In William Faulkner’s novel “As I Lay Dying,” the language used throughout the story
plays a significant role in the interpretation of the events and how they effect the characters
involved. For example, Vardaman’s point of view was widely expressed to the reader
through Faulkner’s word choice and syntax.
Throughout the story, Faulkner writes all of Vardaman’s chapters in a very childish way,
with a limited vocabulary – more so than the other characters. Many of his sentences are
repetitive and simple, as if a child were trying to speak the way adults do but without
making the same amount of sense. He relates things to another, simpler thing, as if he’s
trying to understand it himself, such as on page 66, “the saw sounds like it is asleep.” This
shows us what an innocent mind Vardaman has, and how all of the trauma in the story
could affect him as he gets older. To get used to the pain of losing his mother, he creates
images in his head to ease himself out of the loss, like in the infamous chapter on page 84,
“My mother is a fish.” This chapter shows how such a young and innocent mind copes
with death, making it all seem like a game or pretend. On page 101, Vardaman is
experiencing a conversation with his family, and in the narration, he is explaining to the
audience that Jewel and Darl are his brothers, creating that young “matter-of-fact” tone
that many children have, as if to explain to us things about them to feel proud of
