As I lay dying

As I lay dying

Symbols in “As I lay Dying”

            What is the purpose of reading a book? Is it to entertain? Or is it more than that? The relevance of a book is often defined by it pliability to one’s life. Most skilled authors wish for their books to provoke thought or give minor lessons throughout the plot.   If you are unable to use information or your imagination isn’t provoked by what you are reading, why waste your time? Without some type of application to the reader a book just becomes words on a page. One technique authors use to provide a deeper meaning is the use of symbols. Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. An example would be connotative meaning related to something. One example of a book with elaborate symbolic meaning is, As I lay Dying, by William Faulkner. William Faulkner isn’t an ordinary author in his style of writing. Faulkner’s master-theme is a man’s inescapable need to search for communal tie, a search on which the individual’s achievement of authentic selfhood depends. Faulkner said that in As I Lay Dying he deliberately set out to write his masterpiece, and many believe he succeeded.   He uses a stream of consciousness style of writing, which seems to ramble from one topic to another. Many first time readers of Faulkner’s work have a hard time understanding his work because of this style. The Paris Review states in an interview with Faulkner” some people they can’t understand your writing, even after they read it two or three times. What approach would you suggest for them?” Faulkner answers,” read it four times” (Milway 1) The stream of consciousness technique, not only lets you get into Faulkner’s mind as he was writing, lets you connect with characters directly as Faulkner perceives them, but aslo works well with the use of symbolism. As I Lay dying, is very entertaining; however it isn’t limited to a surface level story telling. There are many unique...