Tuesday, February 9, 2010

As I Lay Dying motifs pages 85-168

Due by Wednesday night pumpkin time.

1. Write your first name, last initial, and motif.

2. List every reference to the motif you have found. Write the chapter name (the name of the narrator), a short description, and the page number. For example, if the motif is "eyes" you might write "Darl (re: Jewel's eyes--like wood) 4; Cora (re: Addie's eyes--like candles & blank) 8 and 9; [etc.]"

3. Choose two quotations that seem especially significant to the novel so far. Type the whole quotation, include the chapter name (the name of the narrator) and page number.

4. Write one paragraph (about 100 words) analyzing the significance of the motif in the first quotation and another paragraph (same length) analyzing the significance of the motif in the second quotation.

5. Write a third paragraph (about 100 words) exploring the significance of the motif in the novel so far.

6. Write a fourth paragraph (about 100 words) exploring the significance of the motif in relation to another motif. Make direct reference to comments made by your peers who is tracking this other motif.

35 comments:

Andrew's Balla Blog said...

Andrew R. responses to trauma

Darl pg. 95 “I cannot love… a horse.”

Darl pg 98 “Wait, Jewel… Goddamn you.”

Vardaman pg. 101 “Jewel’s mother is…cant it Darl? I said”

Anse pg 105 “I told him… blood.”

Anse pg. 106 “I just looked back at Darl setting there laughing.”

Samson pg. 117 “Who’s talking about him…down the country.”

Dewey Dell pg. 120 “I heard…too soon.”

Vardaman pg. 151 “I passed Vernon…wouldn’t help.”

Darl pg. 156 “Jewel approaches…misfortunate man.”

Darl pg. 159 “If we just knowed… Vernon says.”

First Quotation

Darl pg. 157 “Jewel approaches. He has the plane. “Vernon just found the square,” he says. He looks down at Cash, dripping too. “Aint he talked none yet?” “He had his saw and hammer and chalk-line and rule,” I say. “I know that.”
I picked this quote because I found it interesting that Jewel and Darl are more concerned with finding the items that Cash dropped in the water, than finding Addie and tending to Cash. By wondering which items still need to be found, reveal that these tools are worth more than Cash. This scene is darkly humorous in how they respond to such a traumatic event. All the characters are searching for these tools instead of helping Cash who is described as appearing gray. Jewel’s response to Cash reveals that Jewel thinks little of Cash.

Andrew's Balla Blog said...

Anse pg. 105 “I told him not to bring that horse out of respect for his dead ma, because it wouldn’t look right, him prancing along on a durn circus animal and her wanting us all to be in the wagon with her that sprung from her flesh and blood, but we hadn’t no more than passed Tull’s lane when Darl begun to laugh. Setting back there on the plank seat with Cash, with his dead ma laying in her coffin at his feet, laughing. How many times I told him it’s doing such things as that that makes folks talk about him, I don’t know.
This scene appears disturbing based on the fact that Darl is laughing with his dead mother at his feet. Since it has already been mentioned that Darl might have a supernatural perceptiveness, it could be inferred that Darl is talking and laughing with his mother telepathically. If Darl does not have a supernatural perceptiveness he could simply be laughing because it is a way some people express themselves when they are sad or nervous. By laughing at this time, Darl appears crazy or inconsiderate, but he is trying to find a way to cope with the loss of his mother.

The motif, responses to trauma, is important in the novel because it shows how all the characters respond when there is a crisis and reveals their true character. Some characters freeze up, for example Vernon’s response to the wagon falling over. Vardaman talks about Vernon’s response on page 151 when he says “…I passed Vernon and he wouldn’t get in the water and help Darl he wouldn’t grabble for her with Darl he knew but he wouldn’t help. This reveals how scared Vernon was at the onset of the incident. Jewel and Darl on the other hand respond quickly to the trauma and immediately jump into the water to help. Even though they react quickly their priorities are strange. They choose to help find seemingly meaningless tools, instead of Addie, the whole reason they are crossing this bridge.

Katina T said...

1. Katina T. Motif: Money, Buying, Selling

2.) Vardaman: (Family goes into town, while Dewey Dell speaks of something that won’t sell because it beongs to Santa Claus) Pg.100

Anse: (Anse talks about the difficult life as a farmer, including the aspect of profiting, and then talks of how he wants his new set of teeth again.) Pg. 110-111

Samson: (Jewel wants to pay Samson to bait his mule. Jewel insists, but Samson refuses to allow him to pay him.) Pg. 116

Tull: (Tull doesn’t want his mule to cross the river, and Jewel offers to pay for his “god damn mule” but Tull still doesn’t agree to this.) Pg. 126

Darl: (Darl remembers when Jewel had been tired all the time. Addie wanted him to see a doctor, while Anse didn’t want to waste the money.) pg. 130

Darl: (Jewel’s tiredness was not from a sickness, but from earning money at night to buy a horse.) Pg. 134-135

Katina T said...

3/4.)
Anse, Pg. 110: “It’s a hard country on man; it’s hard. Eight miles of the sweat of his body washed up outen the Lord’s earth, where the Lord Himself told him to put it. Nowhere in this sinful world can a honest, hardworking man profit. It takes them that runs the stores in the towns, doing no sweating, living off of them that sweats. It ain’t the hardworking man, the farmer. Sometimes I wonder why we keep at it. It’s because there is a reward for us above, here they can’t take their autos and such. Every man will be equal there and it will be taken from them that have and give to them that have not by the Lord.”

This quote caught my attention on the motif of money because despite how much Anse says the life of a farmer is full of hardships, he does not deal with this. Instead, he has his sons take care of these tasks. In this way, the author shows how selfish Anse is. It seems as though he did not want to have children for the sake of having kids, but for them to do all the work for their father. The passage also mentions how “eight miles of the sweat of his body washed up outen the Lord’s earth” and yet, in previous chapters, he says that if he were to sweat from work, he would become sick and die. Anse talks about how all the store owners do not do any hard work, and takes the profit of the “honest, hardworking man.” This quote is significant to the motif because it shows how hypocritical Anse is. He feels that the store owners are to blame for the “hardworking” man’s lack of profit, yet he is the one who takes advantage of his own children’s hard work.





