Of The Bundren Family In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

Anna Karenia, the Hidden Member of the Bundren Family

The Bundren family in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying has many dysfunctional qualities. The dysfunctional qualities of the Bundren family stem from each member’s flaws. The Bundrens’ may be blind to their imperfections, but the families surrounding them notice the dysfunctionality. Three distinct characters contribute to the family’s problems. Darl, Addie, and Jewel all have unique and corrupt characteristics that define them. These members' features cut off their emotional and physical connection with the rest of the family.

In his novel Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy states, “All Happy Families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” (1). This statement is also referred

Elizabeth Hayes states in her article, Tension between Darl and Jewel, “Also significant is the leading role that Jewel plays in Darl’s sections of the text: Jewel appears in every one of Darl’s monologues” (50). Hayes takes notice of the hidden aspiration of Darl attempting to have a relationship with Jewel. While their relationship may not be as prominent as Jewel and Addie’s, it is also important to the note that Darl centralizes his sections around Jewel. Hayes also states, “The tension in Darl and Jewel’s relationship, however, is one of special significance. This relationship is crucial to the structure of the text, embodies the unresolvable ambiguities at the heart of the journey”

Darl is an outcast in the novel and is the true definition of dysfunctional. Darl’s final section truly expresses his personality. In Darl's last section, he is transported to Jackson to the insane asylum after burning down Gillespie’s barn. Darl states himself, “Darl has gone to Jackson. They put him on the train, laughing, down the long car laughing, the heads turning like the heads of owls when he passed. “What are you laughing at?” I said” (243). One detail that differs from his other sections is the use of the third person, which is very odd considering this is his section speaking. He only narrates in the third person throughout the one-and-a-half pages of his final chapter. Another interesting detail Darl sheds light upon is in this line, “Darl had a little spy-glass he got in France at the war” (244). Darl gives the reader detail about being in World War I, and most troopers that experience war firsthand may also experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is the answer to why Darl is viewed differently from the rest of the Bundrens. Following the same pattern with Addie and Jewel, Darl contributes to his family's dysfunction is his lack of verbal communication. Though the lack of communication, in general, is lacking throughout the family, unless it's a few curse words from Jewel now and then, Faulkner gives the reader detail to Darl having a unique form of communication. Frederick N. Smith mentions