Upcoming movie: The Story of Temple Drake

I want to mention the scheduled showing of The Story of Temple Drake (1933) on TCM at 8pm (Eastern) on September 14. Based on William Faulkner's Sanctuary, which he described as a "potboiler" (although how much he meant that is debatable), I'm anxious to see the version TCM will show. The movie, filmed pre-Hays code, was supposedly altered for release and again post-code.

I've never been a big fan of Sanctuary but I probably need to revisit it--my memory of reading it almost 30 years ago was that it was a warm-up for Light in August. The movie, though, can be hard to find at times which is why I wanted to highlight this airing.

William Faulkner and Sports Illustrated

The vacant ice looked tired, though it shouldn't have. They told him it had been put down only a few minutes ago following a basketball game, and after the hockey match it would be taken up again to make room for something else. But it looked not expectant but resigned, like the mirror simulating ice in the Christmas store window, not before the miniature fir trees and reindeer and cosy lamplit cottage were arranged upon it, but after they had been dismantled and cleared away.

Then it was filled with motion, speed. To the innocent, who had never seen it before, it seemed discorded and inconsequent, bizarre and paradoxical like the frantic darting of the weightless bugs which run on the surface of stagnant pools. Then it would break, coalesce through a kind of kaleidoscopic whirl like a child's toy, into a pattern, a design almost beautiful, as if an inspired choreographer had drilled a willing and patient and hard-working troupe of dancers—a pattern, design which was trying to tell him something, say something to him urgent and important and true in that second before, already bulging with the motion and the speed, it began to disintegrate and dissolve.

The Sports Illustrated vault has a couple of articles on/by William Faulkner. The first, taken from the issue shown above, covers Faulkner watching his first hockey game: An Innocent at Rinkside.

The second article is by Whitney Tower, recalling what it was like to experience the Kentucky Derby with Faulkner and other writers over the years: Prose for the Roses. Fortunately it wasn't a gonzo experience: "Despite the warnings about his fondness for bourbon and fears that he might not do his work in Louisville, Faulkner performed with precision and, god knows, distinction."

As I Lay Dying summary

William Faulkner
Picture source at American Memory from The Library of Congress

A summary of the postings related to As I Lay Dying. It definitely is in the top three of my favorite Faulkner novels, and I'm looking forward to reading Light in August later this year...it was my favorite my first time through some of Faulkner's works.

As I Lay Dying (and William Faulkner) online resources, including a summary of the book's sections

A William Faulkner reference in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby


As I Lay Dying discussion

Sections 1 - 19

Sections 20 - 39

Sections 40 - 59

As I Lay Dying discussion: Sections 40 – 59

Illustration by Nathan Olsen
Picture source at nateomedia.com

Sometimes I aint so sho who’s got ere a right to say when a man is crazy and when he aint. Sometimes I think it aint none of us pure crazy and aint none of us pure sane until the balance of us talks him that-a-way. It’s like it aint so much what a fellow does, but it’s the way the majority of folks is looking at him when he does it.

Cash, section 53

Not until section 40 do we hear from the central character of the book, Addie. The provenance of her monologue is unexplained, but the placement here between the family’s exposure to flood and fire seems to have maximum impact. Up to this point Addie has been a sympathetic character, abused in death and seemingly mistreated in life (as anyone married to Anse would be). However once exposed to her it is difficult to continue liking her. The revulsion at her hatred of kids though she’s a schoolteacher is surpassed only by her sadism in looking forward to whipping her children. Her only goal in life seems to be to be left alone, even though she agreed to marry. Her disappointments in Rev. Whitfield, first when she found her passion not reciprocated and second from his hypocrisy, seem to be a major reason for her loving focus on Jewel (mentioned here and in the story of Jewel’s horse).

Her discussion on words and their inadequacy (or maybe irrelevancy) is one of the most famous parts of the book. Words are “just a shape to fill a lack”, “developed by someone who had to have a word” to describe something they had not experienced, and “don’t fit even what they are trying to say at.” In her discussion about religion and Cora Tull, Addie dismisses sin and salvation as just words. Yet she makes Anse promise to bury her with her family in Jefferson. If she expects the promise to be kept, words have to have meaning, at least to those promising. In this respect, she is more like Anse than she would want to admit—she is taking advantage of others who give words meaning, the same way Anse takes advantage of kindness and Christian hospitality. He doesn’t believe in it any more than it benefits him.

