Characters
Husband to Addie and father to Darl, Cash, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman.
Anse Bundren
What are the three major symbols in the novel?
Fish, horse, and cow
What are some of the major themes in the novel?
Existence, mortality, family, identity
Where was Faulkner born and raised?
Mississippi
When was As I Lay Dying published?
1930
Who's death triggers the novel's action?
Addie Bundren
What does Vardaman compare his mother to?
a fish
he goes mad
How many times did Faulkner win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
twice
When is As I Lay Dying set?
1920s (post-Civil War and pre-Great Depression Era)
What does Cash turn to as an escape from the pain of losing his mother?
carpentry
What animal is representative of Dewey Dell's pregnancy?
a cow
selfishness
When was William Faulkner born?
1897
What is the style of writing, popularized by Faulkner, that breaks away from traditional methods of social commentary in literature?
modernism
Why does Darl try to burn his mother's coffin in a barn fire?
He recognizes that his family members are driven by selfish motives, not by love
How many narrators are there?
15
What is the purpose of taking the long journey with the coffin?
to bury Addie in Jefferson
What is Faulkner known for writing about?
complex social issues in the South
Where is As I Lay Dying set?
Mississippi (Yoknapatawpha County)
At the end of the novel, what does Anse do that erases Addie's identity after her death?
stream of consciousness
What theme in the novel forces the characters to confront the concepts of existence and death? (especially for Darl and Vardaman)
mortality
What was one of the many jobs Faulkner worked before his career as a writer?
Military (air force)
What socioeconomic conditions of the time period could have inspired the novel's discussion of poverty?