As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)

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1. What is the genre?

Global—Morality > Punitive

Secondary—Action > Clock > Fate

2. What are the conventions and obligatory scenes for the genre?

Conventions

Despicable protagonist begins at his/her worst: Anse is a narcissist who refuses to work and plays a victim, takes food and money from his kids while denying them food and shelter on their harrowing journey, and bemoans God’s curse on him.

Spiritual mentor/sidekick: Many try to coerce Anse to change. Cora Tull tries to mentor them spiritually. However, the absence of a consistent spiritual mentor/sidekick may contribute to Anse’s failure to change.

Seemingly impossible external conflict: With a bridge wiped out and their route made impossible, Anse insists on continuing their arduous journey to Jefferson with a rotting corpse aboard a rickety wagon and insufficient animal power. Many times they are almost wiped out or starved. Addie’s body tempts the vultures.

Ghosts from protagonist’s past torment him/her: Addie haunts Anse as he claims to complete her dying wish at the expense of his family—more truthfully, his failure to Addie haunts him.

Aid from unexpected sources: Many try to aid the family on their quest. The final source of aid is the woman who provides the spades to dig Addie’s grave in Jefferson; Anse marries her upon the purchase of new teeth (with Dewey Dell’s abortion money).

Obligatory Scenes

A shock upsets the hibernating authentic self: The family loses their wife and mother, Addie Bundren.

The protagonist expresses inner darkness with an overt refusal of the Hero’s Journey call to change: “I won’t be beholden to no man”; “Never was a man so cursed by God” are Anse’s mantras that compel people to try to save the family from themselves

Protagonist actively sacrifices in service of an individual, a group, or humanity (positive), or consciously chooses to remain selfish (negative): Anse chooses to remain selfish with the moral attitude of a martyr.

Protagonist faces literal or metaphorical death and either loses the battle but gains self-respect, meaning and peach; or wins the battle but loses those things: Anse & co survive the trek to Jefferson and succeed in burying Addie in her homeland, but he is viewed with contempt by all he encounters as he rolls around in a wagon with a decaying corpse. Jewel is a hothead with an inferiority complex who instigates conflict with every “town boy” he meets. Darl is shipped to an insane asylum for burning down a barn. The two most sympathetic characters, Dewey Dell and Cash, also fail at their internal objectives: She cannot obtain her abortion and likely will bring another baby into the dysfunctional family; Cash breaks his leg for the second time and almost loses it.

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3. What is the point of view?

POV: The novel utilizes 11 different first-person points of view along the journey

Narrative Device: The narrative device is “stream of consciousness” literary technique; poetic

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4. What are the objects of desire?

External/Conscious: to survive their journey

Internal/Subconscious: to fulfill their moral duty to their mother/wife. Anse wants to bear his moral punishment.

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5. What is the controlling idea / theme?

EVIL REIGNS though LIFE PREVAILS when narcissistic martyrs, convinced of their own morality, selfishly abdicate moral responsibility at the cost of the needs and lives of others.

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6. What is the beginning hook, middle build and ending payoff?

Beginning Hook – A poor country family waits for Addie Bundren, matriarch, to die and prepare to travel to her home land—Jefferson, Mississippi—for burial. Friends try to reason with Anse Bundren to bury Addie locally when a storm comes on the night she dies.

Middle Build – Anse and the 5 children trek by wagon to Jefferson, encountering many obstacles with a deluge having wiped out the bridge. Anse refuses to “be beholden to no man,” going without food and shelter, until people feel obligated to give on charity.

Ending Payoff – The Bundrens arrive in Jefferson with a reeking corpse after 9 days of travel in the July heat. Dewey Dell is turned down for an abortion twice. They finally bury Addie. Her father takes the money to get new teeth and to marry anew.

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