What could you say about ambivalence of death in 'As I Lay Dying'? I don't quite understand this topic and I have to write a term paper on it...Could anybody help me a little?
Ambivalence of Death in William Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying'
What could you say about ambivalence of death in 'As I Lay Dying'? I don't quite understand this topic and I have to write a term paper on it...
Last edited by casko; 05-01-2008 at 10:51 AM. Reason: spelling mistake
Ambivalence, according to answers.com
1. The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea.
2. Uncertainty or indecisiveness as to which course to follow.
Assume that the different attitudes come from the different characters.
The main ambivalence in As I Lay Dying is how Faulkner's treats death.
Mostly his tone walks the line between tragic and comic - the two poles of drama. Vardaman's drilling of holes through the coffin into his mother's face is pathetically tragic, and yet is a fantastic turn of black comedy when we realize the holes in the coffin have caused the corpse to decay even more.
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