stretched on for a page in order to create mood, multiple narrators, or short stories complicated with a streamofconsciousness blather that was hard to. Dewey dell mentions that she and lafe are working in the fields. Told in turns by each of the family membersincluding addie herselfthe novel ranges in mood from dark comedy to the deepest pathos.
So, in one sense, the novel has a linear structure based upon the movement of the funeral procession traversing the forty miles from the. As i lay dying by william faulkner book club discussion. Get all the key plot points of william faulkners as i lay dying on one page. In a rural farming town in yoknawpatapha county, the bundren family prepares for the death if its matriarch, addie bundren. Historical perspective of as i lay dying novel summaries. This summary of as i lay dying includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Before i ever put pen to paper and set down the first word i knew what the last word would be and almost where the last period would fall. As i lay dying is a novel by william faulkner, and arguably among the least mind. As i lay dying is a 1930 novel by william faulkner. In its broadest terms, the structure of as i lay dying revolves around the preparations for and the actual journey from the bundren farm to a town forty miles away in order to bury addie bundren. It is one of the many novels that faulkner set in the fictional yoknapatawpha county, miss. One of william faulkners finest novels, as i lay dying, originally published in 1930, remains a captivating and stylistically innovative work.
While most sections are narrated by members of the bundren family, the few that are told by neighbors and other observers offer a glimpse of the family from an outsiders perspective. Like all of faulkners works, as i lay dying is set in the fictional mississippi county of yoknapatawpha. As i lay dying full text william faulkner internet archive. Narrated in turn by each of the family members including addie herself as well as others. In his essay faulkners as i lay dying, tim poland posits that cashs. These thoughtprovoking questions will get the discussion flowing. In this book, and others of this series, it was commonplace to find sentences that stretched on for a page in order to create mood, multiple narrators, or short stories. Narrated in turn by each of the family membersincluding addie herselfas well as others the novel ranges in mood, from dark comedy to the deepest pathos.
William faulkner reads from his novel as i lay dying rare audio of famous writer tull. The story unfolds by means of fragmented and intercut narration by each of the characters. As i lay dying is faulkners harrowing account of the bundre familys odyssey across the mississippi countryside to bury addie, their wife and mother. Darl jewel and i come up from the field, following the path in single file. Thats what you see here in as i lay dying, as faulkner experiments with multiple narrative voices and often ambiguous plot lines. May 18, 2011 i set out deliberately to write a tourdeforce.
As i lay dying project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Faulkners fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20thcentury literature. The title derives from book xi of homers odyssey william marriss 1925 translation, wherein agamemnon tells odysseus. About as i lay dying cliffsnotes study guides book. As i lay dying is told in individual sections, so that the narration of the story shifts from one character to another. In as i lay dying, the bundren family must contend with the death of its matriarch, addie. As the novel begins, addie bundren lays dying in her bedroom while her son cash builds her coffin. Her husband anse and their children cash, darl, jewel, dewey dell, and vardaman.
And of course, death is at the center of the story. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important. Addies ineffectual husband, anse, is arranging to have her. Cash starts building a coffin for her putting all his carpentry skill. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Talk about the book talking about as i lay dying in your book club, on our message boards or with one of your friends.
As i lay dying, the woman with the dogs eyes would not close my eyes as i descended into hades. A very general summary of the plot of the book as i lay dying. I feel unmoored, confused, or uncertain of events much. Cash, darl, jewel and verdaman and a daughter named dewey dell. Sparknotes is here for you weve got everything you need to ace or teach. Feb 21, 2016 a very general summary of the plot of the book as i lay dying. This financial disaster ended a period of postworld war i economic expansion and marked the beginning of the great depression of the 1930s. At some point in this period of writing, around 1930, william faulkner wrote the novel as i lay dying. Addie bundren, the matriarch of the bundren family, has. Considered one of the most influential novels in american fiction in structure, style, and drama, as i lay dying is a true 20thcentury classic. On october 24, 1929, the day before faulkner began writing as i lay dying, the american stock market crashed. As i lay dying is divided into 59 sections, each named for the character narrating that particular section. A short summary of william faulkners as i lay dying. As i lay dying, the woman with the dogs eyes would not close my eyes as i descended into.
Narrated in turn by each of the family membersincluding addie herselfas well as others the novel ranges in mood, from dark comedy to the. The novel utilizes stream of consciousness writing technique, multiple narrators, and varying chapter lengths. Im a little over twothirds of the way through and i find that im having to push myself to get to the end. As i lay dying by william faulkner penguin random house canada. The action takes place between the bundrens rural home and the city of jefferson, which is about a day and a halfs ride away by horse. She is a former schoolteacher whose bitter, loveless life causes her to despise her husband and to invest all of her love in her favorite child, jewel, rather than in the rest of her family or god.
The novel was one of the first of its kind to utilize the narration of multiple pointofview characters. It contains some disturbing violence, notably a broken leg that turns gangrenous and must be sawed off a little blood is shown. This drama based on the novel as i lay dying by william fulkner seemed like a difficult task for anyone, but it seemed that james franco didnt think so. As i lay dying is a 1930 4 5 the title derives from book xi of homers the odyssey, wherein agamemnon speaks to odysseus. In all three of these novels the family is central to structure, plot, and meaning. Faulkner wrote as i lay dying in six weeks while working nights at a power plant. As i lay dying at faded page canada full text of as i lay dying as an encrypted daisy digital talking book, from the internet archive and bundled with the sound and the fury. Each of the 59 chapters is told through the eyes of a character and named after them. Based on the classic novel by william faulkner, first published in 1930, as i lay dying is the story of the death of addie bundren and her familys quest to honor her last wish to be buried in the nearby town of jefferson. Based on the classic novel by william faulkner, first published in 1930, as i lay dying. Do you see all of faulkners characters eternally trapped within their familial roles. At a time when normal literary conventions were no longer in vogue, writers like faulkner pushed the envelope with experimental technique and function. It is the source of grief and identity as well as the locus of all individual psychic struggles. A study of william faulkners as i lay dying scholarworks.