Smithy as a Hero?

So this is probably a predictable topic to talk about, though kinda tough. Is Smithy a hero? He definitely has some heroic traits, but we haven't gotten that far into the book, so it's possible he can show more qualities of a hero or maybe he'll show qualities of a villain.

So first off, he's kinda his sister's savior, ignoring the fact that she's dead now. He's obviously close to his sister, and he's able to sorta calm her down when she has a breakdown and starts to scratch her face. So, Smithy is heroic in that sense.

However, he's also a fat 47-year-old who smokes a ton and drinks a ton. That's...kinda the opposite of what I expect in a hero. The people who are heroes usually are fit to varying degrees, young, attractive, and healthy. Smithy is none of those. Actually, past Smithy probably would have fit the criteria.

Yeah, actually maybe present Smithy will slowly become more like past Smithy. That could be his heroic journey, right? I mean, right now we just have Smithy riding his bike but it's definitely the start of a journey. He's going all the way to where his sister's body is. That's gonna be a really long journey, especially because it's an old bike and he hasn't used it in so long.

However, the image of Smithy riding his bike isn't that heroic, actually it's more laughable. An overweight guy riding on a bike? I know I'm probably being really mean by saying that but it's just so weird to see this. Of course, if I saw something like this in person, I wouldn't say anything to them.

Sorry, I'm getting off topic. So far, Smithy's been changing, he isn't drinking or smoking as much, and he's eating less and being healthier. Obviously it's because the Greek gods are giving him their blessing to miraculously survive anything that's thrown at him (or anything he's thrown at, like the lake).

So before I get off topic, I just wanna say I feel that Smithy's journey is going to help change him and, once he's finished, we'll have a guy that represents a hero. Either that or I'm gonna be really unsatisfied with him and will complain a ton.

So...the Ending...

Yeah...I was expecting a lot more from the ending of the book. Maybe I wanted the family to stay together, maybe I wanted Vardaman to get that train, maybe I wanted Cash to have two working legs, maybe I wanted Dewey Dell to get the abortion she wanted so desperately. I don't know. What I do know, is that I don't hate all of the Bundrens anymore. Just Anse.

This guy...I don't even know where to start. Okay, at first it looked like he wanted to just do one last thing for Addie and wanted the best for his family. Now, I'm not so sure. This moron has damaged his family in ways that could be considered torture. Because of his stubbornness, Cash is down a leg, Jewel is down a horse, and Darl is gone. Honestly, Anse shouldn't even be allowed to be a father. Maybe he likes to claim he's doing his best but it looks like he went to town just for new teeth and a new Mrs. Bundren. This makes it seem like he didn't even care for Addie. Now I'm not surprised that she didn't want to be anywhere near him. At least he helped bury her, so he could let her down one last time (I'm so sorry but I had to make that joke).

Now then, Darl. Oh man that was a shocker. Maybe he didn't seem to be the most normal person but he certainly didn't seem insane, just a bit creepy because of his all knowing powers. Still, there was nothing indicating Darl was insane enough to set a barn on fire. Maybe he really hated Addie? But that doesn't really seem to be a possibility, because there wasn't ever anything that suggested Darl hated Addie.

I also found Darl's last narrated chapter really disturbing. He always refers to himself in the third person and is laughing the whole time. If that's not creepy enough, near the end he suddenly refers to an "our". As in, "Darl is our brother." It's as if all of a sudden he has the ability to channel thoughts of all of his siblings or something. Really disturbing in my eyes. But I wonder, would Darl have turned out this way if he hadn't gone to town? Maybe, just maybe, he would've stayed being Darl the creepy guy who seems to know everything that's going on instead of Darl, the insane guy who burned down a barn.

Either way, weird ending to this book.

Now I Can Say I Hate Addie

So after that narration from Addie's perspective, I can add her to the list of Bundrens that I despise. I honestly find nothing to like about her, other than the fact that she was kind enough to die.

First on the long list of what I find completely messed up with her is how happy she was to punish her students. It's not normal to find pleasure in hurting kids so you literally leave your mark on them. I don't care what you think, there's no way to make that seem okay. You sick, twisted b....

Okay next point. Did she really hate Anse, or would you have hated whoever you married? She said she didn't like how her freedom was taken away from her. But really, she probably would have felt similarly no matter who she married. The second she had a kid she hated it. So really, she can't blame Anse for taking your freedom (I mean, she did so obvious she could, but that's not the point) because I'm pretty sure she would've blamed any guy she married and had at least one kid with.