While there are more explicit references to religious topics, especially in the person of Rev. Whitfield, there are sub-texts adding to the feel. Whitfield’s monologue has a Psalms-like feel, for example. Faulkner seems especially dismissive of religion when looking at Whitfield, an extremely weak character hoping God will regard intent and deed as the same. However there are characters who exemplify Christian tenets, sometimes mentioning it explicitly or in passing and sometimes not at all. Possibly the intent is to demonstrate the vast gulf between words and deeds. The twin disasters the family faces, flood and fire, have connotations with religion. Among other things, the flood ties to Noah or baptism, cleansing actions in both cases. Fire is usually a symbol of divinity or purification, although it is also used in conjunction with hell. The ties of many of these symbols or references are minor, but by layering many of them together Faulkner invokes religious overtones. The overriding message is a dark nihilism...nothing to believe in outside of the individual, and most times not even that.

The language of the monologues makes for an interesting reflection on the characters. Darl’s language deteriorates as his insanity grows (almost mimicking Vardaman), but for a couple of monologues when he is at his craziest he sounds completely sane. However his final monologue shows a complete detachment from reality (and even himself). The lens through which the characters view others stands out even more in this section. Cash sees everything through construction metaphors. Dewey Dell mistrusts all men, although that doesn’t stop her from being taken advantage of in trying to end her pregnancy. She projects her own sexuality onto others, sometimes with reason. Her ruthlessness develops too, as she tells Gillespie that Darl started the barn fire as well as being the first to tackle Darl when the orderlies come to take him away.

The family dynamics never improve through the book. There is enough hatred to go around for everyone, although Cash is the exception--he likes everyone and they all seem to like him. Addie's death leads to escapism on everyone's part, no on able to mourn or even face it. The linking of female sexuality and childbirth to death is but part of the overriding outlook that nature itself is an enemy of the human condition.

Even so, the resiliency of the human spirit comes through dramatically in the book. While the entire family weathers challenges, physical and emotional, most come through all right. This is one story where you want to find out what happens to the characters after the last page, although part of the appeal comes from the quick, comic ending. Cash embodies all the pain the family and the characters endure. It is tempting to push Faulkner’s Nobel Prize speech back 20 years as the message of As I Lay Dying, and it wouldn’t be completely wrong: “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.” However there is more going on in the book than simply endurance or prevailing, but that is the kernel that drives the family despite their feelings toward others and themselves. Even more compelling is the complete lack of hope in this book. The most Cash can hope for is a record player to add a little pleasure to the evenings. Midway through the book Dewey Dell tells herself "I believe in God, God. God, I believe in God." It sounds more like she is trying to convince herself he exists. Regardless, she may believe in God but God surely doesn't believe in the Bundrens.

Whether the character believes there is more to living than simply getting “ready to stay dead a long time” doesn’t seem to matter to the characters—they face life ultimately alone, Job-like. As Peabody said as he looked at Addie:

That’s what they mean by the love that passeth understanding: that pride, that furious desire to hide that abject nakedness which we bring here with us, carry with us into the operating rooms, carry stubbornly and furiously into the earth again.

One minor theme that someone writing a paper might want to explore could be Faulkner’s us of up and down versus sideways. The reader runs across these contrasts several times: Anse’s complaining about the temporal nature of the road (sideways) versus the stability of a home (up & down), Cash’s focus on building the coffin (stress or water coming from up and down or sideways), and Addie’s discussion on words (going “up in a thin line, quick and harmless”) versus deeds (“terribly doing goes along the earth, clinging to it”) among others. I’m not sure there is an ultimate message here but it might be fun for someone to delve into these delineations.

As I Lay Dying discussion: Sections 20 – 39

These sections cover from Addie’s funeral to the disastrous river crossing. The dark, morbid humor really shines in these sections. The actions or descriptions are sickly funny by themselves, such as the mosquito netting to cover the auger holes in Addie’s face or the mules’ stiff legs turning repeatedly over in the river. What makes the scenes even funnier is the complete acceptance of what happens by all the characters, regardless of how surreal the action.

Additional humor comes from the contradictory or ironic action of the Bundrens. The family acts in a way that is anything but practical regarding Addie’s burial. Nature and luck may conspire against the family, but they do not help their own cause by choosing the most difficult or an impossible path. Some of the children realize they have the power to veto Anse’s decision, but choose to let him keep his promise despite the perils. The amusing part comes when they act logically after doing something stupid. The search for Cash’s tools, a major source of the family’s income, after the ill-advised crossing of the flooded river highlights the surreal nature of the family’s decision-making process. The humor surfaces when the family behaves in a methodical, logical manner after everything to this point demonstrate nothing but absurdities.

