As I Lay Dying, Essay Example

I like your post, even though it seems like you are not aware of the book’s early impact on you. For example, you begin by stating the obvious; the story is changing and unclear because different characters take over the narration and offer their own views and perspectives. There is no arguing with this and I agree that the style is confusing. As you go on, however, you completely support what Faulkner is doing, because you also note that all the events and characters are clearly related. That you have this impression, and that the story is having an effect on you, is reinforced by your wondering why Anse is letting Cash make Addies’ coffin before she is dead. This tells me that, confusion aside, you definitely have an understanding of what is evolving here. My point, then, is that you do not really acknowledge the effect. It bothers you but it draws you in, and this is what matters and what makes Faulkner’s approach so interesting. As we read the varying narrations, we know we are being given pieces of a puzzle, as when Jewel picks up the narration and comments on the making of the coffin: “Where she’s got to see him. Where every breath she draws is full of his knocking and sawing” (Faulkner 14).

For me, remarks like this provide real power because we are only beginning to know the story, and they add mystery and suspense. You say that the story is “giving hints,” and this is exactly what Faulkner intends. I would also add that your grammar needs a little correction. Still, the main issue I have with your post is only that you do not admit to the effect you find frustrating.

Works Cited

Faulkner, W. As I Lay Dying. New York: Random House, 2011. Print.