In “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner, there are numerous literary aspects to this book that he uses to make it the great work that it is. One of these aspects is the themes present in this story. These themes are the crux of the real message Faulkner is trying to portray. The themes present in this book are: family, isolation, obligation to serve, perception, poverty, man's relationship with nature and death. There are many themes in “As I Lay Dying,” which Faulkner uses to strengthen his story and engage readers by getting them to think about the underlying meanings that fill this book. The first theme is that of family. In this book the family is not something celebrated, it is a painful and unpleasant idea. In this remote Mississippi family, there is little to no communication between its members, and when that happens there is always tension. This tension is especially present with brothers and sisters, who do their best to earn each other's mother's attention and love. Vardaman is the child who does not have the same father as the other brothers, and while he still wants everything from his mother that the others get, this makes the situation even more tense. On the outside it seems that all the family members are working together to bring the mother to the city, but in reality they are all doing it for personal gain. All this thriving for personal gain is hidden by the “good deeds” they are doing and the so-called devotion they have. Even though it seems bad for the whole family, it is especially bad for women. In this book, their only real reason for existing is as a means of reproduction, and nothing more. This is a d... half of paper... In her life, Addie had become so fed up with Anse that he had become dead to her. These different types of death and different perceptions of it are just another theme that Faulkner used to put his book together. Faulkner uses all these themes in a very good way, a way that makes “As I Lay Dying” the great book IT IS. These themes are constructed in a way that really gets the point he is trying to convey to his readers. Through themes, Faulkner is able to show his readers true emotions and a type of writing that not many readers get to see. With the way he is so descriptive with his writing, readers are able to paint a picture in their mind of what is happening in the story, just by reading the words. Overall, Faulkner uses these themes successfully, and I feel that without them “As I Lay Dying” would not be the great work that it is...