The Duality of the Southern Life——As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying, written by one of the most famous writers in American history, William Faulkner, depicts the bitter experience Bundren’s family had and shows the duality of the South. “Faulkner said that he wrote the novel from midnight to 4:00 AM over the course of six weeks, and that he did not change a word of it (Nicholas Fargnoli et al, p.44).” William Faulkner uses stream of consciousness throughout the whole novel with different narrators in each chapter.
The story starts around the Bundrens, a poor southern family. Before the death of Addie Bundren, Addie said she will be buried in the town of Jefferson. The family started the journey on the way to the town of Jefferson carrying a coffin made by the oldest son, Cash. The negative side of the story was reflected by Anse Bundren, who is the husband of Addie. As the head of the family, Anse did not pay any attention to his wife nor the kids. Being stingy and selfish, Anse would not call a doctor even if his wife was very ill. After the death of his wife, he did not feel sad, but oppositely, he felt that he had the chance to get a pair of false teeth. When he and his family members were on the way to the town of Jefferson with the heavy coffin, offers of help from the neighbors were all rejected by Anse due to the reason that he did not want to reciprocate any of the actions. Furthermore, when his kids were suffering on the way there, Anse was intact. In the end, he not only bought himself a pair of false teeth, but also found a new wife, as Cash said at last: “hangdog and proud, with his teeth on.”
The story starts around the Bundrens, a poor southern family. Before the death of Addie Bundren, Addie said she will be buried in the town of Jefferson. The family started the journey on the way to the town of Jefferson carrying a coffin made by the oldest son, Cash. The negative side of the story was reflected by Anse Bundren, who is the husband of Addie. As the head of the family, Anse did not pay any attention to his wife nor the kids. Being stingy and selfish, Anse would not call a doctor even if his wife was very ill. After the death of his wife, he did not feel sad, but oppositely, he felt that he had the chance to get a pair of false teeth. When he and his family members were on the way to the town of Jefferson with the heavy coffin, offers of help from the neighbors were all rejected by Anse due to the reason that he did not want to reciprocate any of the actions. Furthermore, when his kids were suffering on the way there, Anse was intact. In the end, he not only bought himself a pair of false teeth, but also found a new wife, as Cash said at last: “hangdog and proud, with his teeth on.”
Nevertheless, there is something positive about the South in the novel. Cash, the oldest son in the family, showed his love of Addie and of his family by putting all of his effort into making her the coffin. On the way to the town of Jefferson, Cash’s leg was broken because he wanted to save the coffin. Later in the story, because of the stingy of Anse, Cash used limestone to fix the broken leg. Suffering from misery, Cash still behaved positively and did not complain to his dad. During the journey, Cash broke his leg; Darl was regarded to be insane and was sent to the asylum; Jewel lost his horse and Dell wanted to have an abortion, but was cheated out of her money by a salesman. All of these misfortunes show that the family members were selfish, distrustful, and they did not care about others. However, they chose to continue their duty, which was sending the coffin to the town of Jefferson. When facing difficulties, they would work together and persist on the goal. Individually their interests were self-motivated; however, when they worked as a family their actions became positive.
We can see the duality of the characteristics they possess, they have both a negative side and a positive side, and the difficulties in the society made them become dichotomous. When people are terrified of their changing future, they become selfish and do not care about the consequences their poor actions will have on others. Nevertheless, people will still unite to fight against their misfortunes in order to reach the common goal, just like the Bundren’s family. This unity is an example of how the southern society can have positive qualities. William Faulkner uses characters inside the novel to convey the shape of the Southern society and the duality of the South.
We can see the duality of the characteristics they possess, they have both a negative side and a positive side, and the difficulties in the society made them become dichotomous. When people are terrified of their changing future, they become selfish and do not care about the consequences their poor actions will have on others. Nevertheless, people will still unite to fight against their misfortunes in order to reach the common goal, just like the Bundren’s family. This unity is an example of how the southern society can have positive qualities. William Faulkner uses characters inside the novel to convey the shape of the Southern society and the duality of the South.
