Skip to main content

Contrasting Views of Christians

God plays a large role in the lives of the characters in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. After all, the characters constantly question how God is omnipotent and how the way they act in the secular world directly influences their afterlives. The idea of God especially plays a large role in the lives of the Tulls, the neighbors of the Bundrens. Both Vernon and Cora Tull believe in God himself, but they differ in their views of his nature. While Vernon believes that God works in ways that can be frustrating to man, Cora puts all her faith in God and fully embraces God’s work and her “Christian” duty. These differing views become apparent as the Vernons aid the Bundrens after the death of Addie. On the surface, Cora seems to be a caring, compassionate neighbor; she constantly visits the Bundrens and offers them aid during a family tragedy. Yet as the reader learns more about Cora, the reader realizes that her “good-nature” is actually superficial. Beneath the graceful Christian layer lies a selfish and judgmental woman. Rather than truly caring about the well-being of the Bundren family, Cora acts kindly so that she can have salvation after her own death. This is demonstrated as she repeatedly sings, “I’m bounding toward my God and my reward” (93). Additionally, Cora is extremely judgmental towards the Bundren family. She notes how the Bundren tragedy is “a judgment on Anse Bundren” and states, “May it show him the path of sin he is a-trodding” (72). Cora uses Addie’s death to criticize those who are less fortunate than herself, and she believes that she is morally superior. In contrast, Vernon is subtle in his actions and demonstrates true compassion towards the Bundrens. While the other country people look down upon Anse, Vernon notes, “The only burden Anse Bundren’s ever had is himself…when folks talks him low, I think to myself he aint that less of a man or he couldn’t a bore himself this long” (73). Vernon views Anse as an equal, and believes that Anse’s suffering is a result of misfortune and not poor morality. Faulkner indirectly presents two “types” of Christians: those who actively display their faith but may not always have pure intentions, and those who are passive about their faith but demonstrate true compassion.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Headstrong Historian": an Homage to Things Fall Apart

In her short story “The Headstrong Historian,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pays tribute to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart while adding her own distinct voice. Like Achebe’s classic novel, “The Headstrong Historian” paints rich portraits of Nigerian tribal culture before the advent of white missionaries and the Nigerians who grapple with culture clashes and changes. The short story immediately establishes its ties to Things Fall Apart when it mentions that the character “Obierika”–a name which readers may recognize as the close friend of Achebe’s protagonist Okonkwo–is the late husband of Adichie’s protagonist Nwamgba (198). Moreover, when Nwamgba and Obierika struggle to conceive a child, Nwamgba “suggests he go and see the Okonkwo family about their daughter” as a potential wife and mother to his child (204). These developments create the expectation that the short story will have a similar, if not identical, narrative to Things Fall Apart : that the advent of the white missio...
Post a Comment
Read more

Allusions in Song of Solomon

           Song of Solomon is peppered with many different allusions. Ranging from classical myths to traditional folk tales, these stories enhance the text and establish parallels between Morrison’s characters and well-known figures. One such allusion is the Brothers’ Grimm tale of “Hansel and Gretel.” At the start of Part II in the novel, Morrison describes the tale of “Hansel and Gretel” and compares the two children’s journey to Milkman searching for Circe’s home. In “Hansel and Gretel,” two children abandoned in the woods by their parents who cannot afford to care for them anymore come across a witch’s house from which they must escape after she attempts to eat them. The story reflects an era’s financial hardships, but also a loss of innocence for Hansel and Gretel. “Hansel and Gretel” functions in Song of Solomon in two different ways. First of all, Macon and Pilate are Hansel and Gretel. After all, their beloved father is killed by racists, and the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interesting Metaphors in Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon is peppered with many different unusual metaphors. Often appearing at unexpected moments, this figurative language enhances the text and offers more meaning into the characters’ minds. The following are a few of my favorite metaphors: “There was the pain and shame of seeing his father crumple before any man–even himself. Sorrow in discovering that the pyramid was not five-thousand-year wonder of the civilized world, mysteriously and permanently constructed by generation after generation of hardy men who had died in order to perfect it, but that it had been made in the back room at Sears, by a clever window dresser, of papier-maché, guaranteed to last a lifetime” (68) In this passage, Milkman reflects on hitting his father after Macon abuses Ruth. The act of retaliation represents Milkman’s loss of innocence and transition into full adulthood; he realizes that he no longer fears his father. Prior to this moment, his father, like the pyramid, is...
Post a Comment
Read more