[The Bundrens] do a little bit of [stumbling around]

Are the members of the Bundren family heroes? That's a question I asked myself many times over the course of the novel. It really didn't feel like they were. They just kinda stumbled around and did stupid things. They certainly weren't very heroic. Anse was selfish, Darl was crazy, Jewel had anger management issues, and the rest of the family had their own problems. To write this blog post, I decided to not only view the characters from my perspective, but from other characters' perspectives, starting with Cora Tull.

I found it fitting to interview Cora first, which is fitting because she was the first non-Bundren to have a chapter in the novel. Cora has mixed opinions about the Bundren family. While she is a long time friend of Addie, she can't say she has the same feelings towards Addie's children and husband. When asked about how Anse and the kids will do without Addie, Cora responded, "I don't know what he'll do. I just don't know" (Faulkner 33). Cora seems to have mostly positive thoughts about the family, but sometimes she just isn't sure about the kids, referring to Jewel as "coddled" and "ungrateful" and Vardaman as a "drownded puppy" (Faulkner 70) when he showed up on her porch. Cora also seemed to think that Darl was Addie's favorite child, and that he loved his mother back, so much so that Cora told us she, "felt the bounteous love of the Lord again and His mercy" (Faulkner 24) when Darl looked upon his mother. Cora also told us that she prayed for Addie, who had been "sacrilegious" and I think that Cora believes that Darl's love may have saved his mother. Cora ended her interview by telling us she had "got to feed the chickens," so she "had better get on" (Faulkner 32).

I decided to interview Armstid and Gillespie next, thinking they might know something about the Bundrens, considering they did stay at their houses for a bit. Armstid had a seemingly negative opinion of the Bundrens, especially Anse, who "mumbled" frequently and wouldn't stop bothering Armstid about buying his mules. Armstid also doesn't think very highly about their treatment of Addie, saying that Anse "should be lawed for him treating her so" (Faulkner 187). Finally, Armstid commented about the poor attitudes of the children, notably Darl and Jewel when they quarreled over moving the wagon. Gillespie didn't seem to have positive thoughts about the Bundrens either, considering he grumbled something along the lines of "they owe me a barn" before declining to comment further.

For my final interview I decided to ask several citizens around the town of Mottson about the Bundren family. While many weren't sure whom I was asking about, a certain fellow named Moseley had interacted with Dewey Dell and hence knew of the family that I was questioning him of. While Moseley didn't have much to say about the Bundren family, other than a comment about their stench, he did have a lot to say about Dewey Dell and her child's father. To summarize things, he was disappointed in Dewey Dell's "lack of control" and felt that Lafe should have come instead. Moseley continued to grumble about her asking him, a "respectable Christian man," for abortion pills, but when we asked him why he carried such pills if he didn't wish to sell them, he refused to answer any further questions.

Considering the responses of everyone I interviewed, I believe it is safe to say I wasn't the only person to think of the Bundrens as "clownish goobers." When I interviewed other students, I received similar answers, with Miranda stating, "I hate this book and I don't want to talk about it," and Anna responding, "I hate them."

                                                                                                                                -Nathaniel Wiesbrook