This section shows more development of the characters. The background most provided revolves around Jewel and the way he obtained his horse. In addition, several characters (inside and outside the family) comment on the way that everyone mentions Darl’s strangeness. The relationship between Dewey Dell and Darl is explored some more, but there are more questions than answers. I stand by my previous assessment that Darl lives more in the mental/emotional side of things, philosophically reacting to Dewey Dell’s burgeoning sexuality as well as her body (her exposed leg or her body outlined in a wet dress). What becomes clear in this section is Dewey Dell’s mistrust of men, including Darl. The look she shoots at Vernon Tull, who has done nothing but tried to help the family, is indicative on how she views potential, not even actual, sexual advances. (Although almost every member of the Bundren family gave Vernon, who has only tried to help the family, a dirty look while at the flooded bridge—another example of the solidarity the family would show to outsiders)

Section 40 explicitly examines the inadequacy of language but there are examples here as well. Silent communication takes place throughout the novel but the level of it steps up in these sections. Looks convey a wealth of meaning. One unique example in these sections involves Cash’s inability to finish his thoughts, the sections ending mid-sentence. Since the others were ignoring his suggestions, it may simply be that he not only gave up trying to communicate his thoughts out loud but ceases thinking altogether. One other interesting technique in these sections involves a dual train of thought, the primary monologue in regular print while secondary, deeper (more truthful?) thoughts are in italics.

Since time has been a major focus of many works I’ve read lately, this monologue by Darl (section 34) comparing time to distance caught my interest:

The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight not of that single monotony of desolation leaning with that terrific quality a little from right to left, as though we had reached the place where the motion of the wasted world accelerates just before the final precipice. Yet they appear dwarfed. It is as though the space between us were time: an irrevocable quality. It is as though time, no longer running straight before us in a diminishing line, now runs parallel between us like a looping string, the distance being the doubling accretion of the thread and not the interval between.

As I Lay Dying discussion: Sections 1 – 19

A reproduction of the first manuscript page of As I Lay Dying
Picture source
(Warning: large .pdf file)

I finally have a few moments (and an internet connection) to write something on the first third of As I Lay Dying and I’m at a loss on how to approach it. The first thing most analyses note on the book is the string of interior monologues that moves the narrative along. The monologues follow a semi-linear chronology with an occasional overlap. In school I always resisted the teachers’ advice to focus on aspects about the narrator, but at some point the importance of doing so finally sank in. For this work it is crucial. While listening in on the characters thoughts, the reader has to judge how much to believe. For example, in section six Cora Tull makes several statements contradicting what Darl said in the preceding section. Which character’s report is to be believed? Most of the monologues are upfront about what the characters see themselves versus what is second-hand information, but, as always with Faulkner, revelations can be piecemeal and out of order.

The reader’s questions have to go beyond characters judging each other or reporting what happens and extend to the characters’ self-analyses. Dewey Dell’s excuse that she couldn’t help her actions with Lafe indicates important characteristics regarding her make-up (buttressed, among other things, by her inability to ask Peabody for assistance while obsessing on how much he could help her). Other attributes in the narration reinforce and highlight qualities within characters. Darl’s knowledge of things without being told (Dewey Dell’s pregnancy for example) extends to his ability to narrate events happening elsewhere (Addie’s death scene or Jewel in the barn) while every other character is limited to their own experience. For lack of a better description, he is a “knower”, an amazing (but I find not very likeable this time through the work) literary creation.

The actions of the Bundrens provide a fascinating glimpse in family dynamics. Jewel’s only monologue of the book in section four shows him wanting to protect Addie, not so much from outsiders as from the family. What she needs protecting from becomes more apparent as the reader finds out about the members of the family. The dysfunction manifests itself in what each family member hopes to get from Addie’s death and the resulting trip to bury her. That Addie wants to be buried with her family in Jefferson, forty miles away, instead of New Hope with the Bundren family (only three miles away) highlights the alienation that can be felt even when surrounded by family/people. Aloneness, a theme throughout the book, stands in contrast with the solidarity demonstrated by the family at times. The unified front the family demonstrates toward most outsiders comes through in this section while watching the family interactions with Vernon Tull and Dr. Peabody.

The relationships within the family develop as the monologues unfold. How Darl and Jewel act when leaving Addie (who will possibly die before they return) does not necessarily reflect how they feel about her. The inability to say or show feelings leads the reader to watch the characters’ actions for clues on their true thoughts. In this manner it is easier to understand Cash constructing Addie’s coffin under her window, the way he shows his compassion as well as his way of feeling useful. Dewey Dell and Darl’s relationship proves to be one of the more troubling parts of the book. Most analyses of As I Lay Dying describe it as almost incestuous, but I’m not sure that is correct. Dewey Dell is aware of her sexuality, and with Darl’s seeming gift of being aware of other’s thoughts he will be aware of it as well. Lost in his thoughts and emotions (as compared to Cash’s grounding in physical things), Darl will muse on the implications of her heightened sexuality. Which is not to say they aren’t close, but (I think) the incestuous feelings described in some analyses simplifies what is going on with both characters. Their closeness manifests itself in many ways. Their ability to communicate without speaking shows just one of many uncommon aspects of their relationship. In some ways, their interaction reflects their self-identity.

