Reading Questions
PAGES 3–84
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1. Discuss the
different kind of relationships the Bundren siblings have with each
other. Is Cora right about Darl being Addie's favorite son?
2. What type of marriage do you think Anse and Addie have? How do you feel about Anse as a father and a husband? How do Addie's children feel about her?
3. Discuss what the involvement of Doctor Peabody and Cora and Vernon Tull in the Bundrens' saga says about the importance of community in country life.
4. What does Cash's list of the 13 reasons for beveling the edges of the coffin tell us about him?
5. As far as we know, Dewey Dell hasn't told anyone about her pregnancy. Do you think she's incapable of articulating her condition in words, or do you think Faulkner meant her to be representative of the times?
6. How does Vardaman come to the conclusion that "My mother is a fish" (p. 84)? As you continue reading, look for other ways Vardaman attempts to keep his mother alive.
2. What type of marriage do you think Anse and Addie have? How do you feel about Anse as a father and a husband? How do Addie's children feel about her?
3. Discuss what the involvement of Doctor Peabody and Cora and Vernon Tull in the Bundrens' saga says about the importance of community in country life.
4. What does Cash's list of the 13 reasons for beveling the edges of the coffin tell us about him?
5. As far as we know, Dewey Dell hasn't told anyone about her pregnancy. Do you think she's incapable of articulating her condition in words, or do you think Faulkner meant her to be representative of the times?
6. How does Vardaman come to the conclusion that "My mother is a fish" (p. 84)? As you continue reading, look for other ways Vardaman attempts to keep his mother alive.
Reading Questions
PAGES 85–168
1. Anse Bundren may be one of the most feckless characters in literature, but why do you think his neighbors repeatedly come to his aid? Is it out of pity, respect, guilt, charity, community...or is Anse that good at manipulation?
2. Faulkner allows Darl and Vardaman to express themselves in language that would be impossible given their lack of education and experience in the world. Why does Faulkner break with the realistic representation of character in this way?
3. Which are the most sympathetic voices in the novel? Discuss which characters you most and least identify with.
4. What does Darl's tale of how Jewel bought his first horse reveal about Jewel's personality and his relationship with his family?
5. What does the novel reveal about the ways in which human beings deal with death, grieving, and letting go of loved ones?
6. Is Tull and Jewel's search in the river for Cash's tools an act of love or obligation?
Pages 168-end
1. Why do you think Addie's chapter is placed where it is? How does her chapter change your earlier perceptions of the Bundren family? For example, how well did Cora really know Addie?
2. On pages 173–174, Addie meditates on the distance between words and actions. Is Faulkner saying that words—his own chosen medium—are inadequate? What do Addie's definitions say about her as a woman?
3. Anse Bundren alone thrives in the midst of disaster. What was his real reason for wanting to go to Jefferson? Who else gets what they came for?
4. Humor and the grotesque are often interdependent in this novel, such as Vardaman's accidental drilling of holes in his dead mother's face so she can breathe, the family setting Cash's broken leg in cement and the family's apparent imperviousness to the stench of Addie's rotting corpse. What are other examples? What was your reaction to such moments?
5. Darl is able to describe Addie's death when he is not present and intuit Dewey Dell's pregnancy. What does this uncanny visionary power mean, particularly in the context of what happens to Darl at the end of the novel?
6. The Bundrens must endure a number of obstacles on their way to Jefferson. To what extent are the elements against them, and to what extent do they sabotage themselves?
7. What compels loyalty in this family? What are the ways in which that loyalty is betrayed? Who do you feel makes the ultimate sacrifice for the family? Overall, do you find this novel to be hopeful or pessimistic? Share your comments.
1. It seems as if Anse's neighbors come to his aid through a mix of charity and respect. Due to the death of Addie and everyone's knowledge of it, it seems like his neighbors have pity and feel obliged to help him with small tasks.
ReplyDelete2. Faulkner breaks the representation of these characters due to their creative and passionate streams of thought. He uses them to write poetically which wasn't the norm for most of the characters.
3. Some of the most sympathetic voices include Darl, sometimes Cash, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman (to an extent). Some of the least sympathetic were Anse, Jewel, or Vernon.
4. This story showed that Jewel had a special relation with his family. Having them do his work for him was something passively respectful, and shows love between his siblings and especially his mother Addie.
5. The novel shows that death can cause many ranges of emotion. Some become angry, some very depressed, and others are somewhat indifferent even though deep down there is a passionate sorrow for the passing of loved ones. Such as darl who expresses his sorrows through his voice but does not show it as much.
6. It seems like it is a mix of both. Jewel and Tull both respect Cash as a skilled worker, but for Jewel it seems to be a brotherly gesture.
Maya&Dayanara
ReplyDeletepage 85-168
1. He was simply good at manipulating
2. To have the authors voice show throughout those characters.
3. Dewey Dell is the most sympathetic character. Although our research topic is Jewel, he is the least easy to relate to because he does not talk a lot. We can relate to Anse because he is good at manipulating.
4. Jewel is found to love his horse more than his actual mother. This shows that he doesnt have a very good relationship with his family.
5. That everyone deals with death in different ways.
6. it shows sign of both love and obligation. They needed to survive, so in order to make that happen both emotions were used.
1) The neighbors help Anse out of a sense of community. It definitely goes with the whole "southern hospitality" thing.
ReplyDelete2) Darl is very observant and perceptive, which contributes to his very intelligent appearance. Another reason Faulker may have for allowing Darl and Vardaman is to give a better description of what is going on. By just seeing the thoughts of characters it can be hard to figure out what's going on in a story, so Darl and Vardaman get to break the novel's rules a little bit to make sure the reader can understand what's going on.
3) Darl is a very human character to relate to. He has a lot of emotions fueling his actions, and his emotions are based on his very perceptive thoughts, which is why the others think he's crazy.
4) It's clear that Darl and Jewel have a bad relationship. They're either distant or clashing throughout the novel, and Darl questions Jewel's paternity and says he's not a real family member.
5) The novel points out a few things about death, family, and grieving. It points out the ways that death can both bring a family together and tear them apart, and it points out how things can be buried or uncovered when dealing with death.
6) A fish is death, Vardaman's mother is dead. Therefore, Vardaman's mother is a fish.
1) Anse's neighbors come to his rescuse out pf a sense of community closeness.
ReplyDelete2) Faulkner does this to insert his authors perspective in the bpok.
3) Darl is the most sympathetic character in the novel. I Most
$) Jewels relatoionship with his horse
1. Anse Bundren may be one of the laziest characters but it is respected more out of pity and tradition. The novel takes place in 1930’s Mississippi where although society slowly became altered men still played the center for the perfect home. Women were in charge of the children and keeping the house up. Women were also in charge of taking care of their husbands. Although today morals re slightly altered Anse is a great example of the life of men in that time.
ReplyDelete2. Faulkner uses Darl and Vardaman as maneuvers to relate to everyone. They may not be the most intelligent beings the emotions and events they experience are relative to those of the audience.
3. The most sympathetic character for me would be Vardaman because he is naïve and he is treated just that way. Although he has the bursts of intelligence he is seen as a child.
4. Jewel is his half brother. He doesn’t like Darl and keeps a distance with his family.
5. Everyone deals with death and grief differently.
6.