Alienation in As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner Essay -- As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner is an American novelist whose major work is As I Lay Dying. Faulkner gave each of his characters traits that ar expressed throughout the story. The reader is introduced to each character through their detailed and descriptive character traits. We are able to delve into the characters mind and see their individual(prenominal) and distinct traits. He did not tell us anything about the characters, but he takes us into the mind of each character to analyze what we see there. regular though these characters lead parallel lives we can see the total alienation and breakdown of the relationships between each other. Darl, Jewel, and Anse possess character traits that contribute to or birth the breakdown of their relationship. Anse Bundren is a poor farmer, who was married to Addie for more than thirty years. He is lazy and selfish and relies greatly on his family and friends. Anses selfishness is what separates him from his two sons-Darl and Jewel. For example, the journ ey to Jefferson, to exhaust his dead wife was a promise he made to Addie, but his continued perseverance to better himself reveals his true selfishness. Despite the trials along the way and Addies body decomposing and attracting buzzards he is only concerned with getting to Jefferson to buy his freshly teeth. He uses Addies death to accomplish his own selfish motives. After Addies death Anse says, But now I can get them teeth. That will be a comfort. (Faulkner 28). The only reason Anse is carrying out with the journey is to get his new teeth. He further shows his selfishness when their mules are drowned in the flood. He makes an arrangement with a kinsman to trade Cashs eight dollars and Jewels beloved sawhorse for a new team of mules. Thirdly, Anse is so concern... ...ls seperate from each other despite everything they share together. Faulkner shows us that with the death of Addie, the flood, fire, and the decomposing of flesh that should have brought them closer together, they are overly self-absorbed in themselves to ever get close to each other.Works CitedBackman, Melvin. Faulkner the major years A critical study. Indiana University Press 1966Blotner, Joseph. Faulkner A life sentence (Southern Icons) University Press of Mississippi, 2005Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York Vintage, 1987.Getty, Laura J. Faulkners As I Lay Dying The Explicator. 64.3 (2005) 230. Gale. Web. 3 Oct. 2011Humphrey, Robert. Stream of consciousness in the in advance(p) novel University of California Press, 1968Vickery, Olga W. The Novels of William Faulkner A Critical Interpretation, LSU Press, April 1, 1995