"As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner is a novel about a women named Addie Bundren, and her family. Their family is very poor, and has not much social interaction. Addie starts off on her death bed, and cash her son is building her coffin. Addie has 5 children that have their own internal struggles with the situation. Jewel one of her sons is very distant from the rest of the family. He is an outcast. He was the child that Anse was not the father of. He would work late at night to earn enough money to get a horse. Although immature, he is very passionate and driven, unlike some of the rest of the family. Her one wish is to be buried at Jefferson, a town forty miles away. Anse, her husband who Addie hates decided to take the journey with the family to Jefferson. Everyone taking part in the journey is not going for the support of her mother, but for their own selfish reasons. With a long journey with lots of obstacles over, they arrive at Jefferson and by the time they do, the body smells very bad. The book ends in a shocking way. Anse arrives with a new wife.
Jewel was an outcast this whole book. He didn't have the greatest relationship with his family, but him being an individual pushed him in the right direction. Jewel was also the only one who achieved success while working very hard. He worked countless nights at a neighbors field working for what he wanted, a horse. He has proven that with hard work, anything is attainable. He didn't just sit around like Anse, and expect things to come to him. He went out of his way to work for what he wanted. If he kept working and working, he could have eventually gotten out of poverty and started his own life. The distance between him and his family members actually helped him achieve the American Dream faster. He was so different from his family. The distance between him and his crazy family was just what he needed.
Jewel was an outcast this whole book. He didn't have the greatest relationship with his family, but him being an individual pushed him in the right direction. Jewel was also the only one who achieved success while working very hard. He worked countless nights at a neighbors field working for what he wanted, a horse. He has proven that with hard work, anything is attainable. He didn't just sit around like Anse, and expect things to come to him. He went out of his way to work for what he wanted. If he kept working and working, he could have eventually gotten out of poverty and started his own life. The distance between him and his family members actually helped him achieve the American Dream faster. He was so different from his family. The distance between him and his crazy family was just what he needed.