『나 죽어가며 누워있을 때』에서 이웃 화자들의 역할

Non-Bundren narrators' role in As I Lay Dying. Focused on narratology and comic elements

William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying has been studied in terms of variety of themes, such as ideological approach, mothering environments, or multiple narrator technique. In this study I tried to examine non-Bundren narrators' role focused on narratology and comic elements. According to Booth, the narrator may be more or less from the characters in the story he tells. He may differ morally, intellectually, and temporally. Thus the reader may have some safe distance from characters or even an implied author without being involved with a series of events in the story. In examining the role of non-Bundren narrators, I came to see that the major events that happened to Bundren family are told by non-Bundren narrators. In addition, individual's deepest agony and most profound loss blended by several outside narrators' narrative comes to diminish to the point of vantage point. That's the Southern humor tradition that Faulkner tries to follow. Thus Bundren narrators' agony and pain, physically or psychologically, are shown with the tint of comedy when especially accompanied by linguistic contrast between backwoods men and some town gentlemen. In conclusion using non-Bundren narrators Faulkner accomplishes a unique artistic achievement that otherwise would be more difficult to do.