In As I Lay Dying, the picture we get of Anse is not very heroic. I don't think Anse really represents a hero even though he is going through a journey. So far it hasn't really changed him or helped anyone other than him.
First off, Anse doesn't even take the lead in this journey that he proposed. He seems to be the only one who pushes for the journey, but during the travel he is often letting Jewel lead the wagon and the mules. If Anse took lead of the journey, I think that would make him more admirable, as it would lead you to believe that he could actually do something if he tried and would show that he has some sort of determination to do something even if he refuses to work.
To further push Anse into the role of not being a hero, his motives for making the journey to town are questionable. Throughout the book he keeps mentioning the teeth that he hasn't had for year and that if he goes to town he will be able to get them. Although all the other characters have their own reasons for going to town, Anse seems the most deliberate in stating the he is just fulfilling Addie's wishes when in fact the is also fulfilling his wishes. None of the kids say that they are helping Addie, they are just following what their father is telling them and they can get to town as a by-product of that.
Anse is also very stubborn about this trip when it is evidently a very bad idea. Both bridges are flooded, people get injured, everyone else is telling them not to go and they don't really have enough money to support the trip. In general, I think that the children are more heroic than Anse in this story, as they have to struggle through the same hardships as Anse, but they try to solve their own problems. This can especially be seen in how Vardaman is figuring out what death is when he just lost a mother and almost everything that can be going wrong is.
First off, Anse doesn't even take the lead in this journey that he proposed. He seems to be the only one who pushes for the journey, but during the travel he is often letting Jewel lead the wagon and the mules. If Anse took lead of the journey, I think that would make him more admirable, as it would lead you to believe that he could actually do something if he tried and would show that he has some sort of determination to do something even if he refuses to work.
To further push Anse into the role of not being a hero, his motives for making the journey to town are questionable. Throughout the book he keeps mentioning the teeth that he hasn't had for year and that if he goes to town he will be able to get them. Although all the other characters have their own reasons for going to town, Anse seems the most deliberate in stating the he is just fulfilling Addie's wishes when in fact the is also fulfilling his wishes. None of the kids say that they are helping Addie, they are just following what their father is telling them and they can get to town as a by-product of that.
Anse is also very stubborn about this trip when it is evidently a very bad idea. Both bridges are flooded, people get injured, everyone else is telling them not to go and they don't really have enough money to support the trip. In general, I think that the children are more heroic than Anse in this story, as they have to struggle through the same hardships as Anse, but they try to solve their own problems. This can especially be seen in how Vardaman is figuring out what death is when he just lost a mother and almost everything that can be going wrong is.
I have to agree with you that Anse's ulterior motive of trying to buy teeth ruins any chance of him being a hero. His stubborness is also so impractical and putting the entire family into mortal danger that it is not very heroic either. I am not sure if any of the kids can be seen as heroes either, except maybe Cash who is putting up with pain in order to satisfy Anse through completing Addie's wish.
ReplyDeleteI don't really see Anse as a hero either, especially because he keeps thinking about "them teeth." I think he is a hero in his mind because he is making a difficult journey just for his wife, but his stubbornness detracts from his heroism. I feel bad for his children because they are forced to follow him on this silly journey. Anse is pushing them to come with him, but then kind of sits back and lets them do the work on the trip.
ReplyDeleteAnse definitely isn't a hero. He really doesn't have any redeeming qualities that make me want to think he is one. This trip is just a deathtrap for his family that might get him some false teeth in the end. If someone were to call him a hero I'd ask them: "WHO HAS HE HELPED IN THIS BOOK?" and the answer would be nobody because he's a a selfish crab.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree Anse is the opposite of a hero. I don't buy the fact that he's taking Addie to Jefferson to fulfill her wishes. I believe, as Anse stated immediately after Addie's death, that his motive for going to Jefferson is to get new teeth. Also, on the trip to town, it is not Anse who risks his life carrying the coffin across the river. Rather, it is Jewel and Cash. This shows me that, first, Anse is not heroic, and second, Anse doesn't care all that much about Addie's body.
ReplyDeleteI had high expectations for Anse as a hero. I have to say, I'm disappointed with how the book ended because it left us seriously questioning Anse's morals, and I was worrying about all the Bundren children, who were stepped all over throughout this journey. I didn't even think the teeth as an ulterior motive wasn't that bad, because all the kids wanted something in town as well, but Anse's success against their failures makes me question Anse more.
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