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Addie Bundren In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

624 Words3 Pages

Addie Bundren is the most confusing of all the characters in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. From her hatred of Anse to her odd, loving relationship with Jewel, it was very difficult to get a complete grasp of who Addie really was. Some might see her as loving and loyal while others are taken aback by her actions. After much deliberation, it seems like her disturbing qualities seem to prevail over her loving ones. One of the biggest themes in the book is selfishness. All of the characters do something for their own personal gain. On the trip to Jefferson that was supposed to be for Addie, her family members managed to make the trip about themselves. Anse wanted new teeth and a new wife, Vardaman wanted the train, Dewey Dell searched for an abortion, and Cash wanted a gramophone. However, the most selfish of all characters was Addie. While Addie was quick to label others as selfish, like she did with her students in her chapter, she never acknowledged her own selfishness. The custom of the times was to be buried with the family, so Addie would typically be buried where Anse and her kids would be buried. However, she hated Anse so much that she made him promise to take her back …show more content…

In her chapter, she discusses all of the things she hates. She is a school teacher and hates all of her students. She hopes they do something wrong so she can whip them. Above all else, she hated Anse the most. She hated Anse because she hated her situation. She felt everyone was against her and nothing mattered. Even having kids did not make her happier. Instead it just made her hate Anse even more. The kids and Anse violated her aloneness which she cherished. She did not view her children as her own but as Anse’s. To get revenge on him, she had an affair with Whitfield and ended up having Jewel. Her affair was not done in love though, for she did not believe in love. It was done out of her deep hatred for

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