Addie Bundren Essays - As I Lay Dying, Modernist Literature

Addie Bundren Essays - As I Lay Dying, Modernist Literature Addie Bundren Addie Bundren conjures up the central darkness derived from her death and directly or indirectly causes actions in which each Bundren character takes advantage of Addie. With the character's actions revolving around her death, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying reveals the truth about the people who surround a person may take advantage of him or her. The death of Addie Bundren shapes all of the character's actions in life including Addie's final request before her death. Addie takes advantage of her death by using it for revenge and inflicting final pains upon some characters, while the other characters use her to get what they want for their personal needs. Addie causes all the painful actions around her family either directly or indirectly. Addie is foremost the prominent abuser of her upcoming death in As I Lay Dying. She predetermines her time to die, and she makes sure that the people in her family whom she dislikes must experience her wrath before she moves on to the next life. "Addie is the one who is dying, but she makes revenges run throughout the family and extend beyond" (Wadlington 35). Inflicting pain mostly on Anse, Addie enjoys herself. Anse, a lazy man, is forced by his wife to take her to Jefferson to be buried as her final request. Addie's revenge on Anse was payback for all the times when he just sat around while Addie, her children, and sometimes neighbors do all the hard work for him. Also "Addie reacts to Anse's arid conventionality by having a clandestine affair with minister Whitfield" (Wadlington 31). Addie also indirectly hurts one of her favorite sons, Cash. Cash is hurt indirectly when he helps ! his kinfolk carry his mother's coffin to Jefferson, where along the path, he breaks his leg while crossing a flooded river. Although Cash is one of Addie's favorites besides Jewel, Addie's cruel revenge carries over to Cash's broken leg, which later becomes infected. Besides her indirect action on Cash's leg, Cash is the most favorite of Addie. As Wadlington states, "He is very much his mother's son in expressing his feelings through physical action rather than through words by building a coffin for the mother he loves" (Wadlington 41). Jewel, Addie's second favorite next to Cash, seems to be cursed by his callous mother. Jewel can only express himself through physical actions by being cruel. Yelling and screaming is the only way Jewel shows his love for his mother, but Jewel's ferocity begins to wear him down physically. Saving his mother's coffin from going downstream and rescuing the coffin from the burning barn were some ways Jewel showed his love, although those actions are quite extreme because Jewel could have been killed. Addie's revenge could have killed Jewel, but luckily it did not happen. Addie's revenge also affects her little son Vardaman. Teaching of the world is usually the mother's job in the family especially on Addie's case since Anse is a lazy bum. As "for Vardaman, his "unknowingness" comes from his mother's death compounded by his family's failure to communicate reassurance and explanation to him" (Wadlington 56). Addie did not teach him what was in the world and manners; so as a result, when his mother dies, Vardaman confused his mother's death with a dead fish he caught that day. Vardaman's manners are reckless against Dr. Peabody when he came to nurse Addie. Vardaman action was quite extreme when he tried to chase the doctor away because Vardaman is quite irrational in not understanding that Dr. Peabody did not kill his mother. Dewey Dell, Addie's daughter, is deprived of a central motherly figure. Addie's action in not caring enough for her daughter leads her to become irresponsible with Lafe where Lafe impregnates Dewey Dell. Darl, one of Addie's least favorites, is rejected by his mother which "injured him psychologically" and led him to burn the barn where Addie's coffin lay resting in peace (Wadlington 30). Darl is sent to an asylum for that demented deed, but could have been prevented if Addie showed more affection toward Darl. Darl is gradually revealed as a rejected son who feels that his mother is not even alive because he calls her