Cash And Jewel Bundren example essay topic

What is As I lay dying? As I lay dying is a weird book. It is fifty-nine chapters long, and told from the perspectives of sixteen different speakers. One chapter is only one sentence long, but most are two to three pages.

The sixteen characters all narrate differently. Some, especially those in the same family, are fairly similar, but some are completely unique. The characters are named things like "Dewey Dell Bundren,' "Vardaman Bundren,' and "Lafe. ' Some of the book is apparently intended to be humorous, but not everyone finds it funny.

The overall effect is very confusing at first. The title doesn't help things much. The main character, whose death is in question, dies in the first third of the book. She narrates a chapter afterwards.

What is As I lay dying about? The book describes the journey of the Bundren family, who live on a farm, in the country, to bury Addie Bundren. When the book begins, she is dying, and the rest of the family (her four sons, husband, and one daughter) is preparing to take her to Jefferson. Anse, her husband, promised to bury her in Jefferson. The journey is delayed some time, while Darl and Jewel, two of the sons, are away with the team of mules. Because of this delay, and because Darl and Jewel lose a wheel from the wagon, the family doesn't set out until three days after Addie's death.

This means that Addie is already beginning to rot when they leave for Jefferson. No one in the family mentions it, but we can tell, because other characters talk about it, and also because of the buzzards. The family is pursued by buzzards, at first just one, but later more and more. Toward the end of the novel, Addie is so rotten that passers-by cry out in horror. The family faces many difficulties on the road to Jefferson. Because of a powerful thunderstorm, the first bridge they attempt to cross is washed away.

They than try to cross another bridge, which is physically intact, but swamped by water. A dramatic struggle ensues, during which Cash's tools are thrown into the water, and Addie's coffin is saved only by Jewel's (almost superhuman) strength. They recover most of Cash's tools, but he has also broken his leg. Because their mules were drowned in the river, the family suffers another delay. They could have borrowed a neighbor's team, but Anse, desiring "not to be beholden,' arranges to trade for a new team. He offers a mortgage on some of his farm equipment, and some of the family's most treasured possessions.

He steals Jewel's horse, which Jewel nearly killed himself to earn the money to buy, and he steals money that Cash has been saving, to buy a record player, and he gives these, and the money that he has been saving to buy dentures, and they receive a team of mules. After this, they travel in a round-about route towards Jefferson. They stop at a town, to get some cement, to fix Cash's leg. Dewey Dell also goes to a pharmacy, to attempt to get an abortion. The pharmacist refuses her. As a result of their dialogue, we learn that she is pregnant, and that her baby's father gave her ten dollars to pay for an abortion with.

While she is in the pharmacy, the other family members attempt to buy the cement. Addie now smells so bad that they attract a sizable crowd, all of whom, although they don't know the Bundren, want Addie buried immediately, and want the family to leave their town. After getting the cement, they do leave, but they continue on towards Jefferson. They stop at a farm, before they get to Jefferson.

A fire breaks out, in the middle of the night. The barn is burnt down, but there is little other damage, thanks mostly to Jewel's will power. After this, they have finally come to Jefferson. Dewey Dell changes into nice clothes, and goes into another pharmacy. Here, a junior pharmacist is attracted to her, and he pretends to offer her an abortion.

He gives her some liquid from an unmarked bottle, and talcum powder in capsules. In exchange, he arranges to have sex with her. The family needs to borrow a shovel, to bury Addie, so Anse goes and gets one. Although the burial is never discussed, it is completed by the time the take Cash to a doctor. He is horrified with the treatment of Cash's leg, and attempts to undo some of the damage, for which he blames Anse. Darl is at this point revealed to have set fire to the barn.

Somehow, the owner of the barn has discovered this fact, and the only way they can avoid being sued is to have Darl sent to an insane asylum. It is not entirely clear why he sets fire to the barn. Possibly, he is simply tired of the horrible journey, and wants to burn his mother's corpse, so as to end it. In any case, once he is declared crazy, he begins to act the part somewhat.

He narrates one chapter describing his journey to the insane asylum, and he certainly sounds like a crazy person in it. However, he does not sound crazy when describing the fire. After this, the remaining family members go to return the borrowed shovels, which they had used to did Addie's grave. Pa takes a while returning the shovels, just as he did borrowing them, and when he returns, it is with a "duck-shaped woman' (I don't think anyone knows what that means) with new dentures in his mouth, and carrying a phonograph.

While the family is absorbing and pondering the realization of the dentures, he introduces the woman". ' It's Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell,' Pa says, kind of hangdog and proud too, with his teeth and all, even if he wouldn't look at us. ' Meet Mrs. Bundren,' he says. ' This ends the book, so we have no explanation of who this woman is, other than pa's new wife, but as Mrs. Bundren, she will presumably assume Addie's roles in the household.

Who are the characters? Addie Bundren is the main character. Her death and burial are the events (event?) that drive the book. She is wife to Anse Bundren, and mother to Darl, Dewey Dell, Cash, and Jewel Bundren. Jewel is her favorite, because he was the result of an affair with a minister Whitfield.

Addie was disgusted with Anse, and felt that he was dishonest, in his use of words like love. She also felt confined by him, and she felt that their marriage was a benefit for him, and a burden for her. Cash Bundren is the oldest Bundren child. He is very interested in engineering and woodwork. His leg was broken before the book, and it is broken again on the bridge. It sustains further damage, because the family doesn't treat it properly right away.

Anse steals his money as part of the trade for the new team of mules. Darl narrates a great deal of the book. He is Addie's second son. He is apparently crazy, although it's difficult to say when he becomes so.

He demonstrates awareness of events from afar, and narrates his mother's death, both to us and to Jewel, without seeing it visually. He is also aware of Dewey Dell's pregnancy, and the fact that Jewel is his half brother. Jewel is Addie's third son. He is aloof, and often displays superhuman strength, which is apparently driven by superhuman emotion. His feelings toward Addie are unclear. Darl, apparently thinking Jewel insufficiently responsive, informs him "it's not your horse that's dead Jewel.

' On the other hand, all but one of his superhuman feats are in Addie's defense. Anse is Addie's husband. He generally refuses to work, on the grounds that if he ever sweats, he will die. Darl explains this to the reader, and adds "I suppose he believes it.

' Anse's laziness has apparently caused him to develop ways of getting other people to work for him, and help him out. One of the Bundren's neighbors observes that all their neighbors have "helped Anse out for too long to stop now. ' Anse also manages to get "Mrs. Bundren' to marry him, in a very brief courtship. Dewy Dell is Addie's daughter.

She is pregnant by Lafe (no last name) and tries to get an abortion on the trip. She fails. Vardaman is Addie's youngest son. He is the most obviously grief-stricken by her death.

He confuses her with a fish which they ate for dinner the night of her death, and begins to lament eating the fish. He also narrates a chapter whose entire text is "My mother is a fish. ' Some of the themes in As I lay dying include: replacement and renewal, country and town, laziness, inertia, and stubbornness, and the difficulty of accepting life. Although Faulkner intended the book to be a tour-de-force, it is also important to remember that one of the most important themes is humor. Different people find different things in the book funny, and some of the jokes may be perceived as pretty sick, but if you really get into the book, you should laugh out loud at least once reading it.