In As I Lay Dying, Jewel’s biological father is Reverend Whitfield, the man who had an affair with Addie before the story begins. Jewel’s father is not Anse Bundren, the biological father of all the other siblings (Cash, Darl, Vardaman, and Dewey Dell).
Who is Jewel’s father as I lay dying? Jewel is Addie’s third child and narrates Section 4. His biological father is the Reverend Whitfield.
His biological father is the Reverend Whitfield. If you look at the amount of times Jewel narrates in this novel, you might think that he were a minor character just passing by the Bundrens’ lives. And this would be an interesting note to make because, biologically, Jewel is not part of the Bundren household.
Jewel Bundren. Jewel is Addie’s third child and narrates Section 4. His biological father is the Reverend Whitfield.
As I Lay Dying. by: William Faulkner. Because Jewel speaks very few words of his own throughout the novel, he is defined by his actions, as filtered through the eyes of other characters. Jewel’s uncommunicative nature creates a great distance between him and us, and a great deal of room exists for debating the meaning of Jewel’s actions.
“But it’s not your horse that’s dead.” “Goddamn you,” he says. “Goddamn you.” I cannot love my mother because I have no mother. Jewel’s mother is a horse. Darl and Jewel have been delayed getting home from the delivery and realize that Addie has died while they were out.
As People magazine reported when her book was released, “Jewel describes her father as having meted out ‘occasional physical and mental abuse.’ She writes that ‘he disliked me at my first cry. He was critical and impatient, suspicious and harsh with me.’”
While Cash, Darl, Vardaman, and Dewey Dell are all the children of Anse and Addie, Jewel is the child resulting from the affair between Addie and Father Whitfield. As such, Addie favors Jewel over all the other children. Addie even admits to Cora that Jewel “is [her] cross and he will be [her] salvation.
Who is Jewel in the book?
Jewel is the bastard son of Addie and Whitfield, the local minister. Jewel is the novel’s most evasive character, as he appears consistently in other narrators’ chapters but only narrates one chapter himself.
As the family makes preparations to leave, Jewel heads to the barn, ignoring Anse’s call for him to come back. Anse tells Jewel … (full context) Vardaman states once again that his mother is a fish, though Darl claims that Jewel ‘s mother is a horse.
Darl Quotes. “Jewel’s hat droops limp about his neck…Jewel, I say, she is dead, Jewel. Addie Bundren is dead.”. 17. Darl Quotes. “In a strange room you must empty yourself for sleep. And before you are emptied for sleep, what are you….I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am or am not.
Jewel does not answer, and Darl… (full context) …Darl then notices the sun begin to set “like a bloody egg,” and aggressively taunts Jewel again, repeating the fact that Addie is going to die. (full context) 12. Darl.
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What is the relationship between Jewel and Addie?
The filial relationship between Jewel and Addie is unique both emotionally and genetically. While Cash, Darl, Vardaman, and Dewey Dell are all the children of Anse and Addie, Jewel is the child resulting from the affair between Addie and Father Whitfield. As such, Addie favors Jewel over all the other children.
Furthermore, Jewel, except for “crazy” Darl, is the only one of the Bundren family that goes to Jefferson in order to bury his mother with no selfish side-intentions. Jewel’s love for his mother cannot be explicitly stated, for, like his mother claimed, the word love is only used by those who have never felt it.
William Faulkner uses multiple narrators in As I Lay Dying, a technique that enables him to illustrate different mindsets on events and ethical questions. Some narrators’ motivations are clear: Dewey Dell is determined to get an abortion, for example, and Vardaman longs for a toy train and bananas. Jewel is more difficult to understand, and is …
In this sense, Addie “whipped” Jewel more, disciplining him to make up for her overly-expressed love toward him. Since Jewel’s only source of love was that disguised by Addie’s anger, Jewel has also learned to love in such a way. To his horse, Jewel’s “tough-love” is reciprocal of his mother’s “teachings.”.
Despite his immediate reaction to run away to avoid giving up his horse, Jewel learns a new lesson in giving the horse to Snopes: to consider all the consequences of his actions before they are made. He realizes that his natural inclination to run away contradicted his overall desire to do the best for his mother.
Jewel’s treatment of the animal that he bought with his own money with curses and pushes mixed with spoils and treats is Jewel’s highest form of expressing love. Jewel’s love for his mother is obvious in his sole narration “dedicated” to Addie.
However, when Anse asks Jewel to give up the horse in order to buy another team to continue on the way to Jefferson to bury Addie, Jewel must then decide between the two loves of his life: his horse and his mother.
What does Jewel do after Addie’s death?
Jewel’s actions after Addie’s death show, however, that Jewel does care deeply about her, as he makes great sacrifices to assure the safe passage of her body to her chosen resting place, agreeing even to the sale of his beloved horse.
Darl’s frequent descriptions of Jewel as “wooden” reinforce the image of Jewel as impenetrable to others, and also establish a relationship between Jewel and the wooden coffin that comes to symbolize his mother.
Similarly, Jewel’s cold, rough-spoken behavior toward the rest of his family contrasts sharply with the heroic devotion he demonstrates in his deeds, such as when he searches valiantly for Cash’s tools after the river-crossing and nearly comes to blows with a stranger whom he believes has insulted the family.
Because Jewel speaks very few words of his own throughout the novel, he is defined by his actions, as filtered through the eyes of other characters. Jewel’s uncommunicative nature creates a great distance between him and us, and a great deal of room exists for debating the meaning of Jewel’s actions.
