Classic Hero in As I Lay Dying Essay Example

actions were certainly the most persistent in terms of being a classic hero, the family’s certain few moments suggest that they too are partially heroic.

Their numerous acts of selfishness and lack of an ethical sense are partially overshadowed by the few and rare moments of family cooperation. The first glimpse the reader has of a “functional Bundren family” occurs in the flashback about Jewel’s secret job. In noting that Jewel was lacking in doing his chores, Darl states that “ It was ma that got Dewey Dell to do the other jobs around the house that Jewel had being doing” (130). The family’s ability to compensate for Jewel’s lack of energy for house work proves that in times of difficulty, they can in fact be a united group. The next instance of cooperation between the Bundrens occurs in the horrific moment of Cash’s near death experience in the river. Jewel and Vernon begin searching for Cash’s tools.

Meanwhile, Dewey Dell pampers the sick Cash; just as a real sister would do. Even the cold and distant Darl becomes overwhelmed with worry about Cash and his tools. When they have finally collected the majority of Cash’s vital instruments, they tell Cash to look up as they are “holding the tools up so he can see” (163). This concern for Cash and his tools once again proves that the family does in fact have the ability to be heroic at times. Furthermore, their concerns with Cash’s physical and emotional state prove that, although subtly, they do care for one another.

The Bundren family is in fact heroic. However, their ability to express their

heroic behavior is strained and they rarely express this heroism. Their selfish desires and intentions partially contradict their heroic state. However, considering the shock and intensity of death, it can be argued that Jewel and the rest of his family are heroic, but due to their shock and dismay they fail to be the utmost outstanding classical heroes at that point in time.

Darl’s Superiority Essay

Darl is superior in terms of intelligence and insight. Although he, unlike Jewel, is entirely the child of Addie and Anse, his position in the family’s puzzle is questionable. His existence and mentality varies greatly from the rest of his family’s. His struggle with his apparent departure from the family’s social norms is apparent throughout the novel. Darl’s awareness and life experience place him several intellectual levels above his family, while simultaneously placing him at an equally emotional level as the rest of the Bundrens.

Darl’s former experience in the army suggests that this man has experience a life outside of his home in Mississippi. Unlike the rest of his family, Darl has traveled and seen the world. Thus, Darl has had a greater insight on the world and on different cultures. However, his family lack of experience shapes Darl into an awkward, insane man. Darl's introspective attitude creates a persona of a man who is heartless. Darl’s subtle jealousy of the attention Jewel receives from Addie can be noted from the very begging of the novel. When referencing to Jewel’s name, Darl says that “He [Jewel] is a head taller than any of the rest of us, always was.” He believes “that’s why ma always

whipped him and petted him more. Because he was peakling around the house more.

That’s why she named him Jewel” (18). Thus, Darl believes that Addie’s preferences for Jewel lay only the basis that he was taller than the rest. Darl’s silly conclusion seems to be based on subtle sense of jealously towards his favored brother. This exclusion from his family explains why Darl pretends to be emotionally stunted in front of his family. It is not that Darl lacks emotion, but rather that he avoids showing it in order to avoid being misconstrued and hurt. This emotional distress also explains his constant torment of Jewel, and his constant repetition of the notion that “Jewel’s mother is going to die”.

His keen insights on events that are not even in his parameter suggest that Darl is psychic or special in some way. However, moments such as the one when Darl learns his mother is hiding a secret prove that he too, is a normal human being. Although he notices that his mother’s behavior towards Jewel is strange, he never quite understands why. However when Jewel returns with his newly bought horse, Addie begins to cry and Darl notes that "She cried hard, maybe because she had to cry so quiet; maybe because she felt the same way about tears she did about deceit, hating herself for doing it, hating him because she had to. And then I knew that I knew. I knew that as plain on that day as I knew about Dewey Dell on that day” (136).

This event portrays a Darl who, although intellectually superior to the rest of

his family members, is human and not naturally insightful. This event suggests that Darl is rather, extremely observant and logical. His logical ways also allow him to understand that dragging Addie’s body through this miserable trip is not illogical, but also demoralizing. Thus, he sets fire to the barn as a way to end the misery of the trip. Furthermore, his emotional detachment from the scenario, as well as his lack of a personal goal to reach Jefferson, allow him to be more reasonable in regards to the trip.

