Anse

Booth writes in his book about Intellectual writing. “We have, or can be made to have, strong intellectual curiosity about “the facts.” For Qualitative, he says: “a strong desire to see any pattern or form completed.”  Then he says about Practical. “We have, or can be made to have, a strong desire for the success or failure of those we love or hate” (Booth 123).

I believe that Faulkner relies on these interests to help develop desires in the reader. Anse for example is a character that is easy to hate. He is a very selfish person, but he would want us to believe that he is a saint.

Addie Bundren has been sick for a while, lying in bed waiting to die. Her last wish is that she be buried in Jefferson. Anse intends to honor her wish by taking her to Jefferson, but he has ulterior motives. Addie has not been for dead 10 minutes, and he says. “Gods will be done,” he says. “Now I can get them teeth.” (52) At this point it is hard to see if this is really Anse’s motives because, Darl, who is not even home when Addie dies, narrates the chapter.

 Anse begins to talk to Darl and Cash about respect for their mom, who is dead and lying in a coffin. “I says I got some regard for what folks says about my flesh and blood even if you haven’t, even if I have raised such a durn passel of boys, and when you fixes it so folks can say such about you, it’s a reflection on your ma” (105-106) He, talks like he is being respectful and concerned about how people see him, but right after this he says again. “But now I can get them teeth.” Anse is not concerned about paying his wife respect; his ulterior motive is his own interest.

In the last chapter, Cash gives us more desire to hate Anse. Right after they have buried Addie, Cash tells us. “It’s Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell, “ pa says, kind of hangdog and proud too, with his teeth and all, even if he wouldn’t look at us. “Meet Mrs. Bundren,” he says” (261). They have not even made it back home, they just buried Addie, and Anse has a new set of teeth and a new wife.

Throughout the book we read of Anse selfish acts, and as we see this pattern continue, our hate for him grows, tell we learn the truth of his journey to Jefferson was his teeth and marriage.