As I Lay Dying: Faulkner's Depiction of Addie Bundren as the Odyssey's Agamemnon

As I Lay Dying: Faulkner's Depiction of Addie as Odyssey's Agamemnon

   Stepheny Ek

    In the southern gothic novel As I Lay Dying, Faulkner utilizes an interpretation of the Odyssey's story of Agamemnon to portray Addie Bundren as a tragic figure shaped by death, deceit, and loss of dignity. 

    The quote from the Odyssey comes from the seemingly tragic story of Agamemnon's death. In this epic poem, Odysseus visits Hades, interacting with the spirits of the dead. One such soul is a Greek commander in the Trojan War, named Agamemnon. The war hero tragically recounts the story of his murder: after returning victorious from the 10 year battle, Agamemnon returns to his wife, only to be cruelly slaughtered by his wife, Clytemnestra and her new lover. As he dies, he claims Clytemnestra didn't even give him the dignity of dying with his eyes closed. Agamemnon's last image before his demise is his wife's betrayal. 

    Like Agamemnon, Addie experiences a death full of disrespect and mistreatment. As a direct reference to the book title, Addie remains a crucial character to the narrative of the novel. She is the physical representation of the first person perspective of "As I Lay Dying", as the main premise of the book revolves around how to bury Addie's body. The book begins when Addie starts to die, and only continues because of her last dying wish to be buried far away from home. One could even say her descent to death starts beyond her old age and begins when she is young. 

    

    The flashback chapter the readers get of Addie reveals a new aspect of Addie. Addie did not her like her life - even when she was alive, she wished for death, internalizing her father's sentiment that "the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead for a long time" (Faulkner 138). In a sense, Addie was already dying internally - feeling listless and bitter in her new duties as a mother and a wife. Addie feels emotionally distant from Anse, and further, the children she had from Anse. Anse, she claims, was already dead to her, full of empty words and false promises. She doesn't feel a connection with Anse, and holds no love for him. She feels disillusioned about her marriage, and feels alone in the world. Addie's death while alive is full of feelings of disappointment and betrayal, similar to Agamemnon.

    

    Even after her actual death Addie suffers by the hands of her supposed loved ones. Her corpse is subjugated to physical damage and paraded around towns, left to rot and smell. Most of her family has alternate reasons for going to Mississippi past burying Addie, and her death itself is treated with a comedic undertone - with vultures circling around her coffin and watching her son build her coffin as she lies dying. Half of the time the family argues with each other and are too caught up in their own self interests instead of focusing at the main task at hand. 

    In Agamemnon's story, Addie represents Agamemnon. Dying feeling betrayed by the ones closest to you, even if in her case it wasn't as intentional. Darl even compares Anse's eyes at the beginning of the book to dog's eyes, stating that "his [Anse] eyes are like two knobs of pale meat set into his face, looking like a dog's eyes do when it wants you to think it loves you"(Faulkner 4). This direct call out of Anse's eyes as "dog eyes" only reinforces the idea that he represents Clytemnestra. Further, the children of his, with likely similar eyes, may represent the secondary disrespect she experiences at her death.

    However, Addie, just like Agamemnon, is not without faults. In the Odyssey it is revealed that Clytemnestra had a reason for her desire of Agamemnon's death. Not only had he killed her daughter for advancement in the war, but he also came home bringing Cassandra, the Trojan princess, as a prize of honor. Addie not only has an affair with another man but also neglected to tell Anse that Jewel is not his biological son. While Addie doesn't actually kill any of her children, she feels as if Jewel represents "the child I [Addie] robbed him[Anse] of" because Jewel is a deception of the son Anse thinks he is (Faulkner 158).

Overall, while Addie is a pitiful character who does not deserve the mistreatment she experiences throughout the book, she isn't perfect either. Perhaps her life after death is the karma she deserves. 

Works Cited: 

Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. Vintage International, 1990.

Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. Wikipedia, 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:As_I_Lay_Dying_1st_ed.jpg. Accessed 8 May 2025.

Making Waves: Moana's Journey in Becoming a Heroine

 “I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti.”

    Moana is the titular character of the animated Disney Movie "Moana" released in 2016. This film follows the main character as she hopes to save her village from the corruption of a scorned god. Moana, along with the shape-shifting demigod Maui, must travel to  to return the heart of Te Fiti back to its rightful place. Through her adventure, Moana not only saves Motunni from total destruction, but also finds the courage to break free from the expectations placed upon her and explore her dual identity as a chiefess and a wayfinder. Following through the lens Smidt's Heroine's Journey, watchers follow Moana embrace her full potential as a daughter blessed by the ocean. 