Darl, Pg. 134-135. “He galloped up and he stopped, his heels in the horse’s ribs and it dancing and swirling like the shape of its mane and tale and the splothes of its coats had nothing whatever to do with the flesh-and-bone horse inside them, and he sat there, looking at us.
“Where did you get that horse?” pa said.
“Bought it.” Jewel said. “From Mr. Quick.”
“Bought it?” pa said. “With what? Did you buy that thing on my word?”
“It was my money,” Jewel said. “I earned it. You won’t need to worry about it.”
“Jewel,” ma said; “Jewel.”
“It’s allright,” Cash said. “He earned the money. He cleaned up that forty acres of new ground Quick laid out last spring. He did it single handed, working at night by lantern. I saw him. So I don’t reckon that horse cost anybody anything except Jewel. I don’t reckon we need worry.”

This quote is significant to the motif because it shows how money is related to independence. Jewel works to earn his own money to buy a horse all by himself. Buying a horse was a way to show how Jewel is distant from his family and is striving for independence. He is the opposite of Anse, who depends on his sons to do all the jobs in his household. Anse is clearly bothered by this purchase, and it shows when he asks “Did you buy that thing on my word?” I think that money is used as a symbol to show how it affects the different characters. For example, for Anse, it is something that he depends on others for, while for Jewel, it represents the opposite: something that can give him independence. This strive for independence shows how Jewel does not want to be anything like Anse. Money is just one way to portray how Jewel is different from the rest of his family. He rarely says much, so the author must use actions, such as buying the horse, to reveal Jewel’s personality.

Katina T said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Katina T said...

5.
So far in the novel, I think the motif of money, buying, and selling relates more and more to the how dependent and independent characters are. As it shows certain characters’ independence and dependence, it also shows their views of society. For example, Jewel is obviously the independent one, while Anse is dependent. Through Jewel’s independence of buying his own horse, he feels that people should earn their own money and in this way, earn the respect of others. Yet, Anse is blind to this with a hypocritical view of finding that poor people can’t catch a break compared to people of higher status, because people in a higher status of society are constantly taking advantage of the hardworking man’s earned profit. While Jewel feels that hard work can help him, Anse thinks even sweating could be fatal.


6.) The relation of money, buying, and selling is related to the motif of community and society. The Bundren family is on the lower end of the social ladder, and there is some hostility towards people of higher status. For example, when a woman doesn’t buy one of Cora’s cake, and it really bothers Kate that she cancelled her order. She feels that rich people can do as they please and treat people who are lower on the ladder with less respect. Anse feels the same way when he mentions how store owners are living off a poor man’s sweat. Their struggle with lack of respect from others is a conflict through out the story. Money is related to the status of someone in society, and Anse feels as though money could give him exactly what he wants in life (which he mentions, is a new set of teeth, and focuses on that often.) As the characters wish for more respect, they feel that earning money could possibly gain this.

nFrye said...

Nancy F.
Death and Life, Being and Not Being

Vardaman pp 101 "But my mother...women to foal'"

Anse pp 110-111 "It's because...hisself and his dead."

1. "But my mother is a fish. Vernon seen it. He was there.
'Jewel's mother is a horse,' Darl said.
'Then mine can be a fish, cant it Darl?' I said.
Jewel is my brother.
'Then mine will have to be a horse, too,' I said.
'Why?' Darl said. 'If pa is your pa, why does your ma have to be a horse just because Jewel's is?'
'Why does it?' I said. 'Why does it, Darl?'
Darl is my brother.
'Then what is your ma, Darl?' I said.
'I haven't got ere one,' Darl said. 'Because if I had one it is was. And if it is was, it cant be is. Can it?'
'No,' I said.
'Then I am not,' Darl said. 'Am I?'
'No,' I said.
I am. Darl is my brother.
'But you are, Darl,' I said.
'I know it,' Darl said. 'That's why I am not is. Are is too many for one woman to foal.'"

This quote describes how both Darl and Vardaman feel about family, their places, and their own existence. Darl feels as though Jewel was the favorite child, and thus his "mother is a horse." (As we discussed in class, Jewel is associated with the image of a horse.) However, Vardaman does not see things that way. He has already determined that his "mother is a fish." (The fish is the image that is related to Vardaman.) Darl absorbs Vardaman's opinion and seems to come to the conclusion that he does not really belong and that the woman in the coffin was not really his mother. He struggles with his identity (which it possible to see through his discussion of is, am, and was.)

nFrye said...

Nancy F.

2. Anse pp 110-111
"It's because there is a reward for us above, where they cant take there autos and such. Every man will be equal there and it will be taken from them that have and give to them that have not by the the Lord.

"But it's a long wait, seems like. It's bad that a fellow must earn the reward of his right-doing by flouting hisself and his dead."

In this quote, Anse describes his idea of heaven and complains about how superficial life is. Anse believes that although he and his family are suffering in the present, there is a reward in Heaven. He thinks that all of the people that have nice things do not really deserve them, and that they will lose them one day. However, he now looks forward to death. He thinks that life takes too long. This could be a reflection of his grief for losing his wife, but the tone says more that he is looking forward to his own reward. He is tired of being superficial (and probably resents Addie somewhat for making him promise to bring her body to Jefferson. He seems to think that it is unnecessary because she is already dead.)

nFrye said...

Death and Life, Being and Not Being

In this section of the novel, the idea of being versus not being is often referred to, especially by Darl, who seems to suffer very much with the idea of not belonging or having an identity. Darl often speaks about Addie as though she is not his mother. He says most often that she is Jewel's mother instead. The motif reflects more upon existence, identity, and family in this part of the novel.

Death also comes into play, however. The death of the mules symbolizes yet another failure on the quest to bring Addie's body to its final resting place. Death in this part of the novel refers to failure more than literal death.

nFrye said...

Life and Death, Being and Not-Being in relationship to Identity and Existence.

These two motifs are closely related because both explore, essentially, the human condition. Life and death pertain to existence, as well as being and not being. Throughout the novel thus far, the concepts of not being and being have also reflected the characters' exploration of their identities. For example, in the quote of Darl in the Vardaman chapter on page 101, Darl explores his relationship to his mother and what kind of person he actually is. (Is he a horse, a fish?). My motif also can be linked to maternity, family, and paternity because these are issues that all of the characters deal with as they build and mull over their identities.

Anonymous said...

