Stream of Conscioucness - Literary Techniques

During the period of literature i am studying for English one of the more common styles used for writing at this time was Stream of Consciousness. The definition is; In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode that seeks to portray an individuals point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions. From what i have read so far in As I Lay Dying the story is described through the random thoughts of the person narrating. It is hard to follow as there are many leaps in syntax and punctuation that makes the book seem unfinished or that it skips parts. Instead of a character narrtarouing the actions of the plot of the book they describe through fragmentary and some feelings. In Stream of consciousness, the speaker's thought processes are more overheard in the mind and is primarily a fictional device. As well it makes for a hard read as you often drift off in the character's thought process yourself.