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The Bundren Family In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying

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In the Bundren family, from the book As I lay Dying by William Faulkner, each character has his or her own personality, morals and motivations but each one of them committed their own sins. They either burned down a barn or tried to kill there own baby. Each character has also redeemed themselves and did some positive things. Faulkner raises many philosophical questions about life and love and the world. I decided to tackle weather you could live a life of sin though redemption. With each of the family members living a life of sin through redemption the question raises are they actually living? Are they living happily?

Anse, the father of the Bundren family, has always been lazy and never properly took care of his family. When Cash's leg broke Anse decided to pour cement over instead of fixing is properly and he also doesn't get a good doctor to take care of Addie. Anse justifies his action by blaming God or saying it's his ¨bad luck¨. Anse redeems himself by trying to bring Addie to Jefferson, where she wants to be buried. He once tells Dewey Dell, ¨I have fed you sheltered you. I give you love and care, yet my own daughter, the daughter of my dead wife, calls me a thief over her mother's grave¨ (256). Anse at the end of the book seems to be doing fine because he marries a new woman and lives happily ever after. Anse had lived a life of sin …show more content…
Lafe starts to steal from Dewey Dell's sack and says, ¨´I am picking into your sack.´ and so it was full when we came to the end of the row and I could not help it¨ (27). Dewey Dell was apart of this sin and it was her duty to deal with it. After getting sexually assaulted and finally getting rid of her baby, she is left with Vadaman. Ironically, she treats Vardaman as if he was her own. She seems to be happy living after fixing herself and her

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