Terri M. Masculinity/paternity

Tull “His mind is set” Pg 86
Tull “if its broke…” Pg 87
Tull “Cash is filling up the holes…” Pg 87
Tull “Cash…tight as a drum…” Pg 88
Cash, Tull speaking “ It’s them darn woman” Pgs 90+91
Anse, Tull Speaking “ We’ll wait for ourn, she will want it” Pg 92
Cash “ Pick up. Godam you pick up” Pg 96
Anse “ How many times I told him it’s doing such things…” Pg 105
Samson “I notice how it takes a lazy man” Pg 114
Tull “He was looking…folks had been lying to him…” Pg 123
Darl “And I wondered who the girl was” Pg 131
Tull “When I looked back at mile…because you are a man” Pg 139
Darl “Wet armpits” Pg 157

Cash, Tull speaking “ It’s them darn woman” Pgs 90+91
On page 90 and 91 Cash is talking to Quick. He blames woman for his falling off a roof while. Cash, who is usually polite and appreciative towards woman is now blaming them for his injury saying, “ It’s them durn woman I made it to balance with her. I made it to her measure and weight.” This attitude toward the woman being the cause of trouble is shown other places in the book. Women are seen more as objects instead of people, but it is just an underlying tone. For instance in the previous section that I wrote about I mentioned how Anse yells at Dewey Dell to go cook the dinner right after her mother and his wife have died. Cash seems like a noble character with all the work that he does for the family, even with an injured leg. At this moment however we see that he is sort of resentful towards woman and will blame them for his troubles.

Anonymous said...

Terri M
Darl “And I wondered who the girl was” Pg 131
On page 131 the story is told from Darl about how Jewel got his horse. Throughout the story the reader is getting prepared to hear about how Jewel was sneaking out at night to be with a woman.
“And I wondered who the girl was. I though of all I knew that it might be, but I couldn’t say for sure.” “Taint any girl”, Cash said. “It’s a married woman somewhere. Aint any young girl got that much daring and staying power. That’s what I don’t like about.”
This quote shows that Jewel’s family thinks he is having an affair with an older woman. Showing that Jewel is at least a teenager and masculinity is at it beginning point.

The motif of masculinity and paternity in As I Lay Dying is prominent in the male characters quirks and how they interact with woman. Cash is a “workhorse”. He is always doing work for his family irrespective if he his in good health. He is apt to blame woman for misfortunes. Anse is a lazy man who only cares about himself. He says repeadly that he is bringing Addie to be buried where she wants because it is what he wants but he does not take into account his children. He is so fixed on getting his teeth fixed while his son’s leg is getting infected and gets hurt worse than before. Cash and Anse are grotesque characters that display the mentality of men towards being negative. Anse and Cash also contrast each other. Anse is lazy and self-centered, while Cash works for his family despite complications. Perhaps that self-centeredness of Anse is in the book to display the responsibilities that come with fatherhood and how much is needed to be sacrificed. Cash might be showing what is needed to be done in this situation.

No one has blogged about family or femininity yet…
But I would say that masculinity/paternity most directly relates with these two motifs. As I have said before, Anse is also lazy and has the attitude that woman have to “The woman chores” i.e cooking food.
Cash instinctively does the “Man work” i.e all the building and he is a gentleman for the most part.
Katina was talking about how Anse is not a dependent man because he depends on those around him to get things done. This ties in with masculinity idea that woman should get going on the housework…Anse turns to the only other woman in the family when Addie dies to do the cooking when there are other people who could help her.
I did not make the connection with Jewel being a hard worker(masculine), I have been focusing more on Cash. After reading Katina’s post I see now that Jewel is a hard worker, as men a typically portrayed as. I find him to be a worker for things that benefit him.

Nick B said...

Nick B. – Hope and Despair

Darl – pg. 98 (re: Cash and Darl’s despair at Jewel’s disregard for caution)

Anse – pg. 106 (re: Anse’s despair at the hopelessness of his children)

Anse – pg. 111 (re: Anse’s despair at the hardships of the world)

Darl – pg. 135 (re: Jewel’s hope for a better life, displayed by his hard-earned horse)

Darl – pg. 148 (re: Cash’s despair, covered by his superficial calm, when he realizes that they aren’t going to make it across the river)



Darl – pg. 98 – “‘We better wait,’ Cash says. ‘I tell you it aint balanced now. We’ll need another hand on that hill.’ ‘Then turn loose,’ Jewel says. He will not stop. Cash begins to fall behind, hobbling to keep up, breathing harshly;”
This passage perfectly represents Jewel’s character throughout the book. He likes to be independent, doing things on his own, regardless of how it affects other people. He gets carried away when doing things, and is pretty hot-headed. Instead of carrying the coffin together like they should, he goes nuts and races away with it, leaving everyone else trailing him, and single-handedly throws it in the wagon. The point isn’t whether he can do it or not, as he is the most physically fit and everyone knows it, it’s that he does things like that at all, as if he’s always trying to prove something to someone.


Darl – pg. 148 – “Cash looked back at me, and then I knew that we were gone…‘You come too,’ I say”
Cash, as we learned earlier in the book, doesn’t know how to swim. Or at least, he can’t swim, possibly due to his leg. Darl eventually sees the log coming down the river and realizes that it’s going to hit them, and when he turns to Cash he sees that Cash has known all along. Cash’s orders to Jewel to push forward strongly, after he lets go of the rope, show what composure he is able to maintain despite the hopelessness he feels in the situation. He knows he can’t stop the inevitable crash, and that he can’t swim away from it. Cash’s ability to control even a hugely personally threatening situation reinforces the strength we know his character has, making up for the wholeness his body lacks.


Hope and Despair:
Again in this section, despair is much more prevalent than hope. I thought that after Addie died the story might switch to a more hopeful tone, but that didn’t happen. Things even get harder after her death, as before they were simply hoping for more time with her, whereas now they have to fight against time to try to get her to the seemingly impossible burial spot in a timely manner. Though it seems like Darl is the most despairing, that’s because he speaks far more than any other character. By percent of their speech, I would say Anse is probably the most hopeless character. Whether despairing at his own misfortune, the hardships of the world, Cash’s misfortune, or his failure as a father, he’s always unhappy about something. Perhaps it’s because, as Vernon Tull pointed out, when a lazy man gets it in his mind to do something, it’s going to be the hardest thing he could ever choose to do. As I Lay Dying continues to be a tale of hardship and misfortune, with only a glimmer of hope interspersed between overwhelming feelings of despair.


Hope and Despair vs. Death and Life
My motif of hope and despair relates to death and life (dying and living, non-being and being) frequently because most of my motif is due to death and life. My motif is predominantly despair because Addie is dying, or has died, so everyone is sad. But what little hope they have is also usually related to life, like when Jewel hopes for a better life, or Darl counts himself lucky that Cash has survived. Nancy, following death and life, also noted Darl’s passage on pg. 39 - “It takes two people to make you, and one people to die. That’s how the world is going to end.” – where he is trying to analyze his despair by contemplating the ideas of life and death.

amycarpenter57 said...