Also, you cheated on your husband who loved you! To me, there's nothing Addie Bundren could say to excuse this behavior. Really, just because she gave Anse two more kids to balance out Jewel doesn't mean what she did was okay. It's quite ironic because it was shown that Addie taught her children to never be deceitful and now here she is doing exactly what she taught them not to do. Hypocrite.

Speaking of Addie's affair, what the hell, Whitfield? You were that focused on telling Anse the truth but took it as a sign from God that you didn't need to because she was dead? THAT'S NOT OKAY. IN FACT THAT WAS PROBABLY A SIGN THAT IF YOU DON'T TELL THE TRUTH YOU WILL BE STRUCK DOWN. I can't believe this! How stupid can you get?!

Now, after reading Addie's narration, I'm convinced she was mentally insane. Just the way her thoughts work doesn't seem even remotely normal to me. Maybe I'm just trying to find things wrong with her because I hate her. Maybe it's because she really is mentally ill. Either way, I still despise her and am glad she's dead, even though her being dead has nearly killed the rest of her family.

I Hate Them All

I'm just going to say it, I really just hate all the characters in As I Lay Dying. At least, I strongly dislike the Bundrens.

So first off, let's start with Vardaman. I don't understand his obsession with fish. Is this supposed to be humorous and I just don't get it? It's just something about his talk of fish that really irks me. I don't know why this bothers me so much but it does. Maybe I just a problem with kids and that's why I don't like him. Either way, something about Vardaman makes me strongly dislike him. He also ignored the cow. Not cool, dude. That cow needed to be milked.

Then there's Dewey Dell. I don't understand her. She cares for her mom but according to the all knowing Darl, she also wants her to be dead so the family can go to town? Why does she seem to be more concerned about a guy she slept with than any of her family, including her mother? I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that she was just thinking of Lafe while fanning her mother. I feel sorry for Dewey Dell though because she is pregnant and the only female in a family of guys. However, I still don't like her because so far all I've been able to tell is that she likes to think of Lafe and acts like a jerk to the cow.

Now there's Jewel. The reason I don't like him is really simple. He's so spoiled. It's been said that Addie would spoil Jewel a lot, which is probably why he acts the way he does. He doesn't seem to act spoiled, but just something about how he acts still does annoy me. It starts with him sneaking off to work for money to buy a horse. Did he really need to get a horse? Because of his selfishness, his siblings had to do his work for him and Addie had to lie to cover for him. Oh, so he assures Anse that his horse won't eat any of his food? Well how is he going to make sure of that? Keep the horse far away from any food and feed it when he can? The family doesn't have a lot of money, so I feel that he might just slowly kill the horse. Not cool. Besides, if he wanted to ride an animal, why not ride the cow? That would look cooler, in my opinion.

On to Cash. Okay, I admit, he's hardworking and stuff, which is good. However, I think he takes it too far. He works even when it's raining a ton and even when he has a broken leg. Dude, you were lucky that you only broke a leg, why would you try to push your luck? What if you somehow get it infected? Would you keep working hard then? I mean, if you did, great, but I don't think it would be good for your health. So really, I think I just really want to complain that Cash is just too hardworking and that's why I don't like him. Kinda stupid, but eh, I don't like how he doesn't seem to care for himself at all.

Darl. Oh Darl, what to say about you. I don't like him because he kinda creeps me out. He seems to be all knowing, seeing things that happen when he isn't near. He pretty much is the narrator embodied in a character, which just freaks me out because no character should have that much power because with great power comes great responsibility. Darl isn't responsible though, so he doesn't deserve great power. He made Jewel go with him on that stupid trip to get $3 and he definitely knew Addie would be dead before they came back (unless his superpowers were taking a break). That's just not cool.

Lastly there's Anse (I don't feel that I know enough about Addie to have an opinion of her). This guy is either the most stubborn lazy person ever or the laziest stubborn person ever. How can you die from sweating? Unless he was dying from dehydration or heat stroke, that makes no sense. It seems he honestly believes something bad will happen if he sweats, which I find ridiculous. The guy is also so stubborn that he insists that Darl and Jewel go get $3 while Addie is dying. Anse seems to be quite desperate for money but then also refuses the offers of others when they want to help out. He refused Tull's offer for the team of horses or whatever, and he refuses offers of a free meal. Now, I understand he doesn't want to seem dependent, but it's a little late for that. He's so inept that he can't even smooth out a blanket. There's just too much for me to say about why I hate Anse so I'm going to stop before I get too worked up.

So there you go. The various family members of the Bundren family and why I don't like them. I do like their cow though. I don't know why. I just do.