What are the themes of As I Lay Dying?
As I Lay Dying Themes
- Self-Interest Versus Heroic Duty.
- Mortality and the Nature of Existence.
- Family, Birth, and Death.
- Religion and Faith.
- Language versus Action.
Who is Addie Bundren what details do we learn about her throughout the passage?
Addie is Anse’s wife and mother to Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman (in that order). She narrates section 40, though she dies in Section 12. Before we start a character analysis here, we recommend going back and sloooowly reading Section 40 again.
Why does Addie Bundren want to be buried in Jefferson?
Addie even acknowledges that part of her revenge would be that Anse “would never know I was taking revenge.” Thus Addie’s request to be buried in Jefferson was made essentially for selfish reasons, in a last effort to prove that she was not just useless words.
What does the horse symbolize in As I Lay Dying?
To us, based on Darl’s word, the horse is a symbol of Jewel’s love for his mother. For Jewel, however, the horse, based on his riding of it, apparently symbolizes a hard-won freedom from the Bundren family.
Where does Addie describe going on in the afternoon when school was out and the last one had left in Chapter 40?
Again, Cora’s judgments of Addie Bundren reveal Addie as a tough, independent character. In the afternoon when school was out and the last one had left with his little dirty snuffling nose, instead of going home I would go down the hill to the spring where I could be quiet and hate them. . . .
Why is Addie’s narrative placed where it is?
It is placed here to establish her connection with Jewel and introduces Jewel’s dad before his chapter. -At this point in the novel, it is odd to hear Addie’s voice since we believed her to be dead.
What is Addie’s final revenge?
Consequently, Addie, who feels that she has been deceived by words, decides to get her revenge on Anse by extracting a promise — which is, of course, only words — to take her back to Jefferson, and this would be her revenge because then Anse would have to perform some action rather than relying on words.
How does cash react to Addie’s death?
Cash’s manner throughout the turmoil of Addie’s death is incredibly deliberate, and it seems fitting that he acquires a limp, the perfect physical complement to his slow, stunted approach to all things emotional. Vardaman and Jewel, however, come close to finding a middle ground between these extremes.
Why does Addie cry over jewel?
Jewel swears that his horse will never eat anything of Anse’s and will never cost him a cent. Addie is shocked that her son has been keeping this secret. She starts crying, and Cash consoles her and leads her into the house.
How did cash react to Addie’s death?
Why does Addie hate her father?
Her actions conform to her father’s view that life is no more than a preparation for death. Furthermore, it is suggested many times that she hated her father for having sired her. Consequently there is no indication that Addie extracted the promise merely so that she could lie in death next to her family.
Does Addie get buried in As I Lay Dying?
Jewel rescues the animals in the barn, then risks his life to drag out Addie’s coffin. Darl lies on his mother’s coffin and cries. The next day, the Bundrens arrive in Jefferson and bury Addie.
Who is Jewel’s father and why is this important to the story?
Jewel is Addie’s third child and narrates Section 4. His biological father is the Reverend Whitfield. If you look at the amount of times Jewel narrates in this novel, you might think that he were a minor character just passing by the Bundrens’ lives.
Why does Vardaman link Addie with the fish?
Vardaman sees Addie in his fish because, like the fish, she has been transformed to a different state than when she was alive.
What does Vardaman do to his mother’s coffin?
Tull tells us that after Addie was placed in the coffin, Vardaman twice opened the window to the room so that she could get air. After the family nailed the window shut, he bored two holes through the wood of the coffin and into her face so that she could breathe.