Thematic Analysis

Pages 41-87

One of the themes that this work revolves around, is the volatile nature of human existence and how it is defined and perceived by different characters. Through pages 41-87Faulkner gives the reader an insight into these various perceptions by conveying the thoughts and feelings of the different characters as they react to the demise of Addie Bundren. Addie Bundren is the mother of Jewel, Darl, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman. Her demise is the center point of this story. The power of this theme of the impermanence of human existence is shown by the effects Addie’s has mainly on characters such as Vardaman and Darl.

The notion of existence and is first brought about in Peabody’s first chapter as the narrator, when he witnesses Addie’s . He says, “ I can remember how when I was young I believed to be a phenomenon of the body; now I know it to be merely function of the mind-and that of the minds of the ones who suffer the bereavement. The nihilists say it is the end; the fundamentalists, the beginning; when in reality it is no more than a single tenant or family moving out of a tenement or a town.” (pgs. 43-44). This reflects Faulkner’s view of , that it is merely a transition into another state of non-existence, instead of a beginning or an end. This quote by Peabody represents the theme of the work that human existence is not constant but naturally subject to change. Another example of this occurs in Darl’s section as he describes the exact instant when Addie dies: “her eyes, the life in them, rushing suddenly upon them; the two flames glare up for a steady instant. Then they go out as though someone had leaned down and blown upon them. “ (page 48). The quote above also reflects the same notion of the delicate and fragile nature of human existence as Faulkner likens Addie’s life at that moment to a flame, which was blown out in an instant.

Through pages 41-87, the respective reactions of both Darl and Vardaman to Addie’s , and the effects that it has on them later on in the book, also serve to illuminate this theme. For example, Vardaman is constantly preoccupied with the fish that he caught during the time right after Addie has died. Regarding the fish, he says “it is cut up into pieces of not-fish now, not-blood on my hands and overalls.” (page 53)The fact that Vardaman’s thoughts of the fish are intertwined with his anger and grief resulting from Addie’s , is important, because it likens Vardaman’s view of the fish’s impermanent existence to that of Addie’s . Vardaman’s limited wisdom and understanding only allow him to believe that there are only two forms of life, existence and non-existence. This polarity in his thinking, further strengthens the theme of the work, involving the nature of .

Darl is another character whose thoughts give the reader an insight into the theme of the volatile nature of existence. This is shown in Darl’s chapter when he says “In a strange room you must empty yourself for sleep. And before you are emptied for sleep, you are not. And when you are filled with sleep, you never were. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am or not.” (page 80). He also says that now that Addie is , she is described as “was”, and not “is”, and since he no longer has a mother, Darl himself does not exist. Not only do these quotes reflect Darl’s philosophical and perceptive nature, but once again the idea of the impermenance of existence is brought up, as Darl (so far the most reliable narrator, and closest to the author’s voice) questions not only Addie’s existence, but now his own.

-R. Syed