Summary
William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, published in 1930, is a landmark of 20th-century American literature. Set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, this Southern Gothic novel features 15 different narrators over 59 chapters. Along with the novel’s dark humor, Faulkner's innovative use of stream of consciousness and multiple perspectives has firmly cemented As I Lay Dying in the modernist canon. While there have been several adaptations, James Franco's 2013 film version stands out as the most notable attempt to bring this challenging work to the screen.
Plot
As I Lay Dying follows the Bundren family's journey to bury their matriarch, Addie, in her hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi. The novel opens with Addie on her deathbed, while her eldest son, Cash, builds her coffin outside. After her passing, the family embarks on a difficult trek by wagon to honor her last wish, with Addie’s unembalmed body in tow.
The Bundrens face numerous obstacles during their nine-day journey—including a flood, a suspicious fire, the loss of their mules, and a broken leg. Throughout the ordeal, the stubborn patriarch Anse often refuses offers of help, manipulating others into giving charity instead. When the Bundren clan reaches Jefferson, the townspeople are repulsed by the smell emanating from Addie's coffin. From there, the family’s troubles only escalate.
Themes
Death and its impact on the living
Family dysfunction and relationships
Duty and responsibility
The nature of existence and identity
Poverty and social class in the rural South
Self-interest versus sacrifice
The power and limitations of language
Setting
Set in the 1920s, As I Lay Dying unfolds in the rural landscape of Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi—William Faulkner's fictional rendition of his home, Lafayette County. The novel captures the essence of the American South during this era, portraying a region still grappling with poverty and the lingering effects of the Civil War.
The story primarily takes place in the countryside, following the Bundren family's arduous journey from their farm to the town of Jefferson. Faulkner vividly describes the challenging terrain they encounter, including treacherous rivers, washed-out bridges, and dusty roads. The rural setting serves as both a backdrop and a character in itself, shaping the family's experiences and reflecting their hardships.
Jefferson, the ultimate destination of the Bundrens' odyssey, represents a stark contrast to the rural farmlands. This town, recurring in many of Faulkner's works, symbolizes a more developed and civilized world compared to the isolated existence of the Bundren family. The journey between these two worlds—from the remote farmstead to the town—forms the geographical and metaphorical core of the novel's setting.
Characters
Addie Bundren: The matriarch of the Bundren family, whose death and subsequent journey to her final resting place form the central plot. She narrates one chapter after her death.
Anse Bundren: Addie's husband, a lazy and selfish man who leads the family on the journey to bury Addie in Jefferson.
Cash Bundren: The eldest Bundren son, a skilled carpenter who builds Addie's coffin and breaks his leg during the journey.
Darl Bundren: The second eldest son, considered the most intelligent of the children. He narrates much of the novel.
Jewel Bundren: Addie's illegitimate middle child and favorite son, fathered by Reverend Whitfield.
Dewey Dell Bundren: The only Bundren daughter, who is pregnant and seeking an abortion during the journey.
Vardaman Bundren: The youngest Bundren child, who struggles to understand his mother's death.
Vernon Tull: A neighbor and friend of the Bundren family who helps them on their journey.
Cora Tull: Vernon's religious and judgmental wife.
Dr. Peabody: The local doctor who attends to Addie and later treats Cash's broken leg.
Reverend Whitfield: The local minister who had an affair with Addie, resulting in Jewel's birth.
Lafe: The man who impregnated Dewey Dell.
Quick facts
William Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying in just six weeks while working night shifts at a power plant. The author claimed he did not change a single word after writing the first draft.
The novel features 15 different narrators across 59 chapters.
One chapter is narrated by Addie Bundren after she has died.
The novel’s title comes from a line in Homer's Odyssey.
As I Lay Dying was Faulkner's fifth novel but his first commercial success.
The novel is set in Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi.
As I Lay Dying pioneered the use of stream of consciousness and multiple narrative perspectives.
As I Lay Dying was ranked 35th on Modern Library's list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
The metalcore band As I Lay Dying took their name from the novel's title
About the Author
William Faulkner is widely recognized as one of the most influential American novelists of the 20th century. Born in 1897, he spent most of his life in the small town of Oxford, Mississippi, and drew heavily on the history and culture of the American South in his writing. He is best known for his novels set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi—a place nearly identical to Lafayette County, in which Oxford is located—including The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Light in August (1932), and Absalom, Absalom! (1936).
Faulkner’s distinctive prose style is marked by long and winding sentences, experimental techniques such as stream of consciousness and multiple narrators, and meticulous attention to diction and cadence. His complex, often Gothic stories explore themes of family bonds and dysfunction, and the dynamics of gender and race. Along with his novels, Faulkner was a prolific writer of short stories, many of which are considered classics. He also worked periodically as a screenwriter in Hollywood, contributing to films like Howard Hawks's To Have and Have Not (1944) and The Big Sleep (1946).
Faulkner received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949 “for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." He also won two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards. Ralph Ellison called him “the greatest artist the South has produced.” His legacy to literature remains far reaching, influencing writers from Cormac McCarthy to Gabriel García Márquez to Jesmyn Ward. Faulkner died of a heart attack in 1962, at the age of 64.