Amy C. Dark Humor

Darl pg. 97-98 “For an instant…her body spoiling.”
Vardaman pg 100-102 Santa Claus, Vardaman’s confusion & Cora Tull’s cakes
Anse pg. 105-106 Darl laughing
Darl pg. 107 just…soporific
Anse pg. 111 getting the teeth
Sampson pg. 114 “I notice…rise himself.”
Sampson pg. 119 “That MacCallum…I can say it.”
Dewey Dell pg. 122 “I believe in…in God”
Darl pg. 128-136 Jewel getting his horse=sex
Darl pg. 136 “And then I knew that I knew”
Darl pg. 142-143 Darl’s conversation with Cash
Darl pg. 163 Cash being lucky
Cash pg. 165 Balance
Cora pg. 166 “for in love…and bore them.”
Cora pg. 166-168 How do you know what sin…?

Brianna Aloisio said...

Brianna A. Language/ Words

There isn’t any specific reference to the words words or language much in this section but these are examples of when language or words fail to communicate or limit what the character is trying to say:

Tull pg 86 “The Lord Giveth”
pg 88 *Picture of the Coffin

Darl pg 94 “no more than…is a horse”
Pg 135 “Jewel…hiding her face”

Cash pg 96, 165

Vardaman pg 101 “But my mother…to foal”

Dewey Dell pg 122 “I believe in God…God.”

Cora pg 167 “’Know what?’ ‘Nothing’”

- All italics
- The whole water, losing the coffin scene
- When Anse keeps repeating himself to Tull, to explain why he has to keep going.

Dewey Dell pg 122 “I believe in God, God. God, I believe in God.
Anse defends himself to Tull as to why the whole family is going through all the trouble to bring Addie to the place where she wished she could be. This is shown on the very bottom of pg 125 and 140.

Dewey Dell’s quotation besides being obviously affiliated to religion, relates to the order that the family needs to respond to crisis. Although Darl uses existence to explain the reality around him and Vardaman uses metaphors, Cash and Dewey Dell use order. Whereas Cash uses things like the list such as on pg 82, Dewey Dell uses repetition to comfort her. In this chapter told by her she repeats things that she knows well. She repeats a sign that she know is going to come up but she also repeats “too soon” when she is talking about her mother’s death. Dewey Dell repeating these things helps her make sense of them and the more she repeats them the more they become familiar thus less scary and able to handle. This technique of Dewey Dell’s is used by other characters as well; such as when Anse repeats to Tull about him keeping his word to Addie. Anse says that it’s a promise that she is counting on. The soothing repetition of ideas or sounds is significant to the family being stuck. They are trying to use their own identities to move forward and help each other out but they all have their own fears to keep them stuck and going around in circles. Until they can figure out how to introduce new ideas and actually grasp reality instead of just dealing with it, they will not move forward.

So far words have been important to signify the family’s paralysis. They are each very complex and intriguing. They vent out in their own monologues but the concepts in there are never successfully executed to one another. The language that each one uses limits them from another family member. When Vardaman uses metaphors to try to understand what is happening it does not always reach the others in the same way. Understanding is limited with words. The family connects on different levels but so far they have not fully understand how to harness these levels properly.

My motif of language and words directly corresponds to responses to trauma and the identity of existence. When the Bundrens are faced with trauma they often try to use their own grasp of identity and existence to sort it out. To try to grasp this reality or identity the characters use words and their own language to communicate. However, as they are trying to communicate with one another they fail. When Cash for example on pg 96 is trying to use his own order to sort through the chaos and communicate it to Anse, Anse does not listen to what Cash says and the connection fails.

amycarpenter57 said...

Darl pg. 163

(Anse speaking) “A fellow might call it lucky it was the same leg he broke when he fell offen that church,”

Just the idea that Cash was “lucky” to have hurt? (did he break it again? It doesn’t say) the same leg that was already crippled. For Anse to say something like that, within earshot of everyone while Cash lies on the ground near dead, is unbelievably insensitive but the way the line is sprung on the reader after a description Dewey Dell laying Cash’s head to avoid the vomit, which it very touching in its briefness, jolts the reader into a sad smile from the inanity of it. It’s also a twist of the knife to remember that Anse keeps pushing to bury Addie in Jackson hence the river crossing hence Cash almost dying but yet “[he] don’t begrudge her it.” Pg. 163.

amycarpenter57 said...

Cash pg. 165

It wasn’t on a balance. I told them that if they wanted it to tote and ride on a balance, they would have to

Would have to do what? Faulkner doesn’t finish the statement but that’s not really the humorous part of this section. Really Cash? Are you still concerned about the balance of the coffin? Cash, while nearly dead still can’t stop obsessing about the perfection of the coffin. There’s also the subtext in the line that somehow, if he had made the coffin balance the whole accident wouldn’t have happened. If you think about it too long you start to feel sorry for Cash but also you want to laugh at him. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you-Dark Humor!

Meredith S said...

Meredith S. ::: Tools/Building motif
Tull (re: Uncle Billy- “I don’t know a man that’s touched a hammer to it in 25 years.”) 88
Vardaman (re: Cash with his toolbox) 101
Darl (re: Cash picking up a tool)109
Darl(re: Saw and hammer)160-161, 162, 163
Tull(re: Cash finishing building the coffin)87

Quotation No. 1
“Cash is carrying his tool box. Pa looks at him. ‘I’ll stop at Tull’s on the way back,’ Cash says. ‘Get on that barn roof.’” (Vardaman, page 101)
This is one of many instances where Cash’s personality is revealed by his fondness of carpentry. He is frequently mentioned to have his tool box with him, or be seen using some kind of tool, as he is here. Cash is dedicated to the organization and balance that is involved with building. This can allow him to be seen as a kind of artist, at least in the sense that he seems to find a release in the process of building.

Meredith S said...

Quotation No. 2
“ ‘Look, Cash,’ we say, holding up the tools so he can see; ‘what else did you have?’ He tries to speak, rolling his head, shutting his eyes. ‘Cash,’ we say; ‘Cash.’ It is to vomit he is turning his head. Dewey Dell wipes his mouth on the wet hem of her dress; then he can speak. ‘It’s his saw-set,” Jewel says. ‘The new one he bought when he bought the rule.’” (Darl, page 163)
This quote is from directly after the incident at the bridge and all of Cash’s tools spill into the river. Until now, tools only seemed to be important to Cash. This makes sense considering his skill for carpentry. Now, though, the tools take on a meaning for the whole family. The tools represent order, balance, and strength; things each family member desires in some way or another at this point in the novel. Their eagerness to collect all of Cash’s tools makes their desire apparent.