Darl‘s insight into life and existence allow him to make logical decisions in regards to the family’s odyssey. However, the differentiating mentality of his family leads to a portrayal of a man who is heartless and perhaps even insane. His feeling of isolation contributes to this persona. Darl’s isolation and emotional suffering lead him to take on the persona as his character, rather than show his intellectual superiority and emotional equality.

Tragic Hero Essay

The novel As I lay Dying is a tragic comedy. Thus it is difficult to pinpoint a tragic hero with great precision. However, in examining all of the characters it can be concluded that out of the entire Bundren family Darl has the most tragically ironic faith.

An ironic twist of fate is often associated with the journey of the tragic hero. Since their misfortune is due to a frailty rather than to themselves, irony often prevails in their fortune. Darl’s actions are dormant during the majority of the family’s odyssey. Ironically, the moment Darl decides to finally maintain his mother’s honor, he falls from grace. The precise

moment when Darl sets fire to the barn simultaneously marks the climax of his journey as well as his tragic fall. Although his intentions are solely good, the affects of his acts are truly tragic. Quickly after burning down the barn Darl is viewed as insane by his family.

This eventually leads to his detainment in an insane asylum. Even Cash notes that perhaps Darl’s intentions in setting the barn on fire were not crazy, but rather that, society viewed them as crazy. In contemplating about Darl’s actions, Cash even states, “I reckon they aint nothing else to do with him but what the most falks say is right” (234). This innuendo suggests that Darl was not in fact crazy, but rather perceived as so by his family and society. Cash continues to contemplate and begins to wonder if Jewel wanted to send Darl to jail, not due to his supposed insanity, buy rather because “ It was Jewel’s horse that was traded to get her [ Addie ] that night to town, and in a sense it was the value of the horse that Darl tried to burn up” (233).

Thus, Jewel’s emotions allowed his judgment to be clouded by the fact that his pride was hurt by Darl’s actions. However, although his tragedy is mostly ironic and out of his reach, it is also partially his fault. His constant torment of Jewel and his blackmail of Dewey Dell eventually creates enemies in their eyes. Thus, when the opportunity for his misfortune springs up, his siblings take it.

Darl’s ironic faith ends in the classical tragic sense. However, the events that

led up to his misfortune were partially due to his actions and harassment of Jewel and the rest of his family. Darl’s inability to fit into a certain society eventually led to his demise and tragic end.

The Central Theme Essay

The themes of death, isolation, and the lack of expression through language are all dominant themes in the novel As I Lay Dying. All of these dominant themes are related and connected to one another. Their codependence however, stems from the central theme of the book, the notion of identity and existence. The death of Addie Bundren causes all of the characters to contemplate their existence or at least their current lifestyle.

Darl and Vardaman began to question what it is to be alive, and what it truly means to be dead. Darl concludes that “When you are emptied form sleep, you are not. And when you are filled with sleep, you never were. And before you are emptied for sleep, what are you” (80). This identity issues bring about the notion that Darl believes identity lies in the ideas of consciousness, possession and tangibility. If a person is not conscious or tangible, he is a “was”. Meanwhile if an object is no longer the possession of someone, it also becomes a “was”. Vardaman’s bewilderment with existence takes life in the fish which he consumed and began to believe is his mother. His denial about death continues to prevail at the end of the novel. He notes “My mother is not in the box, my mother does not smell like that. My mother is a fish” (196).

Although Cash does

not initially question his existence, the events leading up to his broken lead Darl to believe that “Cash broke his leg and now the sawdust is running out. He is bleeding to death is Cash” (207). Thus, Cash’s inability to be a carpenter conflicts with his existence and his identity. The entire family questions their lives at one point or another in the novel. Even minor characters such as Tull question what his existence would be like without the “guidance of his wife,” Cora. This human tendency to question life and death and existence all coexist with the human feelings of isolation and our frustration with language.

The dominant theme of existence seems to challenge the entire family. Although some, like Anse, do not consciously contemplate the issue of existence, he still maintains Addie’s physical presence as a way to avoid contemplating about the concept of existence after death. This human condition to fear death leads the family to embark on a seemingly pointless journey in order to merely avoid facing the issue of what occurs to a person upon death, and more importantly during life. The family’s struggle with identity outlines their path on the odyssey to Jefferson, as well as their path in life.