Is As I Lay Dying A Hero's Journey?
Even though William Falkner’s As I Lay Dying is a little difficult to read/understand, a hero's journey can somewhat be depicted in the book. To some extent at least. Through the confusing switch between character’s perspectives a story is being told. It might not be all that clear at first, but after looking at it a bit more closely you can see it as a hero’s journey. Of course a hero’s journey wouldn’t be complete without the call to adventure. The overall call for the Bundren family would be Addie’s death then dying wish, but each member is somewhat drawn to leave for their own reasons. Take Cora for example. While she joins the family for the overarching call of fulfilling Addie’s wish, she also wants to go into town to sell her cakes. She probably wouldn’t have joined them if not for this call of her own. The family is brought together to complete this task, and hence it being a hero’s journey, t...