The Motif of Tools/Building
The significance of this motif has not changed noticeably since the beginning. It is still associated almost exclusively with Cash. Cash organizes his thoughts by building. The appearance of this motif at any point symbolizes balance and organization, or the lack of either where it should be.

amycarpenter57 said...

In Faulkner’s world-Sex=Dark Humor

Whenever sex becomes involved, Faulkner can’t seem to resist making it humorous in the most unfunny ways. There aren’t that many examples from this section of the book but the prime example is Jewel getting his horse in Darl’s flashback. Anywhere else in literature, this would merely be goofy but since we’ve already established Jewel’s seemingly sexual interactions with this horse (at least that’s how they’re narrated by Darl) and Darl’s statement that this same horse is Jewel’s mother…well now, isn’t this a delightful mind screw. Add in Jewel’s conversation with Anse and his mother’s reaction, notice the distinction? Oh yeah, Jewel isn’t Anse’s son! Sure, just throw that in the mix. While reading it, the story is poignant, especially Darl’s revelation of the aforementioned affair Addie had. But then there’s something about everything with Jewel, his horse, Addie and Anse all coming together that seems…like Faulkner is screwing with us and having a royal time of it. Jewel’s an unhappy young man? Of course! He’s a bastard. Jewel seems to be having an affair? Nope! He’s getting his horse…and then to Darl’s eye seems to have some sort of sexual tension with said horse…who is his mother. Of course Faulkner!

But this is just one example of how sex and dark humor are connected in this book. Dewey Dell’s picking into the sack is another example but that has already been explored in the previous postings.

And this is supposed to be one of Faulkner’s more “easily understood” books. Easily understood…eh, we can argue that later. Disconcerting with its implications of incest and bestiality? I think we’ve pegged it. But it's hilarious.

Molly A said...

Molly A.
Maternity/Femininity

• Tull pg. 89- “’If I’d a crossed it every time your wife littered since…’” (Peabody to Billy)
• Tull pg. 91- “In the house the women...throwing our chews away” (Tull on the effect of their singing)
• Anse pg. 106- “I have raised such a darn passel…setting there, laughing.” (Anse on the effect a child imposes on their mother)
• Samson pg.116-“’Well,’ I says, ‘Since you are so particular’…’my wife takes it as an insult.’” (Samson, demanding they stay for dinner, out of respect for his wife)
• Samson pg. 117- “’I just wish you… up and down the country—“ (Rachel on how men treat women in life and death)
• Dewey Dell pg.121- “That’s what they mean…outraged entrails of events” (Dewey Dell on the womb of time)
• Darl pg. 130- “It was ma… hide them for him” (Darl on how his mother used to treat Jewel with extra care, behind Anse’s back, because she was so worried.)
• Darl pg.160- “Suddenly Dewey Dell…’You Jewel!’ Dewey Dell says.” (Dewey Dell looking out for Jewel.)

Anse-Page 105-106
“I says I got some regard for what folks say about my flesh and my blood even if you haven’t, even if I have raised such a durn passel of boys, and when you fixes it so folks can say such about you, it’s a reflection on your ma, I says, not me: I am a man and I can stand it; it’s on your womenfolks, your ma and sister that you should care for, and I turned to look back at him and him setting there, laughing”

This passage is an interestingly accurate depiction of the emotions Addie’s family members are feeling and displaying to one another, in the wake of her sad death. With the exception of Jewel, they all seem to want to display an endless amount of respect. However, that respect is channeled towards her, and only her. Their other objective is to inflict guilt onto everyone else around them. Anse points fingers, telling Darl that, by being who he is, he is disrespecting the name of his mother and her memory. Darl, however, laughs to disrespect his father. The quotes relevance to the motif is significant, in that Anse takes motherhood and feminism and makes it into a glorified, wonderful, respected position, only to use it as a tool against Darl. It is likely that Darl laughs in Anse’s face, to show him that he feels it’s ironic that he never displayed this respect when Addie was alive.

Darl –Page 160
“Suddenly Dewey Dell is behind us in the water. ‘You make him come back,’ she says ‘Jewel!’ she says. He comes up again, tossing his hair back from his eyes. He is swimming now, toward the bank, the current sweeping him downstream quartering. ‘You, Jewel!’ Dewey Dell says.”

This passage is interesting because, although Dewey Dell cares for all of her brothers at various times throughout the novel in a motherly manner, this situation is described shortly after Faulkner depicts Jewel and Addie’s close and dependant relationship. He explains in depth about how Addie would sneak him special meals and sit by his bed at night, because while Anse wanted him to work, she feared for his health, above any of the other children. Another thing I found striking, was how Dewey Dell’s relationship with Jewel contrasts with the relationship between the other brothers’ and him. It seems to be suggesting that Dewey Dell will begin to play more of the motherly role that, through the story line of his childhood, Jewel seems to need.

Molly A said...

Molly A.
Maternity/Femininity

In this portion of the book, maternity and femininity play an important role, in a more indirect way. Most frequently, the reader saw the effect of maternity through the eyes of a figure other than the maternal, feminist character. This being said, because the Bundren family has lost Addie, maternity is remembered and depicted in a more skewed and respectable way than they view it in actuality. Anse has been depicted as a husband who showed no respect towards Addie during her living days. He’s made references to the teeth he will be able to get, upon her death. However, he is seemingly obsessed with showing her all of the respect in the world; to her wishes, her beliefs, and every detail she wanted before being laid to rest. It is confusing, at that time in the book, to truly understand how everyone feels about their mom, neglecting the honor they think they owe. It is likely that the different reactions mean something significant, and that there is a psychology to the way each chooses to cope. However, at the time, maternity, for the most part, is unclear.




There is a clear relationship between maternity and femininity and masculinity and paternity. In this section, we got several paternal views on what maternity is, as well as masculine views on what feminism is. Up to this point, I believe any femininity or maternity we have come across, through the eyes of a feminine character, has been assertive and methodical, yet strong. It is not all gentle and kind. However, that is the way the men depict it after Addie’s death. An interesting quote Terri found, was when Cash is yelling “ Pick up. Godam you pick up” on page 96. Masculinity is being shown as rough, strong, and willing to fight in the honor of their mother, constantly. However, it will be interesting to see if femininity can depict masculinity in the same way masculinity has done femininity: in a more gentle light. Is it possible that there is another side to both?

