As+I+Lay+Dying


 * Food (A)
 * Summary of book and group leader (B)
 * Summary of meeting (C)
 * Questions (D)

Week 1- A- Krista B- Kim C- Tiffany and Sung Jin D- Sam Read up to page 47.

1. When Cora baked the cakes, and the woman said she didn't need the cakes, even after Cora went through all the trouble, do you think this symbolizes anything? Roger- It could stand for maybe the way the woman didn't need the cakes anymore, the mom wouldn't need the coffin in the future. (joined answer)

2. How do you think Jewel feels about the mother's situation? Sam- I think he is in denial. roger- He doesn't want his mother to die, so he is hoping that she will overcome the sickness she is in right now.

3. Do you think Cash really cares about his mother, or the work more? Roger- i think he thinks about the work more. The book is blatantly clear. (joined answer)

4. How do you think Darl feels about the situation? He is practically in mourning about the fact that his mother is dying. Sam- He is taking it with patience compared to the others. Tiff- He feels upset and depressed, and i guess when the mom actually dies, he will be even more of a loner.

5. How do you think the other members of the town are being affected by it? Krista- They would be upset and, since it was a small town, everyone knew her and they would be compassionate towards the family.

Summary of the Meeting- The meeting started out to munching on candy that Krista brought in. While we were enjoying the treats, Sam began to make her questions and we began to answer them. Sung Jin vigorously answered most of the questions while the rest of us kept eating. We continued discussing the book because a couple of us were confused on what was happening. The discussion revolved mostly around the characters. We shared what we knew: "This person is that person's wife." or, "This person cares about that person." Together, we all agreed that the book is difficult to get through.

Summary of the Book- A family has a mother dying of a disease and the story goes on from there. The oldest son of the family, Cash, being a carpenter, is making a coffin for the mother. The second oldest son, Jewel, just gets angry and hopes that his mother survives. The second youngest son, Darl, just looks silently at his mother when he does look at his mother. He is described by someone else to have a "heart too full for words." Addie, the mother, stays in bed all day with Dewey Dell fanning her next to the bed. Anse, the father, blames the bad luck on the road next to his house. Vardaman, the youngest son comes up to the house with a large fish, proud of his catch, but is only told by his father to clean it out. For three dollars, the family decides to send Jewel and Darl to make a delivery for Mr. Tull, their neighbor. The problem is that Addie's death could very well come while they are away. However, they go and their condition is that they will come back by sundown of the next day.

Week 2 A- Sam B- Krista C- Kim D- Sung Jin and Tiffany Read up to page 100.

summary of the book: page 48 starts out with Darl talking. He is still on his journey with Jewel. He knows what is going on at the house, and how everyone is at Addie's bedside. Everyone is, obviously, upset. Darl then tells Jewel tha Addie is dead, even though they are not home. The narrative changes to Verdaman. He runs outside and cries. He thinks that Peabody was the reason for Addie's death. He then goes into the barn and beating Peabody's horses with a stick until they run off. Now Dewey Dell takes the narration point of view. When she is in the kitchen cooking dinner, Peabody comes in and announces that his horses have gotten loose. And instead of eating, Dewey Dell goes to look for Vedaman, who is missing. she finds him in a stall. Now, the narrator is Verdaman again. He stares at the coffin and is disturbed by the fact that Addie is going to be put in the coffin. The narration turns to Tull.  The storm is getting worse when he is woken up by a knock at the door. He finds Vardaman there, soaking wet and covered in mud. Vardaman talks incoherently of the fish that he caught earlier. After Cora and Tull bring Verdaman to his home, Tull helps finish the coffin with Cash. By morning they have it done and place Addie in it, and nail it shut. Throughout the chapter, Tull notes that Vardaman’s inexplicable behavior is God’s judgment upon Anse’s failures as a father and husband. At dawn, Cora and Tull return home. Cash then narrates why he made the coffin the way he did. Vardaman states that his mother, Addie, is a fish. Then, Tull returns as the narrator. Tull returns to the house and Anse greets them at the door. Tull goes behind the house, where Cash is plugging up the holes Vardaman made in the coffin. The family has laid Addie into the coffin backward to accommodate the flared bottom of her wedding dress, with her feet in place at the head end, and there is a mosquito net over her face to mask the drilled holes. the minister, arrives to perform the funeral as Tull is about to leave, and announces that the bridge has been washed away. The group discusses Addie’s desire to be buried in Jefferson, and notes Anse’s dedication to getting her body there. Darl takes the Narration. He and Jewel are delayed a few days because of an accident. Cash then is the narrator. Cash tries to explain to Jewel why the coffin will not balance, while Jewel curses at him to pick up the coffin regardless. Darl is the narrator next. Cash reiterates his reservation about the coffin being unbalanced, but Jewel continues to push forward, leaving Cash to hobble after the rest of the group. Jewel almost single-handedly muscles the coffin into the wagon bed, and then curses again out loud. Finally, Verdaman takes the final narration of this section. Vardaman is preparing to go to Jefferson with the rest of the family. After Darl states that Jewel’s mother is a horse, Vardaman wonders if that means his mother is a horse too, but Darl assures him otherwise. Cash brings his toolbox so he can work on Tull’s place on the way back, which Anse says is disrespectful. Anse becomes even more indignant when Dewey Dell brings a package of Mrs. Tull’s cakes to deliver to town.

