Teethless Goober Anse Bundren

    William Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying,' tells the story of the Bundren family and their journey to bury their deceased mother, Addie. The novel is uniquely written due to the multiple narrators in the book, which switch back and forth in each chapter. This was my first time reading anything like this and it was very interesting seeing the workings in the minds of not only the Bundrens but the people around them as well. Because Faulkner is also using the "stream of consciousness" writing style, each character was very individualized and unique. During class, someone brought up that As I Lay Dying was almost like a parody, making fun of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, as there isn't really a hero, it doesn't really follow the steps, and when the book does, it almost seems to do the exact opposite to the steps. In this blog, I would like to analyze Anse Bundren and see how he both fits and contrasts with the Hero's Journey.

    Anse Bundren, the father of the family, seems to fit the best with Joseph Campbell's monomyth compared to the others. First, like all of the other Bundrens, he receives the call to adventure through Addie's wish of being buried in Jefferson. They then all cross the threshold between the old to the new world by crossing the river. Here is where Anse differs from the rest of the family, as he actually has an ending fitting with the hero's journey, especially the final two steps: "master of two worlds" and "freedom to live". After the burial, which I believe fits with the ultimate boon (though I have my doubt as it is literally half a sentence), many of the other Bundren's story ends with tragedy, or at the very lead misfortune. Anse however, got a new wife when he was trying to find a shovel to bury the dead one and he gets new teeth by stealing the money from his daughter Dewey Dell, who needed an abortion. In my opinion, he became the master of two worlds by having a status in both the Bundren's hometown and also in Jefferson by marrying "Mrs. Bundren". He also has the freedom to live because he didn't go insane and be sent to an asylum like Darl or have his leg amputated like Cash. 

    I'm assuming after seeing how he reached his final steps you can understand why I don't think Anse is a hero.  Anse is he's morals do not fit with a hero's, taking money from his sixteen (seventeen?) year-old daughter isn't what one would consider heroic. The biggest thing though, that shows Anse isn't the hero is that his personality, views, and morality don't change at all in the story, therefore missing one of the biggest steps that practically defines a hero's journey: the apotheosis. At the beginning of the story, Anse felt useless, selfish, and hypocritical, and this does not change throughout the novel, unlike many hero's in other media who started off bad but became good, like Han Solo from Star Wars or Siddhartha. 

    In the book, it seems that Faulkner is almost critiquing the hero's journey, questioning what really defines a hero. Is it the steps they follow? Perhaps it is their mentality and morals? I'm not quite sure what the answer is, usually the hero in the story would be the narrator, or the character most focused on, but due to the multiple narrators Faulkner uses, the idea of a hero really is up to interpretation.