False and Crazy

Is this book, which I considered to be the cyanide to the literary world when I was sixteen, true and beautiful? I guess that would depend on one’s definition of truth and beauty. I define truth as a reality. If it’s real, then it is also true. The Bundrens are a “real” bunch; that much can go without asking. But how true are their actions? The crux of the entire story is to get Addie buried in Jefferson county as her final dying wish. Anse goes all the way to bury her and immediately finds a new wife. He honored his wife, who had a love child whom she loves more than anyone else, but as soon as he completes his mission he makes the choice to abandon his dead wife and find a new one. And some could even believe he was only in the journey for his false teeth. Darl goes as far as to attempt to incinerate his dead mother, at a point in their journey where they are almost complete. Dewey Dell is willing to do anything to blot out her mistake, rather than taking responsibility for herself. Each of these characters have something that blocks them from happily honoring Addie’s dying wish, but they do it anyway. The journey that they take is “real” but it is also fake at the same time.

And beauty? It is difficulty to classify a story about taking a decomposing body across stretches of land with an air of reluctance as “beautiful”. I think that watching Darl’s decent into “madness” and comparing his change is something to be seen however. It is almost like watching a fire. You can see the destruction, but it is still beautiful to watch.