The beginning of the movie's narrative clearly sets the stage for the first step of Smidt's template, otherwise known as The Illusion of a Perfect World. Moana's life on Motunnui seems to be a wonderful place and an ideal life: her people are safe and happy, she has a loving family, and she's set to be the next chieftess as the chief's daughter. However, this last reason actually contradicts her satisfaction with her seemingly perfect life - Moana craves to explore the ocean, which has always called to her. Unfortunately, her father is against this desire: he fears Moana will get swept away to her death in the dangerous waters like his friends in the past, and immediately shuts down any suggestion of wayfinding. 

"But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try".

Yet with a terrible infection plaguing the plants and animals of the island, Moana comes to the conclusion that she must leave her village in order to save her tribe from starvation. Through Schmidt's template, the narrative arrives at the Betrayal or Realization stage: it is revealed to Moana by her grandmother, Tala, than her people were originally voyagers! Additionally, the blight affecting her village was due to the darkness of Te Ka, a demon that emerged after TeFiti's heart was stolen by the demigod Maui. Her grandmother pleads Moana to restore the heart back to Tefiti before the island becomes totally destroyed. 

With this information revealed to Moana, she starts preparing for her journey. At this part in the movie we approach the Awakening and Preparing for the Journey stage: Moana is gifted with the heart of Tefiti by her grandmother, given blessings by her mother, and told to find Maui, who will help her on her journey. In this part of Moana's path in becoming a realized heroine, she has left a newly shattered perception of her "perfect" world and has embraced her destiny. 

Moana eventually finds Maui, but is initially disappointed in his reluctance to save the world and his greater desire to save his own hind. Both of them struggling to relate with each other and work together, and find themselves in grave danger with a few monsters. In Smidt's template, this stage can be perceived as the The Descent - Passing Through the Gates of Judgement. After their escape, they grow closer, with Moana being taught how to wayfind and Maui regaining his powers through regaining his magical sailor's hook. Moana's quick thinking through their battles with the monsters allows her to overcome the situation and her fears, even though initially she struggles, uncomfortable in this very different, dangerous environment. 

Yet in this moment of peaceful hope for the final stage of their journey - returning the heart back to Te Fiti - everything goes downhill for the both of them. In a stage described in Schmidt's template as the Eye of the Storm, Moana makes a mistake that tears her and Maui apart. In arriving at Te Fiti's island, everything seems to be doing well until Te Ka, the demon attacks them. Moana, feeling so close to victory, stubbornly refuses to sail back to safety and indirectly causes the damage of Maui's hook. Maui, angered by this decision, Maui abandons Moana. 

Indeed, at this moment, it seems like All is Lost. Moana reaches a part of her journey where she experiences hopelessness and has given up. Schmidt represents this stage as Death. Moana feels so despondent that she even tells the ocean to give her quest to another, worthier hero. 

However, as "Moana" is a movie about a hero, the story doesn't stop there. Moana is greeted by her recently deceased grandmother's spirit, who urges her to remember who she is and what she truly wants. With the Support of her grandmother and Maui - who suddenly decides to return - Moana finds herself and grows emboldened to finally approach Te Ka and Te Fiti once more.

"Who am I?

I am the girl who loves my island

I'm the girl who loves the sea"

    In once of the powerful and important scenes of Smidt's template, Rebirth - The Moment of Truth, the heroine has been awakened to her true identity and is finally ready to defeat her last obstacle. In "Moana", it's confronting Te Ka and returning the heart to Te Fiti. The final battle is subverted, because Moana realizes the true identity of Te Fiti is Te Ka - who is only corrupted due to her missing heart. Instead of fighting Te Ka, she apologizes and returns the heart to Te Ka/Fiti - and the world is safe one more. 

    As Moana Return(s) to the Perfect World after her "defeat" of Te Ka, she reunites with her family. She has changed, and proven herself worthy of who she wants to be, and her parents accept this. With the newfound safety of the ocean established by the reunion of the heart to Te Fiti, she is allowed to not only take up her role as a chieftess, but also a wayfinder. 

    Through using Schmidt's template to analyze Moana's journey, we watch how a young girl can flourish into something incredible when they follow their inner voice and utilize the strength of love and compassion. The movie also shows how important a support system is - in multiple parts of the movie, Moana is guided and helped to advance in her journey through her loved ones. "Moana" shows that you aren't constrained by what people expect you to be, and that you can break through and embrace your true self. 

Ultimately, Moana is the story of a girl who overgoes obstacles in order to reach her true desires. 

