As I Lay Dying Theme Essay

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As I Lay Dying, written by William Faulkner, is a story about the strenuous journey the Bundren family makes to bury their deceased mother, Addie, in Jefferson. The family encounters many obstacles along the way, such as the bridge no longer working, Addie’s coffin being unbalanced and falling in the river, and a barn being burned down by Darl. Of all of these hurdles, Dewey Dell’s most pressing issue would be her pregnancy. Dewey Dell is the only daughter of Anse and Addie Bundren, and early into the book Dewey Dell has sex with a boy named Lafe. It is because of her pregnancy that Dewey Dell betrays her family to get rid of the baby; this betrayal illuminates the main idea of As I Lay Dying: the fear of the unknown can cause one to betray others in order to get their way.
Dewey Dell has a very clear motive for her betrayal: her pregnancy. She is very clear about her intention to get rid of her baby. Once other people begin to get in Dewey Dell’s way, she turns into a cutthroat character that is only out for herself. She betrays any one it takes to get what she wants. For example, when Dewey Dell …show more content…
Vardaman repeatedly says, “Darl he went to Jackson is my brother Darl is my brother” (Faulkner 249). Vardaman keeps saying that Darl is his brother, because he almost does not believe that he is related to someone who had gone ‘crazy” and he’s trying to convince himself of the fact. Dewey Dell’s betrayal affects the book as a whole by changing the chain of events. If it had not been for her betraying Addie’s dying wish, then the family may have gone to New Hope instead of Jefferson. This means that the barn would never have been burned down, a major event for the story. Also, Anse likely would not have gotten his new teeth and a wife if the Bundrens did not complete their journey to Jefferson. By betraying Addie, Dewey Dell had a wide effect on how the rest of the book
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