Hero's Journey In As I Lay Dying

I believe that William Faulkner's non-linear storytelling from the perspective of multiple characters in As I Lay Dying does still fit a framework where the Hero’s Journey is applicable. However, there are some key differences in the way that it is applied. For one, there is the question of who the actual hero is. We never get a clear answer to this, and at times the family unit as a whole could be pictured as the hero. Furthermore, this new form of storytelling changes how each character's personal struggles are interpreted. It could also be argued that each character’s development through these struggles and their ultimate boon is hindered by this format. Indeed, although the overall family unit does end up achieving its goal, many of the personal goals are not achieved. So while Faulkner's story can still be read as a hero’s journey, all of these aspects make it far from traditional, and indeed change how the novel is interpreted significantly. If we look at the goal that the family claims to have, burying Addie, then that is a successful hero’s journey, however, looking deeper into each character it is unclear where their journeys end.

The family unit vs the individual is a central idea in Faulkner’s as I Lay Dying, which affects how the hero’s journey is interpreted. Many of the characters are going to Jefferson for personal reasons, for instance Anse is going to get false teeth, Dewey Dell wants an abortion, Vardaman wants to buy things, etc. All of their reasons are depicted as immoral by Faulkner, considering that they are masking their true intentions behind the burial of Addie. Each of these underlying personal quests could be looked at as respective hero’s journeys, however, the goal of the quest makes it hard to view them as such. There is no underlying emotional payoff to their journeys. For instance, how would fake teeth help Anse be a master of two worlds? Faulkner seems to be mocking the underlying journey’s, and showing how they ultimately take away from the development of the family unit, and in some instances fail entirely. The only characters which don’t have underlying selfish motivations are Jewel, Cash, and Darl. And the problem with them is that we never get a conclusive look into their characters after Addie’s Burial. Perhaps Cash and Jewel at least were transformed by the end of their journey, but Faulkner never tells us, which is in part a result of the other main challenge the format brings with having too many characters.

It is exceptionally hard to keep track of what every character wants and their motives throughout this novel, and this has an effect on the depth of each character's hero’s journey. Of course, Faulkner does try to fix this by consolidating all of these motives through Darl, but it is still very difficult to thoroughly develop each of the characters. Jewel for instance, only ever has one chapter, and Darl can never see through him like he does with other characters. The result of this is the reader having to infer what Jewel thinks through his actions, which are very inconsistent and confusing. This challenge also applies to the other protagonists after Darl is taken to the psych ward. We follow each of the characters with underlying journeys as their quests for material objects come to an end, but we never find out what their dynamic is like as a family after or if they individually had any transformation. The same applies to Jewel and Cash. Whether it is intentional on behalf of Faulkner or not, the ending of As I Lay Dying makes it very hard to confirm any character development, and the fragmentation in the narration is heavily responsible for that.

Faulkner’s format in this novel can be hard to follow and confusing, but the overall forward progression of the family unit is what makes it a hero’s journey. Admittedly this journey is not complete by the end, as they are yet to return, but the ending of this journey can easily be inferred through the circumstances in which we leave the characters in. Their individual goals are less complete. For instance, it is unclear whether Dewey Dell gets her abortion, as Anse actively interferes with her journey in order to get his fake teeth. This could be looked at as Faulkner mocking the individual selfish journeys. Although the family has completed a journey by the end, their relationships are more fractured than ever. Still, they have completed their goal of burying Addie, and have learned to live without her, which is what marks them having a complete journey.

What do you guys think about family dynamics? Do you believe that As I Lay Dying can fit the frame of a hero’s journey?