As I Lay Dying Existentialism Analysis

Semaj Davis
Tivey
English 3 IB
29 October 2014
Word Count: 593

Existentialism in As I Lay Dying Existentialism, a philosophical movement that started in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, focuses on the connection between consciousness and existence. Its basic assumption is that reality is recreated for each moment a human being is aware; there is no real connection between the past and the present. In As I Lay Dying, characters like Addie Bundren grapple with questions and fears about being and nothingness. Addie in a sense tries to understand how her physical being can exist over time and space. In Addie 's chapter, she states, "I would hate my father for having ever planted me. I would look forward to the times when
In a sense, this was Addie 's existence, and making people aware of it. Not only did Addie beat the school children, but after Anse came along, she also beat her own children too. It was her way of making them aware of her presence (Flaum). There was also another encounter in her chapter, not talking about existence itself, but the fact of who we are when we exist. As she is naming her children she comments, "And when I would think Cash and Darl that way until their names would die and solidify into a shape and then fade away, I would say, All right. It doesn 't matter what they call the" (Faulkner 173). If the reader pays attention to this quote, in a sense, it specifically asks what our names really signify? Do our names have any ties to our existence, and if they do why are they so important? To Addie, a name was a name, and no more. Addie began to have a reputation, where her name (among the school children) was well known, and very scary. Along with her desire for the children to know her existence, came her name. Implying that throughout her life, Addie struggled to find the meaning of existence. She theorized that human connection validated her being; thus, she searched for connection in her students, in Anse, in her children,
It is almost as if she no longer exists but has more influence on her family than she ever did during her life. Addie 's chapter reminds the reader that she alone is the reason for the chaos that had struck the Bundren family in their attempt to carry her body to Jefferson. This presents the idea that influence on others alone cannot prove existence. Addie is dead and gone, but her family is still aware of her. As a result, the most important thing in Addie 's life is knowing people are aware of her. Addie wants people to know what she is capable of. She wants her family to be fully aware and burdened when she