The novel, As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner is composed of narrations by individual characters in the story that use their own personal experiences to describe what is occurring throughout the book. Each character in the novel has his or her own voice and opinions as they tell story of Addie Bundren's death and the family's consequential trip to town. However, despite this wide array of narrations, the novel cannot be called objective. The characters' monologues provide a variety of viewpoints, but each one's subjectivity does not necessarily lead to the objectivity of the novel.
Most of the narrations in the novel have opposing beliefs and ideas. Although almost all of the characters participate in the same events, their own histories and personal thoughts often cause them to formulate extremely different views about the same situation. The story actually becomes somewhat of a compilation of "half-truths." The current narrator and what he or she considers to be true shape each set of events. The narrators believe that what they are saying and thinking is reality. However, it is really very little more than their perception of the truth, and this makes each passage exceedingly subjective. A prime example of a character's views opposing the true situation is the relationship and lack of understanding between Cora and Darl. Cora narrates, "He did not answer. He just stood there and looked at his dying mother, his heart too full for words"(25). Cora mistakenly believes that Darl is a loving son who cares so much about his mother that he is unable to express it. She believes that his mother unfairly favored her other son Jewel and that Darl should have been the "chosen" child. The reader comes to understand, however, that this is far from the truth. Although Darl certainly seems to care somewhat for his mother, he is not quite the son that Cora believes him to be. He is actually fairly indifferent to his mother when he is trying to determine whether or not to make the trip for the three-dollar load and risk not being there when Addie dies.