Failed Family Facade

    As I Lay Dying is a complex story of of misunderstood characters told through various perspectives that demonstrate the characters' perceptions of one another. The Bundrens are each going through their own emotional journey but their methods of expression are very different from each other, making it hard for them to interpret each other's actions. Thus, most chapters are filled with the narrator being confused about or annoyed with another character. The different judgements from all the characters force the reader to corroborate stories from unreliable narrators to ultimately form their own perception of and opinion on the book's reality. Depending on how one chooses to interpret these tales, the Bundrens have the potential to be heroes or villains. However, I don't think they're either; I think they're people who are struggling through life and drew an unlucky hand. Their judgements of each other aren't fundamental truths but rather skewed perspectives that result from extremely different views of the world. Individually, they could each thrive in a given community, but their perspectives clash when they come together.

    A key cause of the Bundren family's clashing is their lack of trust and communication. Jewel is a very reserved character, which tends to disconnect him from his family. He comes off even more reserved to the reader because he only had one 2-page chapter where his thoughts were shared. He also has some of his thoughts shared through Darl's seemingly psychic abilities. These thoughts are often a little skewed, though. Jewel often takes his own initiative without discussing it with people first, which shows when they are trying to cross the river and when he is trying to get a horse. Jewel's disconnect with his family is further emphasized by his desire for a horse when he works every night to save up for it. This seem like a reasonable task that his family might encourage him to do, but Jewel didn't feel comfortable enough with any family member to share his secret. Jewel's fears were solidified by his father's reaction to him coming home with a horse. Anse's (Jewel's father) first response was: "You went behind my back and bought a horse...you bought a horse or me to feed" (Faulkner 136). He wasn't proud of Jewel for working hard or happy for Jewel for getting what he wanted but rather upset that he might have more work to do. Jewel retorts by referring to the horse and saying, "He wont never eat a mouthful of yours...I'll kill him first" (136). This creates a tense interaction within the family because of differing values and general poor relationships, which serves as an emblematic scene for the Bundren family dynamic. 

    Vardaman poses a completely unique perspective, taking on a much more carefree and happy mindset. Even in the midst of the tense interaction between Anse and Jewel regarding the horse, Vardaman's first reaction is saying, "'Let me ride, Jewel'" (Faulkner 136). He is quickly ignored, indicating his family's discouragement of his openness. Vardaman often shares, but no one is willing or patient enough to listen to him. This is a poor combination with the silent brooding Jewel, which is further worsened by Anse's need to be self-sufficient. Anse frequently refuses help stating that "He aint never been beholden to no man" (116). This creates many inconveniences like sleeping in a barn instead of a bed because Anse doesn't want to be in debt to anyone. Adding to the mix, Cash presents a different story because he expresses more emotions but isn't always good with words or interactions. He diligently made the coffin and is determined to bury his mother in Jackson even though he has a broken leg. Cash repeatedly says, "It dont bother me none" (208), as his family improperly treats and worsens his injury. This shows his strong love for  and dedication to his mother in spite of his journey's hardships. This is a continuation of his diligence when making his mother's coffin-- something Cash worked at day and night per his mother's request. Yet in Jewel's meager 2 pages of thoughts, his focus is on how he doesn't like that Cash builds the coffin in front of their mom, "knocking and sawing where she can see him" (14), implying that Cash is basically shoving death in their mom's face. Jewel takes Cash's act of love and skews it into a negative action, but their lack of the ability to communicate prevents them from resolving this disconnect and understanding each other. 

    The final Bundren child, Dewey Dell, is pregnant but not in a marriage. This is an incredibly large secret to carry on one's own, but she feels she has no one to tell. She isn't even willing to tell the doctor, thinking, "he could do so much for me and he dont know it" (Faulkner 59). This shows how isolated and helpless Dewey Dell feels, but she can't even turn to her family for help. These ideas are all solidified by Addie Bundren being "Glad to go" (23), implying an eagerness to die. She disliked her kids and played favorites, inevitably causing divides among the children. This fostered an "every man for themselves" mindset as a means for survival, which is shown when each of them has their own ulterior motives for burying Addie in town. Despite their extreme disconnect, none of the Bundrens try to bridge a gap between their perspectives, which is solidifies with Addie's opinion that language is meaningless. This means that each of the Bundrens has their own words to describe life, but those words will always have different meanings, rendering them meaningless and the Bundrens forever unable to understand one another. The Bundrens try to appear to the public as a cohesive family, but they ultimately fail, which can be seen in the many outside perspectives provided in the book. The neighbors and random passerbys find the Bundrens strange, but they are just misunderstood by outsiders and each other. Thus, I don't think any Bundren is a hero or a villain; they are simply confused individuals trying to put up the face of being a family.