The character’s view of themselves—working through their existence and identity—permeates the monologues. Darl focuses on this theme often, giving a Hamlet-like feel in section 17.

In a strange room you must empty yourself for sleep. And before you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are emptied for sleep, you are not. And when you are filled with sleep, you never were. I dont know what I am. I dont know if I am or not. Jewel knows he is, because he does not know that he does not know whether he is or not. He cannot empty himself for sleep because he is not what he is and he is what he is not. … And since sleep is is-not and rain and wind are was, it is not. Yet the wagon is, because when the wagon is was, Addie Bundren will not be. And Jewel is, so Addie Bundren must be. And then I must be, or I could not empty myself in a strange room. And so if I am not emptied yet, I am is.

This echoes earlier sections by Vardaman and Dewey Dell who use similar language in raising questions or phrases about existence. Vardaman, with a child’s voice, is limited in describing things as “are” and “are not”, as the fish he caught becomes a “not-fish” after cleaning it. He expands this concept to include his mother as he tries to understand her death. Darl’s focus turns more and more inward. He begins to lose his grip on reality and, it seems to me, realizes his increasing distance from it. His language slips to the level of Vardaman at times. These two are the most focused on existence, working well beyond simple semantics and questioning meaning and, in turn, causing them to perform the most damaging actions in the book. Additionally, Dewey Dell begins to see everything through the lens of her pregnancy, the encounter with the cow (extremely sensual in detail) leading her to muse on women’s role and the impact it has on her.

There is a religious feel underpinning the book, with Cora Tull the central character (so far) embodying a Christian outlook. The problem comes from her being a poor example, embodying the worst aspects of it while shunning most appealing tenets. While some language alludes to the Bible, they are infrequent. Yet these appearances, along with the upcoming journey (a cross between Exodus and the Apocalypse) give a biblical feel to the story beyond just the language and Cora’s sermonizing.

There are other themes that get more development in the upcoming sections so I’ll save them for later.

A recent Faulkner reference

Due to many recent changes (a new job being the big one) as well as kids' (and my) illnesses has led to zero reading lately. So I'll leave you with one of the funnier comments I've seen lately on William Faulkner's work. Not to mention timely, since I'll be visiting Alabama later this week:

Lucy: “Don’t touch them. Don’t touch a one of ‘em. They’re mine.” So what do you think that story is about?

Texas Ranger: Doesn’t the bear symbolize the old South and the new dog the encroaching industrialization of the North?

Walker: Duh. But the question is should the reader feel relief or sadness at the passing of the old South?

Lucy: Well, how ‘bout both?

Walker: Oh, I get it. Moral ambiguity, the hallmark of all early 20th century American fiction.

Texas Ranger: Great analysis Walker.

Walker: Thank you.

From Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

As I Lay Dying online resources

Picture source

A few links with background information on William Faulkner and As I Lay Dying:

William Faulkner

William Faulkner on the Web (hosted by the University of Mississippi)—plenty of pages on his life and works as well as information on Oxford and Rowan Oak.

Extensive details on his life at the Mississippi Writers Page (again from Ole Miss)

Center for Faulkner Studies at Southeast Missouri State University
Includes articles from their Teaching Faulkner newsletter: link one, and link two

The Faulkner Experience, created by Brad Jones

A wide-ranging interview from The Paris Review


As I Lay Dying

I created the table at the bottom of this post to help me to refer back to previous sections of the book. I would encourage anyone else doing something similar with your copy (my page numbers refer to The Library of America edition).

There are many online study guides that are easy to find: here are a few.

William Faulkner reading chapters from various works (including As I Lay Dying) as well as his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

As I Lay Dying’s Wikipedia page

An essay on “Words and Images in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying

“Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, as I have discussed, is primarily a visual text. The novel is full of cubist and surrealist visual images and scenes. His characters rely heavily on vivid visual or pictorial images to express their complex inner logic and perceptions of reality.”

This one’s a little different: Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Illinois has a wiki on As I Lay Dying, with topics and discussions for their Advanced Literature class



Evidently I missed Oprah’s Book Club’s “Summer of Faulkner” (although I did spend part of the summer of 1982 in Oxford, Mississippi, reading Faulkner as much as possible). The book club site looks like it has some interesting links for Faulkner and the book, including an introduction on how to read Faulkner by Robert Hamblin (Professor of English and Director of the Center for Faulkner Studies at Southeast Missouri State University… see the Center's link above).
For additional guidance on reading Faulkner, here is an excerpt from The Paris Review interview linked above:

     INTERVIEWER
Some people say they can’t understand your writing, even after
they read it two or three times. What approach would you suggest
for them?

     FAULKNER
Read it four times.

Update (December 30, 2010): Open Culture has links to Faulkner reading from As I Lay Dying as well as a link to the text at Google Books.