Symbolism, Allegory, And Imagery In “As I Lay Dying”

William Faulkner’s Southern Gothic novel As I Lay Dying is well-known for his famous quote, “My Mother is a Fish”. William Cuthbert Faulkner was a Mississippi native, born 1897. As I Lay Dying and many of his novels are reminiscent of the idyllic nature of his hometown. Through the Yoknapatawpha fictional setting, he embodies his hometown, which is consistent in all his stories. Faulkner is known for inventing Southern Gothic, a genre that embodies Southern culture. This genre was established by his experimental writing. As I Lay Dying, he had multiple narrators. Faulkner’s stories focus not on the positive aspects of southern culture. This is what helps him to express the dark side of southern culture in his writings. As I Lay Dying is Faulkner’s best-known novel and a significant contribution to Southern literature. Faulkner uses As I Lay Dying for the discussion of the strain that close deaths can place on family ties. Faulkner uses animal metaphors and eye symbolism to illustrate a person’s ability for grief after the death of a close friend.

Faulkner makes use of animal symbolism for maximum communication between the reader/narrator in order to reveal the characters’ feelings. Faulkner juxtaposes important characters and animals with skill. Anse is described as a “dipped bird”, Jewel’s mother claims she is a horse while Vardaman asserts his mother to be fish (White, 2008). These “animetaphors,” enhance the language’s power and allow the reader to better understand the characters’ feelings about Addie’s disappearance (White, 2008; p.1). The book’s inner thoughts are not revealed, but the descriptions and observations about the animals provide a sense to body language. Each character interprets an animal metaphor differently. Dewey Dell describes the cow as a result of her increased perceptiveness (White, 2008 p.7). By her chiding, she says that her emotional and bodily state can be compared to that of the cow. Faulkner, 1957. p. 63. Her intimate relationship with the cow is a sign of her loss of her feminine role-model, even if she feels selfishly about it. Darl’s description about the “unrestrained,” inarticulate mules contrasts well with his “exquisitely-controlled language” and foreshadows her descent into madness (White (2008), p.7). Faulkner’s employment of animal symbols and metaphors creates a deeper understanding of the characters’ emotional states and capabilities.Faulkner employs another type of symbolism to demonstrate the individual personality and ability to cope. Faulkner describes a character’s emotions by describing their eyes. Jewel’s eyes get the most attention, which is surprising since he is absent throughout the novel. “His eyes are like pale wood eyes,” describes Jewel’s personality (Faulkner, 1957). This symbolises Jewel’s unyielding strength. He is also a man of great dependability. Darl also describes Jewel’s eyes in this way (Faulkner, 1957, page 146). Tull describes Jewel’s eyes as “looking like pieces of broken plate” (Faulkner, 1957, P. 26). This symbolises Jewel’s grief at the loss of his mother and his cold, hard nature towards his family. The story’s key insight comes from the description of Addie and her eyes. Addie’s eyes were described as “two flames [that] glare upward for a constant instant.” Then, they look as if someone had leaned over and blown onto them” (Faulkner, 1957 p. 48). Addie’s wild nature was exposed in the comparison with a flame. The flame symbolizes Addie’s end as well as her unrestrained spirit. Dewey Dell looks more selfish than she feels about her mother’s death. Dewey Dell’s selfishness is a sign of her lack empathy for her mother and her problems. Many people associate her eyes with dangerous and dark objects. Bundren’s neighbor said that she had eyes similar to “pistols”. Faulkner, 1957 p.115. This speaks to her anger, distrust and fear of others due to her secret baby. Dewey Dell also describes her eyes as “as smoky as any pair of eyes” (Faulkner 1956, p. 199). The color of black symbolises the fear and regret she feels about her unplanned pregnancy. Faulkner gives insight into characters’ personalities through the extensive use color symbolisms and allusions made to eyes.

The tension between Jewel, Darl is the cryptic conflict in the novel that leads the reader to understand how family bonds can affect our ability to survive after the death of a loved one. Darl’s narratives show Jewel’s presence almost constantly. This is Darl’s natural obsession with his younger brother. Elizabeth Hayes explains that Addie’s dislike for Jewel and his inability to accept Darl as his brother is the cause of the conflict (Hayes, 1992 p.5). Jewel’s inability to tell Addie’s story after his death shows how family ties can be affected by a death. Darl’s unreliable words are what he uses to voice his opinion. Jewel was only connected to the rest of his family by his mother. His birth was the result an affair. He wasn’t directly related to Darl, or any other family member. This made him appear distant and cold towards the rest. This tension is demonstrated by their strained, heated dialogue. Jewel’s and Darls’s conflict eventually leads Darl to be cut off from his family. This could have been the cause of his insanity. This is a clear example of how family ties can play a role in someone’s ability stay rational after a devastating loss.

Each character’s use of textual language reveals the emotional stability of their characters. Faulkner changes the way he uses punctuation, italics, and paragraphing to support his use textual voice. (Hayes, 1992, p.1). Darl is the most logical character at the start of the novel. His language is organized and punctuated. But, as his mental state changes, it becomes apparent that he is losing control over his own language. Darl’s shift between third and first person tense in his last monologue is an example. His rambling, “yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes.” demonstrates his shifts in textual voice. Jewel’s passionate, short monologues show that he copes with the loss of his mother through violent thoughts, actions (Delville 1994, p.2). Vardaman is confused and unable to comprehend the loss of his mother. This can be seen in Vardamans absurd thought patterns, such as the famous quote “My mother, I am a fish.” The narrative voice of each character reveals how they are dealing with Addie’s passing.

Faulkner helps the reader understand the Bundren family’s ability to deal with loss using animal metaphors and eye symbolism. Multi-narrator stream of consciousness writing gives the reader a slow, unreliable story. Faulkner compensates by using literary devices. “Animetaphors”, or signs that indicate the body language of a character, are used to convey their emotions and personality. These two characteristics are related to how individual characters handle the loss. Character tensions are a reflection of the stress that family members experience when dealing with a loss. As I Lay Dying makes it clear that family members can feel the pain of losing a loved one. It’s not surprising that family members will experience more frustrations and conflicts during this time. Faulkner uses textual narration to give insight into each character’s emotional stability, as the first-person view is not always reliable. Faulkner manages to create As I Lay Deading, the Southern Gothic epitome that depicts every aspect and loss of a loved.

Works cited

Delville, Michael. (1994). “Alienating language in Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying” The Southern Literary Journal (27.1). Retrieved from http://www.go.galegroup.com

Faulkner, William. (1957). As I was in the process of expiring. Vintage International, New York.

Hayes, Elizabeth. (1992). “Tension Between Darl and Jewel.” Southern Literary Journal, 24.2. Retrieved from http://go.gale.group.com

White, Christopher. (2008). “The modern magnetic animal” Journal of Modern Literature. 31.3. Retrieved from http://gogalegroup.com