Sabrina said...

Sabina P.
Sexuality
Darl. Re: when he talks about horses he uses words with sexual reference, horse-erect instead of up straight. P.94
Darl. Re: he talks about Dewey Dell, her “tightening dress.” P.104
Dewey Dell. Re: she talks about being naked, when she slept with Vardaman. P.121
Tull. Re: he keeps referring to the way “she” looks at him “like I had made to touch her.” P125
Darl. Re: they say Jewel is “rutting,” with a married women. We later find out he is really working for Quick, but at this time they are using sexual suggestions. P.132


“Its not your horse that’s dead, Jewel,” I say. He sits erect on the seat, leaning a little forward, wooden-backed.” Darl. Page 94.
Although this passage is not referring to anything sexual as you read it, while going through all of the places where this motif comes up, I realize that with horses and other things sexuality seems to intertwine. Instead of Faulker simply using the word “upright” he had to put in the word erect. Although it means the same thing, after thinking about how every time the horse comes up, or Dewey Dell, some of the diction used tends to be related to this motif. As weird as it is to look at things so miniscule in the book, I still find it odd that he would go out of his way to use this. I shows a lot about how the motifs are tied into one another. It reminds me of how other parts of the story words are used that could be replaced with synonyms, but Faulker tends to use the motif of sexuality to replace words in parts of the book.
“After that I thought it was right comical: he acting so bewildered and willing and dead for sleep and gaunt as a bean-pole, and thinking he was so smart with it. And I wondered who the girl was. I thought of all I knew that it might be, but I could say for sure. “’Taint and girl,” Cash said. “It’s a married woman somewhere. Aint any young girl got that much daring and staying power.” Darl. Page 131-132
In the quote of pages 131-132, Darl and Cash have a conversation of why Jewel is always tired. Before they actually find out what he is doing, they assume that he is “rutting.” Without knowing what this meant, the passage following their conversation (quoted above) makes me think that “rutting” is something sexual. This is because the motif is prevalent since the two talk about how he sneaks out all night and goes with a girl, or married woman. Before they follow Jewel and find out that he is working for Quick, they assume he is having an affair with a married woman.

Sabrina said...

The significance of the motif in the novel so far seems to be to track other motifs as well. (I am going to write the two paragraphs in one big paragraph because they both seem to relate for my motif.) It seems to me that the motif of sexuality while rarely coming up, always comes up with the motif of words. I think that the way that Faulkner uses each motif varies in different passages, but I find that every time sexuality is tracked it is a play on words. Although there are parts where it is purely sexuality, the motif is surround by a play on words the majority of the time. For example, when wind comes up, or Dewey Dell’s sack being “full.” When these words come up, I realize that I can find my motif. The significance of the motif sexuality, though, is not to find the play on words, I still think that it reveals a lot about other characters. For example, the quote on page 131-132 that was used ^^, Darl and Cash assume things about Jewel. This in turn reveals that they do not have a close enough relationship to him to assume correctly. Also, it makes them wonder about their mother’s deceit. At the same time, Darl and Cash bring out a good side of Jewel by assuming he is doing something wrong, because he proves something later. He actually ends up working hard to buy a horse, meanwhile his brothers think he is having an affair. This is the significance of both the motif sexuality and words.

Francesco P said...

Frankie P
Secrets

1) Vardaman: pg 100, The secret of Santa Claus and his inexistence.
2) Samson: pg 113, Secret of people talking about Darl. What it is that makes them talk of him.
3) Samson: pg 117, Men can’t tell anything about woman. Women’s secrets.
4) Dewey Dell: pg 122: “I believe in God.” Reassuring herself. Internal secret.
5) Dewey Dell: pg 122: “Wheel whispering in the mud”
6) Tull: pg 123, “he was looking at it like he had believed all the time that folks had been lying to him about it being gone”
7) Darl: pg 130, Addie’s secrets about Jewel, and her teaching her children that deceit is of the basest things.
8) Darl: pg 131, Cash “I wouldn’t tell anybody” about Jewels nightly excursions
9) Darl: pg 133, Jewels secret of where he goes at night
10) Darl: pg 134, “As long as the deceit ran along quiet and monotonous, all of us let ourselves be deceived…”
11) Darl: pg 136, Darl then knows about his mothers secret.
12) Darl: pg 142, connecting looks that plunge into another’s eyes, into ultimate secrete place

Quote 1
Darl: pg 130, “She would fix him special things to eat and hide them for him. And that may have been when I first found it out, that Addie Bundren should be hiding anything she did, who had tried to teach us that deceuit was such that in a world where it was, nothing else could be very bad or very important, not even poverty…And I knew that she was hating herself for that deceit and hating Jewel because she had to love him so that she had to act the deceit.”

This quote especially offers insight into the contradicting nature of Addie as an individual, and of people in general. She despises the concept of deceit, probably from something from her past, but the fuel that truly feeds her aversion to it is the fact that she must be a hypocrite to her own principles, while still maintaining other principles as being a mother. She must love Jewel as he is her son and she is by nature a mother, but she must also hate him as he is the manifestation of her own deception, which is by her nature a terrible vice.

Quote 2
Darl: pg 134, “It was as though, so long as the deceit ran along quiet and monotonous, all of us let ourselves be deceived, abetting it unawares or maybe through cowardice, since all people are cowards and naturally prefer any kind of treachery because it has a bland outside.”

This passage insinuates a double meaning in reference to Jewel. On the surface, it’s Darl’s acknowledgement that since Jewel’s nightly excursions ran fluidly it allowed the family to ignore them, whether they were completely unaware of them, or because they were not daring enough to look deeper at their own deception. By looking deeper at such deceptions they would eventually expose a truth which being closer to them could penetrate them more deeply. This also parallels Addie’s deception about Jewel, as, if the family were to learn of it, the image of Addie could become corrupt, and in this it’s much easier to prefer assumed ignorance.

B Shay said...