Image Citation: 

"File:Moana (character).png." *Wikipedia*, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Apr. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Moana_(character).png. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.

Legally Blonde - A Journey of Self Discovery

In class, we watched Legally Blonde - a movie that follows Elle Wood’s journey of self-empowerment and self-discovery.  Legally Blonde’s story line closely emulates Maureen Murdock’s version of the heroine’s journey template: an exploration and embracement of the symbolic feminine and masculine within. In this narrative archetype, the main character follows a path that leads herself through a transformation into a heroine through the lens of subverting divisive societal gender norms. In other words, as Dr. E likes to say: “The story of a girlboss”. 

Initially Elle embodies a stereotypical version of femininity. She’s focused on traditional feminine interests like her appearance, her relationship with her boyfriend, and her social status. She exhibits the personality of the socially expected and understood feminine: ditzy, frivolous, and superficial. Her main goal in her life is to be the perfect girlfriend, and when she is abruptly heartbroken by Warner, who leaves her for this representation of femininity, Elle’s world view is shattered. Elle Wood symbolically sheds the feminine nature that she seemingly concludes is causing her distress and decides to follow Warner to law school, adopting a new masculine identity in a patriarchal society. 

Elle finds allies within this unknown world that help her through academic and social challenges that law school presents. She faces constant ridicule and skepticism from her classmates and professors, judged for her appearances and perceived lack of intellect, and struggles to adapt to the intense academic rigor of Harvard law. Yet when Elle believes she has finally surpassed the trials sent her way and achieved total success by obtaining an internship, she is forced to return back to a cruel reality of sexism after realizing she only earned it through her Professor’s lust for her. This is the turning point to Elle Woods as the heroine. She realizes that her rejection of her feminine side was not the true solution, but neither is rejecting the new masculine part of herself she’s achieved. When Elle begins to integrate both seemingly contradictory aspects into her personality, healing the split between “sorority girl” and “lawyer”, Elle Woods reaches her true potential and power. She solves a case, helps a new friend out and graduates as a lawyer with her own law firm. Oh, and getting a fiance, too. 

Legally Blonde, and further, Maureen Murdock’s representation of the heroine’s journey tells the story of someone allowing themself to grow strong within. The story of someone who doesn’t need to reject their true self in order to reach their goals. The story of someone who is allowed to embrace all parts of their identity. Truly, the heroine’s journey in Murdock’s eyes is a representation of finding yourself through change. Changing isn’t a dismissal of your old self - it’s loving the old while nurturing the new in a fantastic combination. 

Star Wars: A Classic Hero's Journey of the Ages.

A handsome young man of modest origins with a passion for justice and an urge for a purpose. A corrupt system controlled by an evil overlord who wants nothing but complete destruction of those who defy him. A beautiful princess in need of saving. Star Wars represents the classic hero’s journey in its utmost standard form. There’s a reason why Star Wars became such a popular representation of long-form media: who wouldn’t want to root for a hero?

Star Wars follows Luke Skywalker’s journey to become a hero, outlined by Joseph Cambell’s set of 17 stages. Star Wars: A New Hope begins the Star Wars Saga and introduces the character we will grow to root for - a young man who will be forged by his hardships to emerge stronger and wiser. While one could apply Cambell’s stages to the overarching series of the Star Wars Saga, one can also see these stages through the series’s first movie.

Luke Skywalker lives in the ordinary world: the planet of Tatooine. It’s monotonous and mundane but it’s safe and all he’s known. His entire life is disrupted when he cleans a robot with a very special message. This robot is R2-D2, and the message it displays acts as the call to Luke’s adventure: Princess Leia needs help from a mysterious Obi-Wan. When Luke eventually finds Obi-Wan, he turns out to be Luke’s very own physical representation of supernatural aid. Obi-Wan, or Ben Kenobi, provides him with the tools he needs to begin his journey into the unknown. Luke receives  through the gift of a lightsaber, the knowledge of his father, and an insight into the force. All of these pieces of information, as well as Obi’ Wan Kenobi himself, allow Luke to finally step forth into a strange new world.

It takes Luke a while to become accustomed to the oddities of the unknown world. There are dangerous people out there who want to kill him, including the Big Bad of the story: Darth Vader, a merciless dictator of the galaxy. Luke evades many near death occurrences through his approach through his personal road of trials. Of course, not without help. Along the way he meets Princess Leia, in a surreal, powerful moment. While he gains more aid throughout his journey (Han Solo!) and loses some as well (Ben’s “death”) Luke Skywalker finally achieves the ultimate end goal of his journey: saving the world with Darth Vader’s defeat. An Ultimate Boon indeed.

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