Unpacking the Hero's Journey in the Confusing Novel of As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner's writing style in As I Lay Dying, utilizing nonlinear plotting, italicized wordage showing interior monologue, and changing perspectives, takes an unconventional route from traditional narrative arrangements, making it a difficult read for most who encounter it. Often, the numerous characters who speak from their point of view do not use punctuation when going on tangents and start talking in seemingly absurd ways when displaying their inward thoughts. Typically, in the hero's journey, the male protagonist is in an unfortunate situation and initially rejects his mission. However,  the Supernatural Aid convinces the hero to embark on his adventure. Through several ebbs and flows, he reaches his Ultimate Boon and makes his heroic return to his everyday life. These 17 stages of the heroic journey, due to many narrators, are more inconvenient to decipher for the readers. Despite these complexities, Faulkner's ways can still follow the hero's journey template.

To start, Faulkner's novel depicts the Bundren family as a poor, rural family living in Mississippi during the Great Depression. Their poverty, lack of resources, and hard-working actions influence their decisions and thoughts throughout the story. We see this in one of the early chapters with Darl, who conducted a 6-hour procedure to drink clean, nice-tasting water from a cedar bucket (Faulkner 16). In As I Lay Dying, the mother of the Bundren family, Addie, who was in terrible condition in the earliest chapters, passes away, prompting the rest of the household, Anse Bundren and his kids, Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman to bury her. Addie's wish was to be buried in her hometown, Jefferson, after realizing her father's take on life's purpose, where he stated, "the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time, was correct (Faulkner 162). The departure from the home marked the start of a 40-mile adventure, where the protagonists sustained injuries, faced natural disasters, and encountered inward spiritual conflicts. While currently, the trials of the Bundren family have not ended quite yet, they will likely return to Mississippi "victorious" and be changed positively for their future.

As I Lay Dying shows the internal struggles within the protagonists as the trials that must be overcome  to reach their respective Ultimate Boon. This book differs from preceding texts and films we have read earlier in the semester, like A New Hope, Quicksand, Siddhartha, and Legally Blonde. In these stories, although the respective steps of the heroine's and hero's journeys slightly contrast, they all have one main protagonist who departs from their initial location, undergoes the steps of their mission, and returns elated following its completion. In this book, no one character is easily distinguishable as the hero, as they all have the same goal but share different motives. All the Bundrens wrestle with something internally, like young Dewey Dell with her pregnancy, Cash with his worsening physical health, Vardaman's circumstantial lack of understanding, Anse with his selfishness and laziness, and Jewel with his fury about his mother's death and his cherished horse.

In the end, this novel offers a distinct but compelling take on the hero's journey. However, it is not entirely different, as the acts of perseverance and resilience from numerous characters in As I Lay Dying are similar to the other stories we have encountered. It is unlikely that the Bundrens get the same effects as the previous stories, like total elation and understanding of the world around them however, they will be relieved to have fulfilled their mother's wishes and conclude their 40-mile trek. Culminating, while it seemingly appeared that this work could not fulfill the traditional hero's journey due to its nonlinear storytelling and lack of an apparent heroic figure, Faulkner's As I Lay Dying satisfies Joseph Campbell's model in a unique and unlikely manner.