Work Cited:
W. Faulkner made the claim in the introduction to Sanctuary, (Modern Library ed. 1932) cited A. Nicholas Fargnoli et al, Robert W. Hamblin, Michael Golay, William Faulkner; A Critical Companion Infobase 2008, pp.43-56 p.44
A “Strong” Woman--Scarlett——Gone With The Wind
Gone with the Wind is a romantic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s novel about a “strong” woman’s fight against her hardships. I consider it a romantic and inspirational movie because it not only depicts the emotional feelings of the heroine, Scarlett, but also presents a positive portrait of her. She dealt with heavy losses during her life; her mother died and her father became insane. As a result, she became the person who had to be responsible for the whole family. Scarlett’s motto, “tomorrow is another day” showed her positivity and attracted my attention most and that is the reason why I regard her as a “strong” woman, not strong in body, but in spirit and mentality.
Pampered as a child and indulged in love, Scarlett did not become dispirited when she faced insurmountable obstacles. When food was running out, Scarlett would try to dig through the debris to find something to eat. When the cotton she grew was burned,she did not get depressed and became a saleswoman in the town, which was a job that would be look down upon by others at that time. Her daughter fell off a horse by accident and died. Grief-stricken, Scarlett still tried to deal with everything calmly. Although Scarlett seemed to be weak, there was a strong will inside her because she told herself “tomorrow is another day”.
After the death of her husband Charles, she was able to withstand the pain of losing him; shortly after his death, she went to a dancing party. The accidental death of Scarlett’s husband was a heavy blow to her and she was left as a widow. She showed her true feelings, such as her lack of grief, rather than crying since she did not love Charles. Although this kind of behavior seems to disobey the social norms and people may feel that this was unacceptable, I would like to see true emotions rather than fictitious ones. She was able to display her true feelings without worrying about the consequences of other people’s reactions. I appreciate this quality of sincerity since it can improve understanding between people. If people in the society had the courage to express their real thoughts and feelings, it would be easier to make friends with others.
Changes in Scarlett’s life did not make her lose her focus. Before the war had taken place, Scarlett did not need to worry about the basic needs for daily life. However, after the war took place, the wealthy family turned out to be nothing all of a sudden and Scarlett decided to bear the burden by herself. Furthermore, Scarlett only loved one man in her whole life but that was just a mirage since her insistence did not get her the one who she loves but she lost the one who really loves her. Even like this, she did not give up her life and had a great longing for a bright future.
The Gone with the Wind inspires me that when facing difficulties, no matter how serious, one should always hold Scarlett’s faith: “Tomorrow is another day.” I interpret it as: although there are difficulties, even adversities, lying ahead, I’m still alive and able to solve them. I will mediate, find the solution, and chat with friends; I will withstand and make tomorrow a new start. I’m positive because I never lose my confidence.
Pampered as a child and indulged in love, Scarlett did not become dispirited when she faced insurmountable obstacles. When food was running out, Scarlett would try to dig through the debris to find something to eat. When the cotton she grew was burned,she did not get depressed and became a saleswoman in the town, which was a job that would be look down upon by others at that time. Her daughter fell off a horse by accident and died. Grief-stricken, Scarlett still tried to deal with everything calmly. Although Scarlett seemed to be weak, there was a strong will inside her because she told herself “tomorrow is another day”.
After the death of her husband Charles, she was able to withstand the pain of losing him; shortly after his death, she went to a dancing party. The accidental death of Scarlett’s husband was a heavy blow to her and she was left as a widow. She showed her true feelings, such as her lack of grief, rather than crying since she did not love Charles. Although this kind of behavior seems to disobey the social norms and people may feel that this was unacceptable, I would like to see true emotions rather than fictitious ones. She was able to display her true feelings without worrying about the consequences of other people’s reactions. I appreciate this quality of sincerity since it can improve understanding between people. If people in the society had the courage to express their real thoughts and feelings, it would be easier to make friends with others.
Changes in Scarlett’s life did not make her lose her focus. Before the war had taken place, Scarlett did not need to worry about the basic needs for daily life. However, after the war took place, the wealthy family turned out to be nothing all of a sudden and Scarlett decided to bear the burden by herself. Furthermore, Scarlett only loved one man in her whole life but that was just a mirage since her insistence did not get her the one who she loves but she lost the one who really loves her. Even like this, she did not give up her life and had a great longing for a bright future.
The Gone with the Wind inspires me that when facing difficulties, no matter how serious, one should always hold Scarlett’s faith: “Tomorrow is another day.” I interpret it as: although there are difficulties, even adversities, lying ahead, I’m still alive and able to solve them. I will mediate, find the solution, and chat with friends; I will withstand and make tomorrow a new start. I’m positive because I never lose my confidence.