Is As I Lay Dying a Hero's Journey novel?
I think it is possible for a Hero’s Journey narrative to exist even in the oddly constructed framework of As I Lay Dying. Although traditional linear storytelling lends itself to the Hero’s Journey template better, the steps of the Hero’s Journey are still present in As I Lay Dying. In other books/movies we’ve discussed in class, it’s been possible for a few steps to be out of order or left out of the narrative entirely, and we still managed to classify them as Hero’s Journey stories. Due to the confusing narations present in the book, the steps of the Hero’s Journey aren’t always perfectly in order, but I think there is still enough evidence to analyze As I Lay Dying as a Hero’s Journey novel.
The novel begins with about 100 pages of story that happens before the Hero’s Journey starts; although this isn’t especially common, there were a lot of scenes in Star Wars before the Hero’s Journey in that movie began too (as well as a sequence of scenes that occur before we even meet the main characters). When the Bundren family does finally begin their journey, the first step that emerges is naturally the Call to Adventure. The main objective of the book is to carry Addie Bundren’s body to Jefferson to bury her and fulfill her last wish; this objective spurs the plot into motion and is the first piece of the Call to Adventure step. After the Bundren family receives Addie’s wish, they must prepare for their journey, and are ultimately called into action when their mother/wife passes away and they depart from their farm. After a long description of Addie’s final days, the building of her coffin, and introductions to the many characters in the novel, the Bundren family begins their journey to Jefferson.
The next step in the Hero’s Journey (the Refusal of the Call) is also present. This step can be seen when Tull tries to persuade the Bundren’s not to travel to Jefferson to bury their mother, and instead to bury her nearby, ensuring that her body could be properly buried before she starts to rot more. Along the way to Jefferson, the Bundren’s experience similar reactions from other onlookers; anyone not in the immiediate family is confused by the long journey, and urges them to just bury Addie before she rots any more. In a typical Hero’s Journey novel, Supernatural Aid should be the next step, however this step is not explicitly present in As I Lay Dying. The Bundren family does stay with several neighbors and families along their journey (such as Samson, Tull, or Armstid). These characters don’t accompany the Bundrens for long, but they do provide the support that the Supernatual Aid usually provides.
After the Supernatural Aid step comes the Crossing of the First Threshold. This step could be interpretted as when the Bundrens initially leave their farm, but it could also be interpretted as when they cross the river and fully begin the more difficult part of their journey. As the narrative progresses, there are too many steps to discuss all of them in detail, but I believe there are enough steps represented in the narrative to classify the novel as a Hero’s Journey.
The steps of the Hero’s Journey in As I Lay Dying are definitely harder to define when compared to other books I’ve read, however, I do believe the template is still present in the narrative. The main overarching issue I did find when writing this post was deciding who the hero was. The usage of a Hero’s Journey template implies that the story has some kind of central hero/heroine leading the journey. Initially, I thought the role of the hero could be filled by Darl, because he had the most chapters and narrated so elegantly, but after reading the last chapters, I don't think he can be seen as the hero of the novel. Additionally, we don’t really know more about Darl than we do about the rest of the characters, and although he narrates a lot, he doesn’t participate in the story as much as other characters have. Since Anse feels required to bury Addie in Jefferson, it could be argued that he is the main character since he pushes the plot forward. Cash and Jewel, however, work harder than Anse with Jewel saving Addie’s body twice from the water and fire, and Cash doing the work of building her coffin. As I Lay Dying raises an interesting question: can a Hero’s Journey exist even if no central hero can be identified? I think it could be possible for the entire family to play the role of the hero, but it’s also possible Faulkner left the role of the hero up for interpretation on purpose. Either way, I would conclude that the Hero’s Journey template is uniquely represented, but still present in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.
Good post! I like how you've laid out how the first steps of the Hero's Journey appear in As I Lay Dying. However, I would argue that even though these steps appear doesn't necessarily mean that the rest of the story follows the Hero's Journey. Do you think that other steps in the Hero's Journey appear even later in the book?
ReplyDeleteYour analysis in this post is strong, but I'm not sure if I find it necessarily useful. You seem to be defining the Hero's Journey by the presence of Hero figures and the presence of certain steps, but a story which has all of these things in some combination could be difficult to usefully analyze using the monomyth- for instance, a core component of the Hero's Journey is fundamental character change, and you haven't demonstrated that that's present in As I Lay Dying.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I like your breakdown of the first steps, and I agree that As I Lay Dying is a hero's journey. The only part of the hero's journey that I struggle with in this book, besides the issue of who the hero is, is Apotheosis. It's hard to tell what the characters have learned or what mental transformations they have gone through.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I agree that identifying the presence of the Hero's journey in As I Lay Dying is difficult. I also agree that several characters has a strong argument for the hero in As I Lay Dying. It's also weird that the actual journey happens a third of the way through the book.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good analysis of the Hero's Journey in As I Lay Dying. It's interesting to see how the unconventional structure of the book affects the presence and ordering of the steps in the monomyth. Your analysis of the Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, and Crossing of the First Threshold is particularly insightful and shows the presence of the Hero's Journey in the novel. It's also a thoughtful observation to consider the potential heroes of the story and how their actions align with the stages of the monomyth. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you pointed out that categorizing a story as a hero's journey doesn't necessarily require that story to fit all the steps of the hero's journey. I can definitely see how As I Lay Dying is a hero's journey from the way you describe it here -- the steps you mention all seem plausible and fit in with the narrative of As I Lay Dying, so at least the beginning of the Bundren's journey seem on the outside like a hero's journey (though I'm not so sure about the rest). The question of the hero is interesting as well -- who is the true hero of As I Lay Dying? Great post!
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