Jewel the outsider-maybe actually the insider?
Throughout As I Lay Dying , I’ve found the entire Burden family to be rather non-cohesive. They don’t confide in each other, they seem to show no sense of camaraderie whatsoever, and anytime they do interact, they seem to be in some sort of argument. I thought each child was equally as distant from the family as the others but throughout the reading it seemed as though Jewel was the exception. Jewel narrates only one chapter in the entire story, thus I originally thought he would be a rather minor character, especially since he seemed emotionally detached from other humans. During the journey to bury Addie he rides separately from the rest of the family, he doesn’t talk to anyone unless it is vital. As the narrative went on though, more and more often Jewel was brought up; thus indicating his importance to the story. Though Darl refers to him as “wooden and solid”, Jewel seems like the thread that keeps the family tethered to Addie and the goal of their trip. Though Jewel is ...
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