Cover of As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying

by William Faulkner

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Assigned across 1 curriculum list

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is assigned in US schools at grades 11–12. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where As I Lay Dying is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 11–12
Age range
Ages 16–17
Pages
250
Reading time
about 4h 35m (est.)
First published
1915
Genre
Realistic Fiction
ISBN-13
9780394702544

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

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About this book

Written in stream-of-consciousness style with multiple narrators, the story follows a journey wherein the family of a dead woman try to transport her body to her birthplace in Mississippi in accordance with her wishes. When a ford across a river is flooded they are forced to take a roundabout route and it becomes a desperate race to complete their mission before the body begins to decompose.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like As I Lay Dying→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 11–12. Written in the 1910s; pairs with curriculum units on american manuscripts and death; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

american manuscripts · death · burial · open library staff picks

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is As I Lay Dying?
As I Lay Dying is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 11–12. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read As I Lay Dying?
It takes about 4h 35m to read As I Lay Dying (250 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 275 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign As I Lay Dying?
As I Lay Dying appears on reading lists for Common Core State Standards (ELA). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is As I Lay Dying banned in schools?
As I Lay Dying does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
What themes does As I Lay Dying explore?
Central themes in As I Lay Dying include american manuscripts, death, burial, open library staff picks. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 11–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.

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