As I Lay Dying :: Essays Papers

As I Lay Dying In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, references to â€Å"the right† by numerous characters serve to propel the reader on a quest for truth. Cora and Tull make allusions to what is right as defined by religion, while Cash evokes a more innate sense of right and wrong. Anse has a sense of right that is deceptive to both himself and others, yet it also conveys his view of the world which Faulkner shows to be just as accurate as anyone else’s. Faulkner’s blending of these versions of right make a unified idea of what is right, even if that idea is at once a confusing and complicated one. Cora and Vernon Tull believe completely in the absolute power of God and that His will is ultimately what will be done. Cora is Vernon’s source of strength and faith, and even when he waivers in what he believes to be right, he ultimately sides with his wife. Cora is constantly exclaiming both in speech and in song that â€Å"I trust in my God and my reward.† (70) This belief is a great comfort to Cora. Even when she makes cakes for a wealthy woman in town and the woman changes her mind, Cora only thinks â€Å"Riches is nothing in the face of the Lord, for He can see into the heart.† (7) Cora also believed it right for people to suffer; seeing it as their â€Å"mortal lot† (159). However, this deep faith is also blinding to Cora. Cora is blind to the fact that Addie has an understanding of sin and salvation and â€Å"right† beyond the mere words that she uses. Cora mistakes Addie’s lack of faith for vanity and pride, and gets down on her knees in hopes of rescuing her from the clutches of damnation (160). Addie’s response to this is that â€Å"people to whom sin is just a matter of words, to them salvation is just words too.† (168) Vernon Tull at times questions whether his wife is altogether right, but then catches himself and pulls himself back. Cora may have seen it as people’s mortal lot to suffer, but Vernon questioned this, especially in the case of Vardaman’s pain. Vernon says, â€Å"It aint right. I be durn if it is.