The Bundrens In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

In the novel As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner introduces the Bundrens, a poor southern family who sets forth on a journey on behalf of their mother, Addie Bundren, who requested to be buried in Jefferson. Although the novel appears to be optimistic it can be argued to be pessimistic in nature. As the family’s expedition comes to an end three out of the seven family members are able to obtain their wishes for coming to Jefferson. The three family members are Vardaman, the youngest child, Anse, the father, and Addie. Vardaman decides to go on this journey because he is told he will be able to see a toy train, however, while in Jefferson he is also told that he would be given bananas. At the very end of the novel it is revealed that Dewey Dell, the only girl out of the five children, and Vardaman were “eating
These four members are Cash, the carpenter, Jewel, the favored child, and Darl, the unfavored child. Cash’s love for his mother brings him to Jefferson purely wanting only to fulfill her wish. Trying to do so Cash breaks his leg crossing a river during the rainy season as it the only way to get to Jefferson. “Lucky it was the same leg he broke last summer”(186). Although it was lucky that Cash had broke the same leg it is unlucky that he had broken his leg once again. Not only that, but if the father had decided to wait until the rainy season was over the entire situation of breaking his leg again would have been avoided. As if breaking his leg was bad enough Cash perseveres through the pain. A while after breaking his leg Anse decides to put cement on Cash’s leg. Later causing his blood circulation to stop and because the blood circulation stopped it caused his leg to “turned black”(224). This making his leg to become permanently irreplaceable. As well as causing him to be limped and unbalanced for the rest of his