As I Lay Dying can be considered an incongruous comedy, with irony playing the key role in creating the humor present in the piece. Though the catalyst for the story is the death of a main character, and though the title in itself suggests a morbid theme, there are moments that allow for the reader to laugh throughout the entire novel. The grotesqueness of the central idea and the way in which the Bundren family pursues Addie’s last wish is laughable, at times. In a critical essay, “Schroeder also discusses the novel in relation to the ‘frustrated funeral,’ a type of Southwestern story that used humor to reduce death to comic and manageable proportions” (As). Faulkner presents an incongruous comedy. The idea of an incongruous comedy is that
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Anse Bundren meets these qualifications. He is described as much less than adequate, both in appearance and personality. Anse has a hump-back and is missing all of his teeth, and is additionally lazy and self-centered. A trait often present in the comic hero of a piece is selfishness. Anse has two goals in mind; to bury Addie in Jefferson, and to buy a set of false teeth. Upon Addie’s death, Anse says, “God’s will be done...Now I can get them teeth” (Faulkner 52). In the end, Anse accomplishes both goals, and while in town he meets a new woman, whom he takes home as a wife. Humorously, the climax of the story, which is Addie’s burial, is barely covered. “Faulkner does not grant the reader the opportunity, however, to witness that final moment of rest and equilibrium. He elides the burial, even as he dilates on Anse 's borrowing and returning the shovels used to dig the grave” (Widiss). Of course, Anse goes unprepared to Jefferson, and his mission to acquire shovels to dig his wife’s grave is described in more detail than the actual climax of the story. Anse did not plan accordingly for the trip in any way, and he is the root of every disaster. Anse Bundren can further be identified as the comic hero through the contrast presented between him, an incompetent and lazy fool, and the wiser onlookers the Bundren family passes by on their …show more content…
This all stems from Anse’s lack of planning and lack of ability to do anything efficiently himself. One of the outsiders, by the name of Armstid, narrates, “I be durn if Anse don’t conjure a man, some way. I be durn if he ain’t a sight.” (Faulkner 193). It can furthermore be observed that many “humorous moments result from the removed position of the ‘non-Bundren narrators who think the Bundren odyssey a bizarre joke or a tawdry sacrilege’” (As). Though Anse takes the journey very seriously, repeatedly, and almost ironically, stating that “It ain’t right...It’s a flouting of the dead”, onlookers view the family as one big mess that’s doing a lot more work than they need to (Faulkner 102). “The bundren narrators allow us to see the “interustin” aspects of the burial journey, while the outside narrators elevate us to Sut’s bluff, from which the adventure appears ‘sorter funny’ (Schroeder 37). All of these situations allow for the reader to laugh, because even knowing that this tragedy was inevitable, the comic hero, Anse, still failed to plan for his wife’s death. He had the intention of getting Addie to Jefferson, but his failure to plan accordingly to the weather conditions and the
Anse Bundren meets these qualifications. He is described as much less than adequate, both in appearance and personality. Anse has a hump-back and is missing all of his teeth, and is additionally lazy and self-centered. A trait often present in the comic hero of a piece is selfishness. Anse has two goals in mind; to bury Addie in Jefferson, and to buy a set of false teeth. Upon Addie’s death, Anse says, “God’s will be done...Now I can get them teeth” (Faulkner 52). In the end, Anse accomplishes both goals, and while in town he meets a new woman, whom he takes home as a wife. Humorously, the climax of the story, which is Addie’s burial, is barely covered. “Faulkner does not grant the reader the opportunity, however, to witness that final moment of rest and equilibrium. He elides the burial, even as he dilates on Anse 's borrowing and returning the shovels used to dig the grave” (Widiss). Of course, Anse goes unprepared to Jefferson, and his mission to acquire shovels to dig his wife’s grave is described in more detail than the actual climax of the story. Anse did not plan accordingly for the trip in any way, and he is the root of every disaster. Anse Bundren can further be identified as the comic hero through the contrast presented between him, an incompetent and lazy fool, and the wiser onlookers the Bundren family passes by on their …show more content…
This all stems from Anse’s lack of planning and lack of ability to do anything efficiently himself. One of the outsiders, by the name of Armstid, narrates, “I be durn if Anse don’t conjure a man, some way. I be durn if he ain’t a sight.” (Faulkner 193). It can furthermore be observed that many “humorous moments result from the removed position of the ‘non-Bundren narrators who think the Bundren odyssey a bizarre joke or a tawdry sacrilege’” (As). Though Anse takes the journey very seriously, repeatedly, and almost ironically, stating that “It ain’t right...It’s a flouting of the dead”, onlookers view the family as one big mess that’s doing a lot more work than they need to (Faulkner 102). “The bundren narrators allow us to see the “interustin” aspects of the burial journey, while the outside narrators elevate us to Sut’s bluff, from which the adventure appears ‘sorter funny’ (Schroeder 37). All of these situations allow for the reader to laugh, because even knowing that this tragedy was inevitable, the comic hero, Anse, still failed to plan for his wife’s death. He had the intention of getting Addie to Jefferson, but his failure to plan accordingly to the weather conditions and the