As I Lay Dying

AS I LAY DYING
As I lay dying by William Faulkner is a short novel about a rural family life and the people surrounding them. The novel tells the trip to Jefferson of Anse Burdenand his five children who are going to bury their mother. In the nine-day trip, it is told the story of each one of them and their wishes. The book is divided up into fifty-ninemonologues told by the fifteen characters.
As I lay dying presents that rural people mistreated by life and resigned to this. It is about family, poverty, religion, cruelty,ignorance and injustice. One example is that the Bundren are introduced as the poorest family in the village, in part by the father’s fault, and it explains the neighbours’ interferencein Bundren’s life because they feel they have to help them.
One interesting point is that the author tells the same facts from the different characters’ point of view. There aretwo points of view: the Bundrens’, who observe themselves; and the supporting characters’ one. The supporting characters are very important in the novel because they let us have adifferent and external point of view about what is happening. Another important detail is that there is not a main character but the entire family act like this.
The novel is fullof symbolisms and metaphors. The trip to Jefferson is a metaphor about life, and the things that happen during it (like the flood, the fire and the difficulties) altogether withthe coffin symbolize what people have to bear during their lives. It is like a cross the human beings have to bear throughout their existence in this world.
In general, the novelis very interesting but a bit difficult to understand at the beginning because of the changes in the narrator and the different names but when you get them, it is quite easy.