The Depths of Diction in As I Lay Dying:
• “Goddamn you. Goddamn you.” (99) -Cash
• “perverse ubiquity” (52) -Darl
• “drownded puppy” (69) -Tull
• “rapt, dynamic immobility” (76) -Darl
• “durn that” (35) -Anse
• “sled upon invisible snow, smoothly evacuating atmosphere” (98) –Darl
• “A-laxing there” (35) –Anse
• “steadily.myriad, fluctuant” (78) –Darl
• “He come back with them” (113) –Samson
• “That was when I see the first Buzzard” (186) –Armstid
In his novel, it is apparent that Faulkner combines many levels of diction to create a very real effect. In real life, some speak with grace and elegance, while others are either ignorant or simply ignore the set rules of grammar. Each character in the story can be defined by their implied level of education. Darl uses quite profound words, but sometimes uses them incorrectly. Anse does not bother with pretences and frequents the word “durn.” Samson and Armstid also appear to be ignorant to the correct way to form one’s sentences. When the novel is being told from Darl’s opinion, the tone is cerebral and subjectively poetic. Jewels narrations on the other hand lack any descriptions and the tone is therefore characterized by his cold but heroic actions. With Anse’s chapters, the level of low diction forms a tone of the stereotypical hillbilly from the south, endearing but pitiable. Faulkner uses diction to enforce not a single style, but rather multiple styles that define the characters of the novel.
• “Goddamn you. Goddamn you.” (99) -Cash
• “perverse ubiquity” (52) -Darl
• “drownded puppy” (69) -Tull
• “rapt, dynamic immobility” (76) -Darl
• “durn that” (35) -Anse
• “sled upon invisible snow, smoothly evacuating atmosphere” (98) –Darl
• “A-laxing there” (35) –Anse
• “steadily.myriad, fluctuant” (78) –Darl
• “He come back with them” (113) –Samson
• “That was when I see the first Buzzard” (186) –Armstid
In his novel, it is apparent that Faulkner combines many levels of diction to create a very real effect. In real life, some speak with grace and elegance, while others are either ignorant or simply ignore the set rules of grammar. Each character in the story can be defined by their implied level of education. Darl uses quite profound words, but sometimes uses them incorrectly. Anse does not bother with pretences and frequents the word “durn.” Samson and Armstid also appear to be ignorant to the correct way to form one’s sentences. When the novel is being told from Darl’s opinion, the tone is cerebral and subjectively poetic. Jewels narrations on the other hand lack any descriptions and the tone is therefore characterized by his cold but heroic actions. With Anse’s chapters, the level of low diction forms a tone of the stereotypical hillbilly from the south, endearing but pitiable. Faulkner uses diction to enforce not a single style, but rather multiple styles that define the characters of the novel.
First of Anse was not endearing in the least! :P He was so selfish and simple! I did not like the man! Anywho, I thought how you described Darl's thinking was very well put but i thought that Cash was more in opposition to Darl than Jewel was. Jewel was maybe terse but i didin't think he was as emotionally disconnected as Cash was. If Darl was the subjective, poetic character than I think Cash was the "objective" unsentimental one.
ReplyDeleteI also felt that the different levels of diction create a real effect as they show show how each character is his or her own distinct person. I very much liked and agreed with your description of Darl's narration as "carebral and subjectively poetic" and I can think of no better way to describe his style. And Anse's chapter's were undobtedly stylistically "low diction" and I found this bothersome at times, but that was probably just because his informal, incorrect language was SO low-level that it just became hard to follow (and also very pitiable). And Faulkner's use of diction is very important to the novel because, as you said, it is to enforce the "multiple styles" of each character in order to define them.
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