2006,
Form B. In many works of literature, a physical journey –
the literal movement from one place to another – plays a central role. Choose a
novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element
and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid
mere plot summary.
In
literature, characters are often wiser and more sensible at the end of a
journey. The journey takes them through trials and tribulations that force them
to adapt their way of thinking. Yet, this is not the case in William Faulkner’s
novel, As I Lay Dying. The novel
involves the Bundren family’s journey across the Mississippi countryside to
find a place to bury their dead mother. The journey itself is poorly planned,
unpleasant, and fraught with disasters. Many of the tragedies and disasters that
happen during the journey give insight to the Bundrens’ lack of family unity
and inability to learn from their mistakes.
After
losing a mother, family members will often become aware of the fragility of their
own lives. The Bundrens’ disastrous river crossing is a clear sign of both the
tenuousness of the Bundrens’ lives and their lack of caring towards one another.
When the family tries to ford the river, a stray log knocks over their wagon.
After the resulting chaos, Cash’s leg is broken and the wagon-pulling mules are
all dead. The whole event gives insight into the Bundren family. The fact that
a floating log can cause the Bundrens’ to lose so much emphasizes their precarious
situation. Yet, this doesn’t necessarily awaken them to their fragile predicaments.
As the disaster is unfolding, the father, Anse, doesn’t try to help recover the
mules or make sure Cash is fine. Even after the crossing, Jewel still insists
on spending time with his horse rather than with his family.
At
the end of the journey, when the Bundrens’ have finally reached their destination
and have laid their mother to peace, it would seem most appropriate that the
family become wiser as a result of all the troubles they’ve been through. Yet, Anse and Dewey Dell’s behavior go against
this. Just hours after burying his wife, Anse marries another woman. Anse also
shows no shame in taking his daughter’s saved money to buy a set of false teeth
for himself. In her own display of recklessness, Dewey Dell gives herself up to
a pharmacy clerk who lies to her by promising to give her abortion medicine.
The juxtaposition of Addie’s burial with the family’s reckless behavior serves
to highlight the Bundrens’ lack of respect and reflection over their mother’s
death.
In As I Lay Dying, the Bundren family’s
journey doesn’t serve to make the characters wiser. Rather, it serves to
highlight the family members’ inability to learn and grow from past tragedies
and mistakes. By involving a disastrous and tragic journey, Faulkner gives the
reader the expectation that the family will emerge with new wisdom. However, in
numerous instances, it’s clear the family isn’t capable of doing so.
I noticed that in the prompt it specifically said to avoid mere plot summary, and I think that you did an excellent job of not just summarizing the whole novel. After reading your essay, I could clearly see your point as to how the Bundren family's journey didn't help them grow from their past tragedies. Also, I like how you put how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole at the end of the essay. That really finishes things up nicely. It's almost like you left the most important part for the end, which to me, wraps things up. As I was reading through your essay, I couldn't quite see how you were connecting everything to the work as a whole. I could only see how you were connecting to certain aspects of the novel, but as I got to the end, it was clear how all of the little details of the essay played a part in the big idea.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew! The way you approached this prompt was creative and interesting. Instead of just telling about a journey where the character grew (and look, see, it's exactly what you would expect, hooray) you took a more complex route by analyzing a journey that used the expectations of the literary reader to emphasize the family's failure to grow. I thought this was very positive and added an interesting layer to your essay. The only negative comment I have is that occasionally I would get a little thrown by some of the claims you made. In the case of your topic sentence, "After losing a mother, family members will often become aware of the fragility of their own lives," I think your reader could use further explanation as to why this is true. Why does the absence of a mother make the family more fragile and why does this fulfilled expectation add to the meaning? With that idea, I see an interesting point that could be delved into a little deeper. Tying that element into the journey would add another layer (that I think would be helpful) to your claim that the families fail to learn from the challenges they face on their journey.
ReplyDeleteAndrew--I really liked how you began your essay. It makes the reader think that it will be a usual book that starts with a character or a group of characters that are ignorant and as they finish their journey or quest they are more insightful about their lives. But at the end you surprise the reader by saying that Faulkner's actually do not learn from their mistakes and choose to betray each other and make bad decisions. I also enjoyed your structure of the essay: you take us through the novel without summarizing but by analyzing each major event that happens in it. I agree with Mehar, that you have failed to provide an effective conclusion. With it you would be able to quickly wrap you thoughts up so the reader is clearly able to understand your analysis.
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