As I Lay Dying: Faulkner's Wasteland ? (ePub)

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1 (A), University of Freiburg (English Seminar), course: Faulkner's Major Novels, language: English, abstract: It is a well-known fact that Faulkner in his work made extensive use of what T.S. Eliot had established as 'the mythological method'. Like Eliot, he used the old myths in his narrations as an underlying human structure which yielded depth and meaning to his work and a certain kind of continuity of basic human virtues and vices. This was especially important in a time of general post-war disillusionment which, of course, affected deeply the literary conventions and styles of the time.

The debate of how much exactly Faulkner drew upon Eliot is held ever since the first book of Faulkner was published. It is considered probable that Faulkner knew the vegetation myths of Frazer and there can be hardly any doubt that Faulkner knew The Wasteland and the discussion of its sources. Unimportant and futile though it might therefore be to add another shabby brick to the impressive building of Faulkner criticism, I think it could be fun to once more oppose two outstanding works of Faulkner and Eliot in a close reading and see whether we can find a formerly neglected relation.

I believe that the influence of The Wasteland (including some of its most important sources; i.e. The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer and From Ritual to Romance by Jesie Weston) on As I Lay Dying works on different levels.

First on a literal - symbolic level.: Faulkner employs in a more or less unobtrusive way quite a few symbols or images of The Wasteland: April, Spring, New teeth, Gramophone, Fish, chuck, chuck, chuck (the sound of the adze) vs. Jug jug jug jug , five children, an abortion, several paraphrases (set my land in order vs. set my house in order)

Second on a level of atmosphere: Faulkner evokes through his dense and powerful prose the gloomy and portentous atmosphere of The Wasteland.

Third on a level of narration: The Wasteland is a patchwork of a multitude of different voices which are stringed together in the seer-like character of Tiresias.

So is As I lay dying. It is a patchwork of many voices which at first sight seem to be all equal to each other as far as the narrational standpoint is concerned. In a closer reading, however, one realizes that Darl relates events that he possibly cannot know, for he is not on the scene.
In the following I'd like to elaborate the above mentioned in more detail.