1. Why do you think Addie called out Cash' name before she died? Sam- Maybe she wanted him to hurry up and get the coffin ready because she is about to die. Krista- She wants Cash to take responsibility. Tiffany- What Krista said.

2. Before, we had opinions about the characters. After reading some more and possibly taking on some Sparknotes, what do you think about them now? Darl is a lot more pensive than the others and thinks to himself rather than speaking out. And is wise. Jewel- He loved his mother but resented how died. Cash- He does carpentry to cope with his mother's death. Dewie Dell- She suffers from teenage pregnancy. Vardaman- His world shook when his mother died.

3. After the death of Addie, the rain picks up. Do you think this symbolizes anything? It's like the song Umbrella without the umbrella or the love and mix in a mother's death in there and we got it.

4. So far, which character do you relate most to and why? Sam- I can relate to Darl because I take things with patience. Krista- I can relate most to Vardaman because I would be upset if my mother died too.

5. What does Cash's list of the 13 reasons for slanting the edges of the coffin reveal about him? Sung Jin- He puts up a front of carpentry to cover up how much he's hurting.

Summary of Meeting~ Sam brought in Fig Newtons,Peanut M&M'S and Milano cookies for us to eat before we start. We all got at least one of each except for Sam herself who gave everyone else one of the Milano cookies for there were not enough. As we came to the end of munching, we got down to business. Tiffany started reading her questions as the group answered them. Following that, Sung Jin read his questions. Because of a reason, not saying what it is, we decided to write only five of the questions. Later on, we stopped discussing the book and just went on to do other things like Get a Clue.

Week 3 IMPORTANT: Krista please write the summary of the book for week 2. Kim please add another paragraph to the summary of the meeting for week 2. Tiffany please remember to bring food for week 3 because Sung Jin may forget to.

Anyway: Please read up to page 150. Jobs: A: Sung Jin and Tiffany B: Sam C: Krista D: Kim

Summary of the meeting: Well first, we all sat and talked about what color the book was to us. we all agreed that the book's color was a deep green gray. we decided this because it was originally made to be a southern gothic book and we felt that it just seemed right. Then, we ate the food that sung jin and Tiffany brought in for us. after we ate, we answered the questions that Kim provided us with. After that, we talked about the book some more and found that there were still some confusing parts for some people. Everyone helped in explaining what happened. Everyone participated in conversations and questions.

Questions: 1:Do you think that the family is going to cross the river alive? A:We think that they will all make it across because they are fighting for their mother and also, it wouldn't make much of a story if they all drowned. Maybe one or two will die. 2:Why do you think Jewel is being so difficult? A: Struggling with the fact that his mother is dead and to accept that fact, Jewel does not want to take the coffin to its final resting place. 3:Why do you think Dewie Dell was reminiscing about the summer when Jewel acted so tired? A: 4:Why do you think Mr. Tull, as helpful as he is, did not want his mule to get in the water to help? A: I think that as much as Tull wanted to help, the waters were dangerous, this was not his mother, he was not Cora, and this was his mule. He just did not want to risk it. 5:What do you think will happen to Jewel? A:

Summary of the book- After the funeral of their mother the family decides to finally set out to Jefferson. It was their mother's wish to be buried in the town, so they're respecting her wish and bringing her there. They traveled in a wagon with the coffin built by Cash set in the middle. Jewel felt sick of the thought of sitting so close to her coffin so he traveled separately than the family, on his own horse. Anse, the father, wasn't too fond of this idea, because his mother didn't like the horse. As they were traveling along they faced an issue. Since it had been raining non-stop the past few days, the bridge was flooded over. The only way to get to where they were going was to cross the river. They struggled to find an answer to their problem, but they finally tried to cross the river. Anse, Dewey Dell, Vardaman and Tull crossed first. Jewel, Darl, and Cash were left with the job of bringing across the coffin. The river's current was strong and they couldn't bring the coffin across. It was lost in the water. IMPORTANT: I did some of the answers and week 2's summary of the meeting. Sam please do the summary of the book for this week.

