I've been having a hard time writing blog posts for this section. I really have. I think the reason is because I really don't feel like I can connect to any of the characters in As I Lay Dying, and being able to relate to a character is one of the biggest things I look forward to in a novel.
I feel like I don't even have to explain why I don't like Addie, as my last post was entirely about that. Anse, however, is so dweeby. And lame. And ugh. I really don't like him. I began the book thinking awfully of him -- he is not a good father whatsoever. I was starting to feel for him because of the way Addie treated him. However, what he did to Jewel took my sympathy right away: Jewel worked so hard for his horse and Anse just gave it away without consulting him ! I don't understand how someone can do that! The horse meant so much to Jewel!
Speaking of Jewel, if I was going to like anyone in the novel it would be him right now. The fact that Jewel went off by himself and took his horse to Snopes for the sake of getting his mom's body to Jefferson to be buried. I can't seem to forget about how Jewel seems spoiled, though. Plus, his seeming lack of caring when his mother died, while it might have something to do with his way of dealing with the trauma, is off-putting.
There's nothing bad, per say, about Cash, but there are some areas of his personality that are worrying. I feel like Cash has tried to replace his unfortunate family life with work. He works even when he's injured, and that kind of causes me to worry about both his physical and emotional health. I guess it's good that he's so incredibly hardworking but the fact that he puts himself at risk is an unfortunate result.
Dewey Dell worries me as well. It's not really her fault, and we talked a little in class about her lack of general sex ed and role models, but I have no idea what how she's going to end up what with her being pregnant and all. I guess I need to hear more from her point of view to get a better read on her, but so far, even though I don't dislike her, she is not one that I can relate to.
Now we get to Darl, who on one hand is kind of my favorite and on the other is a douchebag. Darl is mentioned to be queer and strange and kinda freaky, which I find almost endearing. We also see from Cora that he is a 'sweetheart' and cares about his mother. However, we only see that from Cora's point of view and, as such, don't know whether that is an accurate depiction of him. Additionally, him being seemingly omnipotent is pretty cool but also extremely creepy. Why does Darl get to know everything that's going on? Also, why is he so rude about it? He is very unsympathetic towards both Dewey Dell and Jewel, and I feel like he should be able to handle himself better.
I left Vardaman for last because he's the youngest and I honestly have no idea what's up with him. Honestly, I said early that I like Jewel the most in this novel, but Vardaman is the one I sympathize with (for?) the most. He's just a young child with a family practically set on self-destruction. His life had been in shambles from the start and now it seems to be falling down and he has no idea what to make of it. Vardaman needs the most support right now, and absolutely no one is giving it to him. Honestly, we see more interaction between the him and the Tulls than we do with his own family. Vardaman always runs off and is without supervision; I'm pretty sure there were multiple occasions in the novel where he could have gotten lost or killed and no one would've really even noticed. He's also dead set that his mother is a fish, which is really weird.
Basically, this family needs help and I'd be extremely worried about what a a psych evaluation of this family would result in.
Yeah, I can't say I really relate to any of the characters in the book either -- they come off as kind of caricatures at some points, although I don't really mind that because at least they're interesting. I agree with you about Vardaman -- because he's so young he comes across as more a confused little kid than really weird, so it's easy to have sympathy for him.
ReplyDeleteDoes the family really need help? I don't think so-- the family has been going through so many things and I think it's really the fact that they don't have a lot of money, both the parents didn't do any good parenting, Anse doesn't work (so how can he set a good example). Because of this, Dewey Dell makes her mistake with Lafe, Cash (who has to do all the work instead of in the combination with Anse) is exhausted by his work and ends up ruining his leg which screws him up, Vardaman is getting exposed to so many things at this small age, Jewel has to sell of his hard worked horse and works outside to earn this horse. What I'm trying to say is that all these people could have had much better lives if two things had happened: if Anse and Addie had done better parenting and if the family had a little more money. But the parenting is the biggest issue, in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteThere are ways to engage a novel--or any narrative art--apart from "relating" to a character. Maybe your position is more akin to those on Samson's porch, watching this wagon-spectacle go by outside, and scratching your head in bemusement. It's probably safe to say that you're not the first person to respond to this novel like this--the Bundrens are hard for their peers and neighbors to relate to, and most readers of Faulkner would have found this world to be bizarre and alien. But maybe there's interest in trying to cross that gap somehow, to put ourselves more in the minds of these people (which is one effect of the multiple narrators).
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