Addie Bundren.

Essay by ecjoker88 June 2003

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Addie Bundren conjures up the central darkness derived from her death and directly or indirectly

causes actions in which each Bundren character takes advantage of Addie. With the character's actions

revolving around her death, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying reveals the truth about the people who

surround a person may take advantage of him or her. The death of Addie Bundren shapes all of the

character's actions in life including Addie's final request before her death. Addie takes advantage of her

death by using it for revenge and inflicting final pains upon some characters, while the other characters use

her to get what they want for their personal needs.

Addie causes all the painful actions around her family either directly or indirectly. Addie is

foremost the prominent abuser of her upcoming death in As I Lay Dying. She predetermines her time to

die, and she makes sure that the people in her family whom she dislikes must experience her wrath before

she moves on to the next life.

"Addie is the one who is dying, but she makes revenges run throughout the

family and extend beyond" (Wadlington 35). Inflicting pain mostly on Anse, Addie enjoys herself. Anse, a

lazy man, is forced by his wife to take her to Jefferson to be buried as her final request. Addie's revenge

on Anse was payback for all the times when he just sat around while Addie, her children, and sometimes

neighbors do all the hard work for him. Also "Addie reacts to Anse's arid conventionality by having a

clandestine affair with minister Whitfield" (Wadlington 31). Addie also indirectly hurts one of her favorite

sons, Cash. Cash is hurt indirectly when he helps !

his kinfolk carry his mother's coffin to Jefferson, where along the path, he breaks his...