As I Lay Dying: Poem Analysis

Roger Coltrane

Darl’s “yes”

Death causes the Bundren family to deal with change. Each character selects a unique way to cope with the family’s loss. By coping, the characters satisfy personal motives while simultaneously moving on with their lives. Coping mechanisms differ in the character’s emotional connection or “closeness” with death. Ranging from a strong emotional relationship to complete separation and dissociation, the “close” spectrum charts a character’s effectiveness in coping with death. As Faulkner addresses the idea of closeness he tests the constraints of emotional connection. Can the emotional connection become too “close,” enough to drive someone to the brink of insanity? As I lay Dying offers insight and response
He establishes a set of characteristics from Addie’s past in an anecdote in order to later connect the traits back to Darl. Faulkner reveals a dark side of the woman, an unfortunate side for children. She chronicles a school day as she teachers her students. “I would look forward to the times when they faulted, so I could whip them. When the switch fell I could feel it upon my flesh; when it welted and ridged it was my blood that ran, and I would think with each low of the switch: Now you are aware of me!” (170). How does this gruesome scene relate to Darl? He inherits his mother’s negative characteristics: “cold,” “dark,” and even “bad.” The distaste for students foreshadows Addie’s resentment, and neglect in Darl’s case, of her own children. Addie never reveals a logical thought process in marrying Anse. She reiterates “So I took Anse” as she narrates (170, 171). Thus, the reader feels that Addie never even took her marriage seriously. On the following page, Addie repeatedly narrates, “Anse or love: it didn’t matter.” Addie develops a sense of apathy towards Anse. She hits an emotional brick wall and gives up on her marriage, dreading her life after each successive child birth. As she details her reactions to Darl’s birth, Addie further expresses her dread of motherhood. “Then I found I had Darl. At first I would not believe it. Then I believed that I would kill Anse” (172). Following Darl’s birth, she immediately focuses her
Both characters test limits of opposing end of the “close” spectrum: Darl crosses the threshold of attaining too close of an emotional connection, while Anse ultimately uses apathy to eliminate his psychological association with Addie’s death. Investigating the contrast, Faulkner analyzes the effectiveness of each coping strategy. While an individual can become too close with death, any connection proves to be more effective than no connection whatsoever. Whereas Darl’s obsession with eliminating Jewel’s connection with Addie leads him straight to an insane asylum, Anse experiences the least amount of growth over the course of the novel. As Addie exhales for the final time, Anse has an absurd reaction. “‘I reckon you better go get supper on,’ he says” (50). Faulkner uses Anse’s laughable remark to illustrate the character’s apathetic nature. Not only does Anse seem unaffected by the unfortunate death of his wife, he comically commands his daughter to fill Addie’s role and make dinner. The marriage between Addie and Anse began haphazardly and remained weak at best throughout. Addie loathed having children with her husband and even resorted to having an affair, probably to fill the obvious gaping void in the broken relationship. Thus, as Anse ignores his wife’s passing he shows no emotional connection to her whatsoever. As Darl recollects Dewey Dell’s sadness, he juxtaposes her image with Anse’s next laughable