Cash: The man's man

While reading William Faulkners amazing tale of the Bundrens I have quickly come to relate to the eldest of the family, Cash. He is the one who will work through rain, night, the death of his mother, hell, he'll break his leg again just to save his mothers coffin. This guy is just down right respectable. I guess one of the things I enjoy about him so much is the fact that I'm almost positive this is exactly who my father wants to be. My dad has always tried to instill a work ethic of a machine in me. I remember just a few years ago staining my deck twice in 90 degree weather because he thought 6 months was the allotted time for stain to last (it is 5 years). Cash just embodies what I imagine almost any father would want in a son. A man that gets done what he needs to get done and doesn't complain. He doesn't seek any recognition it is just what he thinks needs to get done. When Cash makes the coffin on the bevel it takes quite a bit of extra time. It isn't needed but he does it because it is just logical. If you're going to do something might as well do it right. He even asks to bring his tools on the trip just so on the way back he can work on Tull's roof. Towards the end of the novel he loses his leg. A man whose sole purpose is to work will have that inhibited due to his fathers (still thoughtful) stupidity. You would think he would be upset but he is not in the least. the only time I think I saw Cash convey any sort of emotion was when he heard the gramaphone and realized he would not be able to buy it due to his father taking his money. It was almost one of defeat. Fortunately, in the end Cash was able to get his gramaphone and at least his mission was a successful one.

The Gunslinger

    Whenever I think of Jewel I see a young Clint Eastwood saying "Get three coffins ready." Jewel is just a total badass with a temper. He would have fit into any Sergio Leone spaghetti western. Unfortunately for him, he is stuck with the Bundrens. Quite possibly the most unimpressive family in Mississippi. Jewel has everything to make a great western flick. A complete outcast and bastard son who is on a mission to finish his dying mothers last wish (according to Anse). Sadly, his opposition is not some Mexican gang it is his family. Whenever Jewel gets closer to fulfilling this image it seems something inevitably ruins it for him. He has a horse he is trying to break and when he finally does his father sells it. When you think he will finally break off from the family and become a lone ranger of sorts he saves his mother's coffin and is seriously burned in the process. 

    Jewel is one of the few family members that actually seems to notice what people probably think of them, but Jewel being Jewel, doesn't care. He is almost like the older brother to the family. He is the one that will stick up for them but he hates being with them. He has no reason to stay and yet he does. There is nothing compelling Jewel and there is no reason why he can't leave. He stays because he still wants to help his family even if some know that he is not exactly blood.

Is Darl Crazy?

    At the end of Faulkners amazing tale, As I Lay Dying, we are made aware of the fact that Darl may be a little off his rocker. This may or may not come as a shock to most readers but, nevertheless, it puts all of the story at risk. We are given most of this novel from Darl's point of view and it is a little more than disconcerting to find out that the source of information may be clinically insane. Some do not think he is insane however. Cash believes that it's about how people view you. Darl may not be crazy, just misunderstood.
    Let's just say that Darl is crazy. He imagines things that can't happen and can tell you what is going on in a place miles away. There never is a moment where any of the other narrations discount Darl's account of things going on though. Darl will talk about vultures following their caravan and then a few chapters later you will see Vardaman scaring them off. Darl knows of Dewey Dell's pregnancy and even that Jewel is only his half brother. These facts are all confirmed in other chapters from other characters perspective. So even if Darl is crazy he is not totally out of it. As described by Anse and so many others, he is just "queer". Cora even says he just needs a wife and he will be fine. There is no reason anyone should think that he is completely out of his gourd.
    The only time I ever question his sanity is after he is captured and he begins to talk in the first and third person and things just become all out of whack. The only thing I can see to be the true reason he is acting like this is because he is completely drugged up. Much like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, I think that it is not Darl's fault that he is acting crazy. There are many arguments for both sides but I feel like I can still believe his sections in the novel and find them credible.