Who is the anti-hero in As I Lay Dying? There is no obvious anti-hero, but there are a couple of people who I consider to be potential candidates.
Anse could in some ways be regarded as an anti-hero, because despite being somewhat determined to bring Addie to town, he is always bringing misfortune upon the family. His lethargy is highly detrimental to the Bundrens' well being.
I also think as Addie as a potential anti-hero candidate. While she didn't purposefully send the family out on a journey to town, none of it would have happened if she had just accepted her family. Yet, she felt uncomfortable being buried with them, and instead insisted (even if it was a while before) on being buried in town. Furthermore, even though Addie is dead, she is still causing problems for them when she is in the coffin. She attracts attention, falls off, and even smells bad (presumably).
While it is really impossible to say who is a definitive anti-hero (if there is one), I definitely consider both Anse and Addie as candidates.
Likewise, there are a couple of people who I consider candidates to be hero.
Anse could make a pretty good hero, despite his many excuses and his tendency to bring misfortune. He is pretty determined to get Addie to town, even though he recognizes and anticipates a lot of the difficulties they may have (up to the river)
Jewel could very arguably be the hero. He is the only one of the Bundrens who is not travelling to town for some other motive besides burying Addie. Furthermore, we get more background on Jewel than on any of the other characters. The fact that we learn about the work he put into his horse makes his sacrifice for the wagon team seem more significant. Furthermore, even if he does not know it, he arguably has a more personal reason to go bury Addie away from the farm.
There are several people who stand out as heros or antiheroes, but I don't think it is possible to select a single individual for either title.
I agree that Addie is more of a "villain" than a hero of the story (which may seem obvious, but when we were first reading -- before her chapter -- I thought for sure that she would be proven compassionate, hardworking, etc.), and the heroism of Anse is questionable.
ReplyDeleteI really like that Faulkner didn't give in regarding "hero" stuff. Anse and Addie are people, not elevated by a happy ending for the kids or a heroic twist. It starts in the middle of one episode with Addie, and ends in the middle of another with the new Mrs. Bundren. I think the story (especially the ending) is very original.
Back to your post, I think Cash comes the closest to a hero. He's much more compassionate than he was at the start of the story, though I agree with you that Jewel is "arguably" a hero as well.
I agree completely with you. Cash is the closest to being a hero of the story (he pushes things overboard by working a lot, which in the end results in him losing a leg for life but...), and out of all the characters who have narrated so far, I like his narration the best because it's straight and comes to the point.
DeleteI disagree, however, with your point Lyle about how Anse is potentially a hero of the novel. He is the furthest from a hero, if anything (unless you call ruining the lives of his children heroic! :P). But in all seriousness, I think that Anse doesn't deserve all which he has right now, because truly, it has come from the expense of his children, and to some extent, his ex-wife.
It's interesting to look at Addie as the anti-hero. At first I saw her as a hero before I really got to know her, as she had to deal with the many woes of being a Bundren. I pitied her position, and felt for her. The way in which those around her treat her after her death (preparing to take a long journey to Jefferson to bury her) seems like a heartfelt move, which made me feel like Addie cared about the poor, misfortunate Bundrens.
ReplyDeleteBut reading her section made me completely unsympathetic. I went from pitying Addie for having to deal with the Bundrens, to pitying the Bundrens for having a wife/mother like Addie. Addie comes across as not caring one bit about the Bundrens, which really makes me despise her. I would dislike her if she was just a mean person, but the fact that she doesn't care (which isn't really something that the other Bundrens seem to pick up on) and then is the reason behind a long, tedious journey to Jefferson really makes me feel for the Bundrens. Because of Addie, not Anse, does Darl end up in an institution and Cash becomes crippled. If she cared about them, then I feel like the blame would be more on Anse as the leader of the trip. But the fact that Addie has falsely led on Anse and the other Bundrens about this one supposedly important thing to her (she hates her family in Jefferson too!) really annoys me. She seems to have little to no regard for those who she spent her life around, and in return, those people get messed up by the journey that she caused.
You're asking who the anti-hero is, but I don't think there always has to be one. I saw Addie as an antagonist/obstacle, and Anse is much the same. I'd call Jewel a bit of an anti-hero, personally, with his moody attitude and stoic, unemotional, sometimes mean behavior.
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