As I Lay Dying Moral Analysis

Words: 532
Pages: 3

A Nobel prize winner, Winner Faulkner, first published his novel As I Lay Dying in 1930. Since its release, the book has received critical acclaims and is widely known as one of Faulkner’s best works. The novel depicts a story of Bundren family, which travels to Jefferson in order to bury the mother, Addie. However, each member of the family has its own motives for travelling which are revealed during their journey. Throughout the novel, certain characters present themselves to be moral while acting opposite to the standards placed on their personalities. First of all, Anse presents himself as a hard-working man who always has to face difficulties while the reality is far from his description. For example, he states that, “It ain’t that I am afraid of …show more content…
However, she dies without disclosing the fact that Jewel is the product of her affair. Knowing the fact that Jewel is the only child she had given her attention to, her secret seems to be a clear example of the fact that she actually cares about protecting her freedom from others. Thus, Addie, despite stating that she is an honest person, lives her life with a secret which is never revealed. Finally, Whitfield despite his high position in church and alleged religiousness hides his affair with Addie. Hours after receiving advice from God to reveal the sin to Anse, Whitfield feels “freer, quieter” just because he thinks about telling the truth to Anse (167). However, he never reveals the secret justifying his actions by the fact that Addie has taken the blame for their sin with her when she died. Whitfield’s actions satirize the fact that people, who try to teach others not to sin, not only do so themselves, but also allow others to take blame for their own sins. Overall, the true morality of distinguishing between beneficial and hurtful actions, right and wrong choices does not fully appear in any of the characters in the