Comments on: As I Lay Dying

By: Lacey Babekuhl

Lacey Babekuhl — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:02:59 +0000

I didn’t find this style of writing all that confusing, in fact I quite enjoyed it. It kept the reader alert as to who was talking, and probably caused me to pay more attention to the story and plot themselves. I would much rather read a novel in this style than in the traditional first person method.

By: Justin Heyd

Justin Heyd — Sat, 03 May 2008 08:29:00 +0000

I think that that link really sheds some light on the entire book. I was getting thrown for a loop when it came to understanding what exactly was going on in each of the characters lives. Mostly since the book changes narrators 49 times and within those narrations, the narrator might talk in pronouns and you really have to dissect and digest the language that is presented within each chapter. I believe that this is one of Faulkner’s best pieces of work, mainly because it is so very unique and is very deep at the same time. I the booked progressed, I started to enjoy the unique and colorful characters that were presented and I thought by giving the viewpoint from the mother was really powerful and cool.

By: Danielle Baker

Danielle Baker — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:32:48 +0000

“As I Lay Dying” by Faulkner is an interesting look into analyzing different characters. At first when I started to read it, I was confused and overwhelmed with the amount of character detail he put into them. I eventually started to enjoy the individualism of each charcater, and how eventualy the stories unite into one main plot. Everyone has what they consider an odd family, but I think this one takes the cake. This is not a story to just skim, you actually have to read it to understand.

By: Sam Matzke

Sam Matzke — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:40:01 +0000

I thought it was brillant to write a story in the perspective of everyone. Although it is very confusing to read you really get a chance to look through a number of peoples perspective unlike the usual one or two you get from a normal book. This is even more intriguing since the subject is death and so many people have different feelngs and thoughts about that subject.

By: Patrick Boustead

Patrick Boustead — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:32:31 +0000

When you first start reading the text it seems like you are reading code. Especially with Daryl’s character. But as time progresses, you start catching how the author is writing and by the end, it flowed a lot better. The website was also a helpful guide, I agree with the post above, it did seem to fill in holes during some of the passages.

By: Amy Jarding

Amy Jarding — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:42:37 +0000

It is amazing how helpful the website provided was. It’s not that I was confused while reading, but more like I didn’t get to reading the entire thing. It helped fill in holes where I otherwise would have misinterpreted things. I like the fact that the narration is slightly scattered, and thoughts are interjected at will. I will say that I didn’t really find a lot of humor present when the coffin had gotten taken by the river. Much like the holes being drilled into the coffin, it was just brutally harsh.

By: Kevin G. Myrmoe

Kevin G. Myrmoe — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:18:30 +0000

When I read this book for the first time, I found it a little confusing. After I got done reading it now for the second time it is not as confusing at all. The way the chapters are divided is a unique way to write a novel. There is not a nice flow to the novel. It is choppy because of the way the chapters are separated by readers. I believe the book could have been written a different way and the plot would still have been the same and it would have been easier to follow. I was not fond of the novel the first time I read it, and my feelings for it after the second time has not changed.

By: Trenton Mendelson

Trenton Mendelson — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:04:49 +0000

I found the story somewhat difficult to read. I enjoyed the various perspectives offered by the book, it creates something new of the same scene each time. The parts I didn’t enjoy were the vernacular and language used by the author. It was difficult to become accustomed to, and sadly, took me awhile. The website offered above helped me to clear up some of the problems I had reading the story.

By: Chris Berke

Chris Berke — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:27:50 +0000

I enjoyed the story. I actually found it easy to read. My favorite movies are like “As I Lay Dying” in the sense that there are multiple different stories that all coincide with each other in the end. I also think that the book was very humorous. It was funny to picture them chasing the coffin downstream while trying to gather the tools as well. Although it is their dead mother, the though of a bunch of people arguing and falling in the river was funny. The ending was also a bit shocking, which added to the humor. I thought it couldn’t have been written better.

By: Ashley Johnson

Ashley Johnson — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:26:48 +0000

I really liked this story. I was amazed at how Faulkner could write so much about such a simple thing. Death. There are not many ways to portray the topic because of its simplicity. I really loved how the story was set up to reflect each person’s perspective of the event. You got to see different education levels and dive into the emotions of each person more than just having one narrator. I did find the book a bit hilarious, mainly because of the absurdity of some of the things that happened or some of the things the characters said. For example, when Anse is excited about getting teeth when they bring Addie into town for the burial. It’s a strange type of comedy, but it made me smile. Little things like this made me think that Faulkner portrayed the event of death very well as to what it might actually be like in real life. The strange things people do or say when they are grieving.