Throughout As I Lay Dying, the Bundren family is continually bombarded with obstacles of every kind, many of which are caused by Anse's illogical decisions that, apart from being morally questionable at times, inflict more problems, such that, at the root of these varied problems, is the idea of transporting Addie's body to Jefferson at her request. The truth is that, as Addie hated Anse as well as the rest of the family (except for Jewel, a product of an adulterous relationship with the minister), I find it ridiculous that Anse is willing to spend time, resources and risk his well-being, yet I also see that Anse was likely blind to Addie's truth feelings to him as well as her moral character, thus he reluctantly decides to transport her corpse to her hometown. In a way, there is a nobility in the idea of his journey, yet the way in which he executes his travel is quite unvirtuous as he is seen robbing from his children while denying the charity of others to increase his ego.
Of course, every member of the family has ulterior motives for the expedition to bury the family matriarch, including economic reasons, yet also, in the example of Dewey Dell, for personal reasons such as to terminate her pregnancy. Overall, each person has a reason for making the journey other than to fulfill Addie's dying wish, thus they lose some dignity over wanting to use the opportunity of a family member's death in order to better their lives in either economic or social ways.
In conclusion, although Anse originally intends for his voyage to be one based on virtue, a noble journey to fulfill his wife's final wish, I find that various details of the novel detract from the original motive and reason such that we find Anse exhibiting the ridiculous behavior of taking his children's wealth, refusing people's hospitality and other such senseless actions, ergo disproving the theory of a noble reason behind the Bundren family's trip. Anse also shows a kind arrogance when he refuses to take the advice of his neighbors, seeing his truth as the only one, therefore adding to the sheer ridiculous yet noble nature of the venture, while the unrighteous details only reinforce an absurd expedition.
Cash wants a gramophone. Dewey Dell wants an abortion. Vardaman wants a toy train.
ReplyDeleteDarl and Jewel don't want anything.
It's Anse who is despicable. He just came for the false teeth and the contents of the house with the gramophone... It's Anse's fault that they're on the journey and now he's destroyed the family.
You beat me to it. Anse is the source of the problem. All this happens because of Anse's behaviour and his want for a new wife and false teeth. Yes Cash wants a gramophone, yes he doesn't get it. What does he get in return? He get's screwed over for the rest of his "life." Dewey Dell wanted an abortion, in exchange she gets just the opposite. Darl gets sent to an institution (and we all what really goes on in there, I mean, these people don't have any money, so he isn't going into any great place for sure), Vardaman is a small boy who is getting exposed to these things even though he shouldn't be. Anse is the person who really messes everything up, I completely agree with CR on this.
DeleteAll of your points are very sound, but nonetheless, it is really hard for me to completely blame Anse. We do get his viewpoint, and he certainly did not seem malicious about his intentions. He is just so out of it all the time, but he doesn't really choose to be this way.
DeleteI do feel like Anse has a loving intent at heart with taking Addie to be buried…look at how he awkwardly tried to comfort Addie on her deathbed, while she refused to look at him. This shows the difference and the unreciprocated love between the two. I understand Anses's secondary motives as well, to an extent. Especially in Anse's case, a trip to town is a big deal, so it wouldn't make much sense for Anse to go into town to just bury Addie. I don't see his actions as despicable…I see his actions as a sincere attempt to do what he thought Addie would want. We know that Anse isn't the brightest nor the best, and I think that's what too many of expected out of him. There were going to be problems on the trip. I didn't think they would be as big ones as they were, but I strongly doubt that Anse did this just for his own gain.
DeleteIn a way, Anse is to blame for much of what occurs as he is the one who has the final decision, and he is of such a prideful nature that he refuses to take advice or aid from strangers, thus I would blame a large part of the obstacles on Anse. Regardless, others in the family also have their motives for going.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible that a journey--or maybe any extended, challenging endeavor--can be both noble *and* absurd simultaneously? That our insistence upon carrying on despite being the butt of the universe's joke, and despite the fact that our struggles are ludicrous when viewed from the outside, carries with it a stubborn assertion of our humanity in the face of absurdity? Is this maybe one way of understanding heroism--conveyed neatly by Anse with his phrase "Aint no luck in turning back"?
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