On Focalization In As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying represents his experimentation on the narrative form and structure. A variety of narrative experiments and innovations such as multiple point of view, stream of consciousness, the disruptions of logical or temporal sequence, juxtapositions and so on can be found in this novel. Perhaps the most audacious and frequently noted among these technical innovations is Faulkner's use of the multiplicity of focalization. With the use of 15 first-person narrators as well as complicated focalization, Faulkner presents a chaotic world and modern people's loneliness and isolation for the lack of communication.As I Lay Dying is narrated from fifteen different character-focalizers. The thread of the novel is the journey of transporting Addie's rotten body to Jefferson forty miles away from their home. The thesis tends to approach William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying from the perspective of its distinctive use of the multiplicity of focalization.Chapter 1 of the thesis analyzes ideological facet and psychological facet of the variable internal focalization respectively to illuminate their effects in characterization and revelation of the theme in this novel. Chapter 2 tends to investigate ideological facet and psychological facet of the external focalization. Together with Chapter 1, this chapter exhibits juxtaposition of different focalizations, and further illustrates the theme of the novel. In Chapter 3, this thesis is going to diagnose shifts of focalization to demonstrate Faulkner's superb control of the rhythm of the story. The last Chapter of the thesis intends to analyze alterations of focalization, which not only enables readers to have a thorough and deep understanding of some characters, but also manifests Faulkner's narrative skills. Variable first-person internal focalization and first-person external focalization interweave perfectly throughout As I Lay Dying. Besides, Faulkner handles shifts of focalization and alterations of focalization flexibly and skillfully, which contributes to understanding the theme in this fragmentary, multi-focalized narrative form that Faulkner employs.Based on focalization of Gérard Genette, Rimmon-Kenan and Shen Dan, this thesis attempts a tentative analysis of the experimental novel As I Lay Dying from the perspective of its narrative focalization. By applying unique narrative techniques of multiple focalization, together with other narrative methods of stream of consciousness and interior monologues, Faulkner delineates the performances of different characters towards the same events, highlights their real psychological processes and illustrates the unity of form and content of the novel. During the process of reorganizing these fragmented narrations, Faulkner demonstrates different personalities of various characters and their different ways of thinking. The novel verifies Faulkner's pursuit of superb narrative skills and his concern for the ultimate destination of mankind. At the same time, Faulkner is warning the world—the Bundrens are the representative of human beings with their foolishness, selfishness, indifference and other weaknesses. Their living state is also the universal living state of human beings. Faulkner discloses in As I Lay Dying how to overcome these weaknesses so as to avoid deep mental trauma is what is lacked in and should be pursued by modern people, and is also the only way to happiness for mankind.