Brendan S Religion

p. 86 Tull - “The Lord giveth giveth” we say. “The Lord Giveth”
p. 88 Uncle Bill “The lord has kept it there, you mean” (meaning the bridge)
p. 91 Tull - “Ay. The Lord made it grow. It’s Hisn to wash up if Be sees it fitten so”
p.92-93 Cora - (singing) “ I am bounded toward God and my reward”
p. 106 Anse - “I done my best” I says. “I tried to do as she would wish it. The Lord will pardon me and excuse me the conduct of them He sent me”
p. 110 Anse - “It’s a hard country on man; it’s hard. Eight miles of the sweat on his body washed up outen the Lord’s earth, where the Lord Himself told him to put it.
p. 114 Samson - “You say it’s higher than you ever see it before” he says. “God’s will be done”
p. 115 Samson - “If you don’t do it, it will be a curse on you” (maybe religion?)
P. 119 Samson - “But maybe this bridge being gone too has learned him the Lord’s sense of judgment”
p. 122 Dewey Dell - “I believe in God, God. God, I believe in God.”
P 125 Tull - “ I give her my promised word in the presence of the Lord”

p. 114 Samson - “You say it’s higher than you ever see it before” he says. “God’s will be done”
p. 115 Samson - “If you don’t do it, it will be a curse on you” (maybe religion?)

These two quotes by Samson make me re-think a thought that I had in the first part of the book. With the talk of Cash falling off the church I came up with eh idea that that was no an accident, but actually God punishing him. These two quotes are Samson basically saying that God is punishing everyone, by raining and making the bridge impassable. So the question really is why is God punishing these People? Since this has happened more than once I would think that there is probably a third punishment in the last part of the book.

p.92-93 Cora - (singing) “ I am bounded toward God and my reward”

B Shay said...

Well with the continuation of the Cora religious quotes, I’m starting to see how obsessed she is with her religion. Though she might not talk about God all the time, it is clear that she is basing all her action on what she has learned religiously. There are many parts in the story so far that Cora does not listen to other people. She knows what she has learned and if anyone says differently then she think that is very wrong. This is seen in some of Tulls dialogue, it seems at least a little but of Cora’s belief has rubbed off onto him. Or maybe he can see through it, he still talks about the Lord quite a bit.

I feel that Religion provides the tension or adrenaline that this book really needs. It adds many conflicts that would be non existent if it wasn’t for the existence of Christianity. Say for example there the bridge that everyone is fussing over, some people say it’s just rain, while others are saying it punishment from God that they cannot get over. Half the people want to just turn back and bury Addie at home. While the others want to continue on despite the elements to respect the dead (as if they will be punished again for not obeying). Many elements like the rain could of easily been avoided by planning ahead, but people still blame it on the Lord. If it wasn’t for religion on this story, everyone would be able to sit down and talk things over. But people like Cora are not able to do that because of her strong religious beliefs.


So I think my motif “Religion” is most related to the motif “Community/Society”. This is because of a few events that I can recall in the book including vardaman and The Bridge. There’s a scene that Vardaman is rambling on to himself in confusion about the fish and his mom, but also about “why God made him live is such a small community”. He is so confused why he lives so far apart from the rest of the world. This connection to religion is of course him asking God the question rather than to himself. Another Connection of religion and society is when it rains so hard that the town people cannot cross the bridge. They were attempting to leave the town for business (society) and many people think God is using the water as a way to stop them (religion). Though it could just be a coincidence that it started to rain that hard at that moment, but it’s evident that that’s what some people are thinking.

Francesco P said...

Relating Motif to Novel thus far
Secrets become less of innocent concealments of perspective and knowledge, and more of deep deceptions as the book continues on. The double relationships that characters have with each other become much more apparent with perspectives that are revealed within each characters narration. The source of the majority of the “relevant” secret’s within the text have come from deeply rooted deceptions of the past, which the characters reflect upon within their consciousness, becoming nearly obsessive of their own deceptions. This is also a technique Faulkner utilizes to reveal aspects of the characters that are core to their conscious thoughts and behaviors.
Relating motive to other motifs
When considering the most significant secrets/deceptions that are pivotal to the novel, I realize that the motif of maternity is intertwined with the deceptions. Addie’s secret comes from her relationship as a mother to Jewel. She must adhere to her motherly impulses and love him, yet feel the aversion of loving her own contradiction. This is also true for Dewey Dell, who must maintain her secret of carrying a child because of the ‘illegitimate’ methods of how her child was conceived. Both of these crucial examples correlate the selfless binding of maternity, with the self-contradicting nature of the mother. To add onto what Amy noted about Jewel getting his horse, rather than having an affair, it’s interesting to note that in returning from the speculated ‘affair’ he returns with a horse, which can be seen as his ‘illegitimate’ child spawned from the ‘affair’, which also happens to be the metaphor of his mother, and also triggers Addie’s emotional implosion at realizing Jewel’s deception in the horse which is the manifestation of her own deception as herself and as a reminder of an illegitimate child. Hmmm.

Anonymous said...

1. Sarah A. Motif – animals.

2.
Darl – Page 94 (Darl’s understanding of Jewel and the horse) “It’s not you…mother is a horse.”
Darl – Page 95 “Motionless…goddamn him.”
Vardaman – Page 100 (Anse talking to Jewel about the horse) “You leave…wanted.”
Vardaman – Page 101 (Children’s comparisons about Addie) “But my mother…Jewel’s?”
Darl – Page 104 “He would have…and of me.”
Anse – Page 105 (Jewel) “I told him…to laugh.”
Darl – Page 107 “He comes up…the mud.”
Samson – Page 114 “I was just…-gaunted mules.”
Samson – Page 118 “It was a buzzard.”
Dewey Dell – Page 121 (Vardaman and the fish) “I saw Vardaman…I could not see.”
Dewey Dell – Page 122 “Look, Jewel…I believe in God.”
Darl – Page 128 “He sits the horse…of his eye.”
Darl – Page 128 “I went…call him.”
Darl – Page 136 (Jewel and the horse) the entire page.
Darl – Page 142 “Cash and…quiet, detached.”
Darl – Page 144 “I’ll ride on…go on, now.”
Tull – Page 155 “So it washes…the bottom.”


3 & 4.

Page 94 – Darl “It’s not your horse that’s dead Jewel,” I say. He sits erect on the seat, leaning a little forward, wooden-backed…” “But it’s not your horse that’s dead.” “Goddamn you” he says. “Goddamn you.” I cannot love my mother because I have no mother. Jewel’s mother is a horse.”

This quote is significant because it addresses Jewels association of his mother to his horse, and it also addresses Darl’s way of thinking and how he is so in tune with everything around him. Darl is trying to provoke Jewel by flat out saying that his mother is not the horse, and therefore he should stop treating it that way. Jewel gets mad and says “goddamn you” knowing that Darl has the upper hand. This quotes also shows how Darl is very in sync with what is going on around him and how he perceives others.

Page 105 – Anse “I told him not to bring that horse out of respect for his dead ma, because it wouldn’t look right, him prancing along on a durn circus animal and her wanting us all to be in the wagon with her that sprung from her flesh and blood, but we hadn’t no more then passed Tull’s lane when Darl begun to laugh.”

