William Faulkner Repetition Era
One prominent theme throughout As I Lay Dying is Faulkner’s use of repetition. For example, there are several mentions of the vultures in the sky circling Addie’s coffin. In the first few chapters, we also see the repeated auditory image of Cash sawing Addie’s coffin and Anse massaging his legs over and over again. I think these repeated, almost hypnotic sounds and movements, and the repetition of repetition itself throughout the chapters, are characteristics of the presence of animal magnetism in the novel. If you recall the Mental Floss article on animal magnetism we read in class, animal magnetism "exists in all of us as a magnetized liquid—one that empowers us, of course, but that can also form dangerous clots that will give your cosmic alignment the spins” (Burns). Animal magnetism connects all living things, and when a person’s magnetism is blocked, they are said to be prone to various forms of physical and psychological distress. Treatment for these blockages in