As I lay Dying

Agree/Disagree All mothers have a favorite child. A journey with family gives the opportunity for people to show their true colors. Being pregnant is something magical. Family is the most important thing in life. You should always respect the wishes of the dead.

Introduction to “As I lay Dying” By William Faulkner

William Faulkner 1897-1962 From Oxford, Mississippi American Writer famous for his stories about the South Nobel Prize Laureate His writing was heavily influenced by his childhood. 13 novels and numerous short stories.

As I lay dying It was published in 1930… what else was happening in America in 1930? It’s Faulkner’s 5th novel. Faulkner experimented with a stream of consciousness style in this novel which is meant to reflect the thought processes of the narrators. It is narrated by 15 different characters over the course of 59 chapters. (One chapter is literally a sentence long) The title comes from a line in the Odyssey, when Agamemnon speaks to Odysseus: “As I lay dying, the woman with the dog’s eyes would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades.”

Faulkner’s Style Sometimes I ain’t sho who’s got ere a right to say when a man is crazy and when he aint. Sometimes I think it aint none of us pure crazy and aint none of us pure sane until the balance of us talks him that-a-way. It’s like it aint so much what a fellow does, but it’s the way the majority of folks is looking at him when he does it. […] That’s how I reckon a man is crazy. That’s how he can’t see eye to eye with other folks. And I reckon they aint nothing else to do with him but what the most folks says is right.

Answer these! What is significant about Faulkner’s use of diction? How does it contribute to the meaning of the excerpt? What is significant about Faulkner’s use of syntax? How does it contribute to the meaning of the excerpt? What is the tone of this excerpt? Explain.