Point of View: The novel unfolds in fifty-nine sections, told from fifteen different narrators.From a reader’s perspective, though, it is likely that Anse is the most easily disagreeable character in the novel, representing a man of pure selfishness, even in his parental role. It is also possible to see Jewel and Darl as antagonists to one another, with Jewel believing whole-heartedly in action over words, and Darl prizing language and thought above all else. It is possible to see a character like Cora Tull in opposition to the Bundrens, as she frequently expresses distaste for the family’s actions – specifically Jewel’s cold-heartedness. Antagonist: Because of the multiplicity of narrators in the novel, it is not possible to identify a single antagonist.Given Darl’s rationalization, this action is one that brings the question of heroism to the foreground of the novel, and also is ultimately the cause for the Bundrens’ unexpected need to force the possibly-insane Darl to go to an asylum in Jackson. That said, the climax of the novel arguably occurs when Darl sets fire to Gillepsie’s barn, having told Vardaman earlier in the day that Addie had requested removing herself from the sight of man. Climax: Because As I Lay Dying breaks from a purely linear presentation of plot, it is difficult to pin-point the exact climax of the action.Faulkner said that Yoknapatawpha is merely a fictionalized version of Lafayette County, Mississippi, from which he hailed. Specifically, Faulkner introduces the fictional Mississippi region of Yoknapatawpha County in As I Lay Dying, which he continues to refer to in later novels.

Setting: Mississippi in the early 20th century.Other famous writers who participated most visibly in the modernist aesthetic include James Joyce, Ezra Pound, T.S.

Faulkner demonstrates modernism’s appreciation of all kinds of linguistic and formal experimentation, and perpetuation of new and innovative stylistic techniques.

Thus there was a movement in the realm of literature to challenge the traditional values of literature – straightforward plot, omniscient narration, linear sense of time, among others. The havoc of World War I caused an impulse in society, demoralized by war, to challenge society’s very foundations and to uproot tradition.

Literary Period: Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is a representative work of literary modernism, a movement which established itself in the early 20th century.Where Written: Faulkner famously wrote As I Lay Dying in a six-week period of time while working at a local power-plant in Mississippi.

Author of as i lay dying