The Many Voices in As I Lay Dying

Activity 1. Family Voices

This activity explores the voices of As I Lay Dying, starting with the first introductory chapters. The principles followed in this one class session can then aid the student in reading the remainder of the novel, supplemented with journal entries and other assignments according to the needs of the classroom. Of crucial importance to this activity is the question: what is narrative voice? Ask students to brainstorm what 'voice' might mean in terms of a novel—what sorts of things would a person's voice reveal? Possible answers include age, education, background, culture, religious and other kinds of beliefs, and so on. Other questions students might consider include:

• What does it mean to have multiple voices or perspectives instead of just one?
• Does each child's voice contain certain character traits of the parents? If so, what are they?
• Do you believe the narrators? Do they have ulterior motives for the trip to Jefferson? If so, what are they?

The following PDF worksheet, The Many Voices of As I Lay Dying, has 15 rows—one for each voice in the novel. The first group of voices has already been filled out—they are the immediate members of the Bundren family: Anse, Addie, Cash, Darl, Dewey Dell, Vardaman, and Jewel. The Bundren Genealogy, available at William Faulkner on the Web, via EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public Library, lists the relationships of the family in a graphical format (spoiler alert: the genealogy does give away Addie's relationship with Rev. Whitfield). Students can begin filling out the character sheet, including adding new "voices" as students come across them, and use the chart as they read to keep notes about the various characters. As I Lay Dying has a total of 15 voices—who are they? What do we know about them from others? What do they reveal about themselves? What do they reveal (or conceal) about Addie (or Addie's position as a woman in the South)? What do we learn about the setting and culture through the characters' voices? What do we learn about the characters that they did not intentionally reveal (either through their own voice or another's)?

Other questions for consideration:

Once students have been able to use the chart to examine the "big picture" of As I Lay Dying, the form of the novel might be a little more apparent. Who is the most frequent narrator? (answer: Darl) What happens to him in the end of the novel? Why is that? How does he compare to the other members of his family? Who are some central characters who are also the least frequent speakers? (answer: Jewel and Addie, who both have just one monologue—see Lesson 4: Burying Addie's Voice for more detail on Addie's role)  

What does Faulkner seem to be saying about the power—or the lack of it—in the act of narration? How does this style of narration compare to a novel where there is one clear narrator with authority? Without a central narrator, how does the process of reading change? Can the reading process be compared to the journey to Jefferson? In what way?