In As I Lay Dying the youngest character, Vardaman, is also one of the most confused and unintelligent. He has no real common knowledge and he doesn't understand a lot of things that are happening. He doesn't understand his mothers death as he relates it to a fish, and he doesn't really understand family and some values.
Vardaman is the youngest so from the start we can see that he is not going to have the most knowledge in the book. He is further confused by the family that he has. His mother is sick and dies, a father who does mostly nothing, a talented brother that is a carpenter, another one who seems more like a father tot he family, a sister who is pregnant, and another brother who relates to no one in the family but his mother. This could be the main reason why he is such a confused child. One of the most intriguing things he does is relatng his mother to a fish. This could either represent how is confused about the death of his mother and how he is having a difficult time dealing with it. Coinccidently his mother is lost in the accident of the river, foreshadowed future of Vardaman calling his mother a fish. It also seems that in this scene we find out who his role model is or was. He seems to belive in Darl the most but when he looses his mother he looses faih in Darl also,
As we see Vardaman is the kid in the family and is really confused. This is his main characteristic in the story and its what makes Vardaman who he is. He doesn't know whats really going on and soon he'll grow to find out what things really are.
2 comments:
I agree completely with your analysis. I think the main reason why Vardaman is so confused is because of how young he is. He is about eight years old, and at eight years old a child does not quite grasp what death is. He thinks his mother will come back, but does not understand that death means his mother will be gone forever.
He compares his mother to a fish because of the physical changes when his mother died. The eyes sunk in and lost color. When his mother died he didn't recognize her anymore like the fish. the death of his mother was very similar to how the fish die. It's like Vardaman battles this by himself, because everyone understands something that he is very confused about.
Lastly I believe Vardaman as a young boy needs a person to identify with or get along with sine his mother is gone and his father doesn't really have love for his family. I think Vardaman bonds with Darl the best. They get along well. I like Vardaman because he is so young and innocent that his character causes the audience to want to sympathize for him.
First of all, I would like to say its funny how you refer to him as the kid. I mean he is a kid, but he has a name.
Ok so that was not that important.
Secondly, I agree with you on a few points. Vardamann is definitely the youngest of the characters and because he is 8 years old he is naive and ignorant of the world. But I don't think that makes him less intelligent or observant to actions/events that are occuring in the book. Yes, he is confused. He just lost his mother--at such a young age one thinks things exist forever and its not like anyone explained to him what happened at his mothers death. Also I do agree that because he is the youngest and Addie only had him in order to make up for the fact that she had an affair then compared to his older brothers he is sort of an unwanted child, without valuable skills. Even so I think in some ways he is the most rational. AS mentioned he compares his mother to a fish after having caught and gutted his own fish. FOr this experience he sees the fish lying there not moving and so he calls his mother a fish because in a way to him she is no longer moving. With this he is able to accept what has happened. Also I think it is even more noted at the River seen when Addie goes under the water and Vardamann calls out to Darl to save her because she is a fish, that Vardamann realizes his mother is gone, "she swam away from him" ( she's dead not with him) That being said, Vardaman may be the kid of the family but I also think he has the most potential to change the generations for th efuture due to his unquestioning love for his family and simple reasoning/observation skills.
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