What year is As I Lay Dying set in?

Asked by: Regina Long

19281928. The Bundrens must travel forty miles to bury Addie in Jefferson, the primary town in Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County.

What is the setting in As I Lay Dying?

Faulkner’s fictitious Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, the 1920s.

When did William Faulkner write As I Lay Dying?

1930

As I Lay Dying, novel by William Faulkner, published in 1930. It is one of the many novels that Faulkner set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha county, Miss., U.S. The story unfolds by means of fragmented and intercut narration by each of the characters.

How old is Dewey Dell in As I Lay Dying?

Dewey Dell The sixteen-year-old, unmarried pregnant daughter who is trying to find a way to have an abortion.

What is Faulkner’s message in As I Lay Dying?

As I Lay Dying is not only about mortality insofar as it concerns Addie Bundren’s death. More deeply, the novel explores the theme of mortality by showing each of Addie’s family members, loved ones, and other acquaintances offer unique responses to her death, attempting to make sense of the nature of existence.

What does the coffin symbolize in As I Lay Dying?

The coffin symbolizes the sense of weight and lack of balance (literally and figuratively) that the Bundrens take on by carting Addie all the way to Jefferson to be buried.

What are two memorable characters created by William Faulkner?

“The Sound and the Fury” is the tragedy of the Compson family, featuring some of the most memorable characters in literature: beautiful, rebellious Caddy; the manchild Benjy; haunted, neurotic Quentin; Jason, the brutal cynic; and Dilsey, their black servant.

Is As I Lay Dying an easy read?

Relatively short length || At around 250 pages, As I Lay Dying is more manageable than some of Faulkner’s other texts. The pace moves quickly due to the short chapters and numerous narrators, meaning that it feels even shorter. If book length intimidates you, then this might be a good place to start with Faulkner.

Who is the father of Dewey Dells baby?

Lafe

Lafe. The father of Dewey Dell’s child. While he never appears in person in the novel, Lafe is certainly a driving force behind many of Dewey Dell’s thoughts and much of her behavior.

Who is Samson in As I Lay Dying?

Samson is one of the farmers who lets the Bundrens stay with him one night on their journey to Jefferson.

What does the fish represent in As I Lay Dying?

The idea of the dead fish aids Vardaman’s process of coping with loss, as he is only able to understand mortality and the idea of existence by looking at the concrete example of a fish, once alive, that he caught and cut up to be cooked for dinner.

What does Jewel represent in As I Lay Dying?

Thus, later we get from Darl the accusation that Jewel’s mother is a horse. We eventually learn that Jewel is the “cross” that Addie bears and that he is to be her salvation.

What is Dewey Dell’s Secret in As I Lay Dying?

To put it bluntly, her life sucks. In fact, the only thing worse than being a pregnant Dewey Dell is being a pregnant Dewey Dell in a novel where babies essentially represent sadness, obligation rather than joy, and even decay and death.

What does the cow represent in As I Lay Dying?

The cow, swollen with milk, signifies to Dewey Dell the unpleasantness of being stuck with an unwanted burden. Jewel and his horse add a new wrinkle to the use of animals as symbols.

Why does Anse want teeth?

In the Story, he portrayed himself as being a very selfish individual. During his journey to the burial site of his wife, he always was worrying about his well-being before the family’s well-being. The only reason that he decided to carry out Addie’s wish was that he wanted to improve his image by getting false teeth.

What is unusual about Darl’s description of Jewel and his horse in the barn?

In this quote, Darl describes Jewel’s strange relationship with the horse as if the wild nature of the horse and Jewel’s hard, unemotional character seem to balance each other. In this visual image, Darl even goes as far as to compare Jewel and his horse as one connected carved figure or image.

Why does Darl say Jewel’s mother is a horse?

Darl’s taunt that Jewel’s mother is a horse indicates that Jewel devotes all the love he possesses for his mother on the horse. The horse has become a type of mother symbol, but only Darl is perceptive enough to be aware of this.

Does Dewey Dell want an abortion?

Dewey Dell finally stops fanning while keening. Dewey Dell goes onto the porch before start dinner and speaks in abstractions to Peabody, requesting an abortion.

Why does Darl burn the barn?

In the early part of this section, Darl tells Vardaman that he heard his mother asking to be hidden from the sight of man. This is one of the motivating reasons behind Darl’s decision to burn the barn. It can be assumed that Darl saw through the ridiculousness and absurdity of the entire procession.

How did cash break his leg?

He suggests that Darl save himself and jump into the water. Cash is thrown into the water, holds onto the rope. Cash is kicked by Jewel’s horse, re-breaking his leg.

What does Vardaman see?

Vardaman. Vardaman looks at the burned remains of the barn. The coffin is carried back to the apple tree. The family goes inside to attend to Cash, whose foot and leg have turned black as a result of the confining cast.

Why is Anse upset about what Jewel has bought?

Finally, one morning, Jewel wasn’t there when the Bundrens woke up. When he finally returns to the farm, he’s riding a spotted horse. Anse is immediately upset, assuming that Jewel bought the horse on credit and now he (Anse) will have to pay for it.

Why does Darl laugh at the end of the book?

Consequently, it can be maintained that this is a rather ridiculous situation and that Darl laughs because he is intelligent and perceptive enough to recognize the absurdity of the entire situation.

What does Addie Bundren do for a living?

She worked as a schoolteacher and enjoyed whipping her students, whom she secretly hated. Oddly enough, what appealed to Addie most about this corporal punishment was the fact that it made her a part of the students’ lives. “Now you are aware of me!” she used to think.