Aristotle once said that "Poverty is the parent of crime," and there could not be a more flawless quote that describes the theme of poverty in William Faulkner 's As I Lay Dying. The novel tells the story of the Bundren family 's trip to Jefferson to bury their beloved mother and wife Addie. Regarding Aristotle 's quote, irony is present in the fact that Anse Bundren, the father and antagonist of the novel, is the reason the Bundrens journey to Jefferson has turned into a disastrous adventure. The poverty-stricken Bundrens are continually hit with problems that are difficult to solve because of greedy Anse, who imposes physical, emotional, and psychological stress on his children. By analyzing Anses ' character and the conflicts he causes for
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Throughout the novel, readers can see how physical stress is a result of the Bundrens extreme poverty and the parenting skills that Anse displays. The first example being Cash 's broken leg. After Cash breaks his leg a second time, Anse decides to take matters into his own hands to save money- he uses concrete to stabilize and try to fix Cash 's leg, resulting in his son losing his leg. After Cash visits Peabody, the doctor, the reader gets an understanding of how bad the damage is. "Concrete… God Almighty. Why didn 't Anse carry you to the nearest saw mill and stick your leg in the saw" (Faulkner 240)? The family did not have the proper resources or money to properly fix Cash 's leg the correct way. However, if Anse did not have the desire to save money Cash would have gotten the correct care that he needed, and would not have suffered as much. Ironically, when taking care of Cash 's leg, Anse states that "they are doing the best we can", but in reality he is not. Anse is so reluctant to save money that he would rather his son be left without a leg than to spare some money to get him the proper treatment. The fact that Anse chose to fix his son 's leg with concrete displays his greed, and how he had no sympathy or concern for his son 's broken leg (Bloom 228). In addition to this, readers catch a glimpse of how selfless Cash is through the same leg injury he …show more content…
As the novel concludes, we see a disagreement between Anse and Dewey Dell concerning the ten dollars that she brought along to receive an abortion. When Anse finds Dewey 's money he asks her for it, implying that "it is just a loan" (Faulkner 256). When she tells him that he cannot have it he "takes the money and goes off" (Faulkner 257). The action that we see from Anse shows how bad the Bundrens financial situation is considering he had to steal from his own flesh and blood. Due to the fact that she could not tell Anse what the money was for she tells him: "it 's Cora Tull 's money. I sold the cakes for it" (Faulkner 255). As Anse tells her that he does not believe her he takes the money so that he can go get his new teeth. Psychological stress affects Dewey Dell as a result of Anses ' actions. She is left in the same situation as she was before- single and pregnant- which was not accepted during the 1920 's. Even more, greed comes into play when we realize that Anse does not care what the money is for if it interferes with his plans to get teeth (Bloom 228). He does not try to understand that Dewey might be saving that money for something important, but rather, he sees the ten dollars as a chance to get his teeth fixed and jumps on the opportunity. Overall,
Throughout the novel, readers can see how physical stress is a result of the Bundrens extreme poverty and the parenting skills that Anse displays. The first example being Cash 's broken leg. After Cash breaks his leg a second time, Anse decides to take matters into his own hands to save money- he uses concrete to stabilize and try to fix Cash 's leg, resulting in his son losing his leg. After Cash visits Peabody, the doctor, the reader gets an understanding of how bad the damage is. "Concrete… God Almighty. Why didn 't Anse carry you to the nearest saw mill and stick your leg in the saw" (Faulkner 240)? The family did not have the proper resources or money to properly fix Cash 's leg the correct way. However, if Anse did not have the desire to save money Cash would have gotten the correct care that he needed, and would not have suffered as much. Ironically, when taking care of Cash 's leg, Anse states that "they are doing the best we can", but in reality he is not. Anse is so reluctant to save money that he would rather his son be left without a leg than to spare some money to get him the proper treatment. The fact that Anse chose to fix his son 's leg with concrete displays his greed, and how he had no sympathy or concern for his son 's broken leg (Bloom 228). In addition to this, readers catch a glimpse of how selfless Cash is through the same leg injury he …show more content…
As the novel concludes, we see a disagreement between Anse and Dewey Dell concerning the ten dollars that she brought along to receive an abortion. When Anse finds Dewey 's money he asks her for it, implying that "it is just a loan" (Faulkner 256). When she tells him that he cannot have it he "takes the money and goes off" (Faulkner 257). The action that we see from Anse shows how bad the Bundrens financial situation is considering he had to steal from his own flesh and blood. Due to the fact that she could not tell Anse what the money was for she tells him: "it 's Cora Tull 's money. I sold the cakes for it" (Faulkner 255). As Anse tells her that he does not believe her he takes the money so that he can go get his new teeth. Psychological stress affects Dewey Dell as a result of Anses ' actions. She is left in the same situation as she was before- single and pregnant- which was not accepted during the 1920 's. Even more, greed comes into play when we realize that Anse does not care what the money is for if it interferes with his plans to get teeth (Bloom 228). He does not try to understand that Dewey might be saving that money for something important, but rather, he sees the ten dollars as a chance to get his teeth fixed and jumps on the opportunity. Overall,