Here, I believe that Anse is addressing Jewel and the horse, even though he doesn’t exactly say Jewels name. He is unaware that the horse is there to represent his mother, who Jewel is grieving. Anse thinks that all of the children are acting disrespectfully to Addie, when in reality their actions may be a way that they feel comfortable mourning. Before in class we discussed Jewel, and how it’s possible that he relates his mother to a horse and how he both loves and hates his mother and his horse. Here when he brings the horse out Anse is bothered, but Jewel is probably doing it out of respect for his deceased mother.

Anonymous said...

5.
In the begging, it was obvious that animals are present for simple reasons. There are chickens to give eggs, and cows and horses, etc because of the barn. Reading further in to the book you realize that animals are relevant not only for that reason but also because the characters in this book often relate people they know to certain animals. At one point Anse is described as an owl, and at other points animals will be used as a synonym for a certain person. More importantly the children of Anse and Addie began to relate their deceased mother Addie to certain animals, particularly Vardaman with the fish, and Jewel with the horse. While reading this new section I noticed how much Jewel and his horse are talked about. I felt that I was constantly reading about Jewel and the horse, and how they are always together. I think this is a way to show how Jewel is dealing with the loss of his mother.


6. animals in relation to being and not being.
On page 95, Darl’s section, Darl is addressing Jewel’s relationship to the horse. At one point Darl says “I cannot love my mother because I have no mother. Jewel’s mother is a horse.” Here, Darl is speaking of his mother as not being because she is dead. He realizes that Jewel can love his mother because she has taken the form of a horse for him. Also, when Vardaman says “My mother is a fish.” He is relating his mother to the fish that he caught. When his mother is dead, Vardaman confuses this with the cut up fish in the dirt. Jewel and Vardaman are able to have their mother “be” because she has taken a form of an animal, rather than Darl who’s mother is no longer.

Marisa D. said...

Marisa D.
Family (Loyalty and Betrayal)
Pg 85 Tull “His mind is set on taking her to Jefferson.”

Pg 89 Tull “He promised her…Set on it.”

Pg 95 Darl “I cannot love my mother….is a horse.”

Pg 114 Samson “I gave her my promise…”

Pg 125 Tull

Pg 136 Darl “She cried hard, maybe because she has to cry so quiet;…hating him because she had to.”

Pg 140 Tull “I gave her my word.”

Pg 144 Darl “When he was born…no sound from them.”

Marisa D. said...

Pg 136 Darl “She cried hard, maybe because she had to cry so quiet; maybe because she felt the same way about tears she did about deceit, hating herself for doing it, hating him because she had to.”

This quote stuck out to me because of the whole issue with loyalty and betrayal. Darl is telling the audience about how his mother felt when Jewl got the money to buy the horse. His mother feels like Jewl betrayed her and the family by working for a neighbor farmer. This quote also shows how Addie feels about betraying Anse when she had the affair that led to the birth of Jewl. By Jewl going behind the families back and earning his own money he betrayed them in Addie’s mind. In their family there is a fine line between doing something for you or doing something that betrays the family.

Pg 140 “I give her my word,” said Anse. “It is sacred on me. I know you begrudge it, but she will bless you in heaven.”

This quote shows Anse’s loyalty to Addie. Even after she has died he keeps his promise to bury her in Jefferson. He could have just buried her in their town but he is a very loyal man. He made a promise to his dying wife; he would travel to Jefferson with his family in order to bury Addie when she died. Family is important to Anse and he has always been loyal to Addie even if she wasn’t loyal to him. I think in his own way he is trying to prove a point to Addie about what it means to be loyal.

fenkor said...

Hidenori O. existence and identity

pg 86 Tull "Anse...meets us"

pg 87 Tull "Cash is...made it do"

pg 93 Tull "It's one in here"

pg 101 Vardaman "mother is a fish"

pg 101 Vardaman "Jewel's mother is a horse"

pg 101 Vardaman "I haven't...can it?"

pg 110 Anse "It's...the Lord"

pg 114 Samson "You better...morning"

pg 125 Tull "He is...his eyes"

pg 136 Darl "That night...that day"

pg 152 Tull "When I... a tall"

pg 167 Cora "My daily life...my sin"

fenkor said...

Hidenori O.

pg Tull " I have seen him spend a hour trimming out a wedge like it was glass he was working, when he could have reached around and picked up a dozen sticks and drove them into the joint and made it do."

This quote really shows who Cash is as a person. Though not many people would care if something is done very precisely, Cash really cares and does things as perfectly as he can. This identifies him as a worker who takes pride in his work. His work appears to be everyything to him. Even when he is hurt he wants his tools where he can touch them for comfort. This is different from his father Anse and makes for a great contrast.

pg 114 Samson "You better stay here tonight," I says, "and get a warly start for New Hope tomorrow morning."

This quote shows that Samson is welcoming and takes care of his neighbors. Though the reasons for that may not always be what you would expect. Samson says that he is doing this for the mules which he feels sorry for. As a family, Anse and his children don't appear to be liked very well. The name of their destination seems very ironic. The day had been nothing but disappointments and now they will go to a place that can't be crossed. When they try to, it leads to a lot of trouble and the situation is bleak instead of hopeful.

fenkor said...

Hidenori O.

So far in the novel identity and existance are what makes the story. Through them people notice certain things and ignore others leading to judging and other conclusions. Anse is shown as a lazy man and judged that way as seen by the way he takes advantage of people. though the people see how he is and what he does they still let him do the things he does. Addie's burial is still the focus of the story to go to Jefferson, her home. While Anse still syas he won't be beholden to no one and manages to get in everyone's way. In the end he causes the mules to be lost and has to rely on someone to get him past the situation.

Animals are a big part of identity in this novel. It has been stated that Jewel's mother was a horse. This can be shown by the love hate relationship between the two of them. While sexuality is another for Dewey Dell since she is usually related to this motif. In class I was told that this name was similar to a field. Jewel in this section is thought to be "rutting" for a time when he would sneak out every night and return back home all tired. But, this turns out to not be true and it talks about getting a horse. Ultimately it is a betrayal to Addie who thought she knew the truth and didn't. identity comes up as to who exactly Jewel's father actually is and how they both seem to be betraying each other. Jewel has kept working in the fields to earn money for a horse a secret from his father and his mother has been secretive about having an affair. Ironically it seems that both Jewel and his mother have betrayed Anse.