Week 4: A: Kim B: Sung Jin and Tiffany C: Sam D: Krista

Please read up to page 197.

QUESTIONS: Summary of the Meeting! No one brought food, so we were kinda hungry. But that's okay. Krista was enthusiastic to share her questions with us. They were very open-ended and allowed us to give detailed answers. They gave us deeper insight into the book and helped share our understandings/interpretations. Also, there was a fire drill.... and Sung Jin did not read the whole section because he fell asleep while reading it. Shameful....
 * 1) How would you describe the relationships among different members of the family? How do the siblings feel about each other?
 * 2) They all feel different towards Jewel. They all get along well, but they aren't a happy family. Jewel doesn't feel like a part of it because he is their half brother.
 * 3) In what ways is this novel realistic and in what ways is it symbolic?
 * 4) It is realistic because aware of all the actions going on. The overall situation is symbolic.
 * 5) What does //As I Lay Dying// reveal about how people deal with death and grieving?
 * 6) As an example, cash occupies himself with a hobby of some sort, such a carpentry. this could mean that people occupy themselves with activities to not feel their loss.
 * 7) After a family member dies, the family respects that person 100 percent and they try to fulfill every wish that they had. like how Addie wanted to go to Jefferson, so they brought her there.
 * 8) Do you find this novel hopeful or pessimistic? Why?
 * 9) Pessimistic because a series of negative events keep occurring. Also, everyone has a grim personality.
 * 10) Why do you think Addie's chapter is placed where it is? How does her chapter change your earlier perceptions of the Bundren family? For example, how well did Cora really know Addie?
 * 11) I think it is places there because we all have this image at this point that Addie is a great mom and she takes care of them, but in reality, she thought negatively about life and hated everyone. Also, after reading this chapter, a lot of things have been clarified.
 * 12) This changes the earlier perceptions because it makes you think more about what they are going through.
 * 13) Cora really didn't know or understand her well.

Summary of the book! Darl, Cash, and Jewel all get in to or are already in the river in chase for the coffin that slipped out of the wagon when it fell in the middle of the river. The whole fiasco ends up with an unconscious Cash with a broken leg, and an entire team of mules dead. Fortunately, Anse goes to stay at a friend's, Armstid's, house. There is a section in the book where we see an overview of a part of Addie's life. It turns out that Addie actually was not the caring mother she was thought to be. Quite the contrary, she did not exactly //like// her husband, she had an affair with the //priest// Whitfield, which resulted with the born bastard child, Jewel, and her last two children were seen as "payments" to her husband for "emotional debt" as SparkNotes says. Back to the family, Cash's leg is reset by a horse doctor that Jewel finds and Cash himself passes out from the process. Also, it turns out, Anse mortgaged some equipment from the farm, has sold some of Cash's possessions, gave away his dental funds and sold Jewel's horse in order to buy a team of mules to replace the dead one. After learning that his father sold the horse that did not belong to his father and instead, to Jewel, Jewel cursed and rode off with the horse. It seemed that he was going to run away with it, but the horse was found alone in the land of the person who was selling the team of mules.

Week 5! THIS IS IT PEOPLE!!!

JOBS: A: KRISTA B: KIM C: SUNG JIN AND TIFFANY D: SAM

READ THE REST OF THE BOOK!

Questions!~ 1. What do you think made Darl lose his mind? The death of his mother was finally catching up to him. It takes a while for the death of a loved one to hit sometimes. 2. Their father, Anse, may show care and love for his family, but what are some negative characteristics that cause a burden to the family? He doesn't love and care for them, he replaced his wife easily, he was lazy, and led Cash to more harm. 3. Cash had an idea that god was trying to take Addie away from them. Do you agree? If so, explain. Yes, God played a big part, because on the way to Jefferson they were hit with so much misfortune and bad luck. 4. Do you think Dewey Dell is intelligent? No she's very slow, and she's naive. She'll do anything to get an abortion, and isn't aware that she was given a fake medication. 5. Do you think Vardaman, at such a young age, is being negatively effected by all of these occurrences? Yes, his mother just died, Darl lost his mind, and Cash was seriously injured. Also his father brings a new woman home to them and Vardaman will surely have a hard time accepting this.

Summary of the Meeting! Predictably, our group did not have snacks. However, a couple of our members went on to the Q&A shown above. Of course after running out of questions, our group transitioned to the "do whatever we want," stage. In this stage, Sam was on her computer doing whatever Sam does on her computer, Tiffany was drawing a colorful design in her notebook, Sung Jin made origami which Tiffany promptly colored, and the writer of this summary cannot exactly say for sure what the others did during this stage. Anyway, besides some food mooched from other groups, nothing significant really happened. For Sung Jin, that is a fitting ending to the book club for some reason he does not care to know.