As the Bundrens finally hit the road, the "journey" part, at least, of the "hero's journey" is evident. As we have been warned, an obvious hero is yet to surface. Mr. Mitchell has told us its going to be Anse, which I guess sense, as he's the paterfamilias, but so far I haven't seen much evidence for this in the text. It truly seems to be an ensemble story. The shifting narrators gives as much weight to Vardaman's contribution and perspective as Anse. It's no more Anse's journey than anyone else's, as we see everyone's ulterior motives surface. The trip wasn't even his idea, and he's not the one that stands to gain from it. They're acting on Addie's orders, so that she can spend eternity in the company of her kin
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In fact, before Anse was discussed in class as the hero, I thought, if anyone, it was Darl. Certain structural things seemed to indicate it. He's the first narrator, the narrator when Addie finally dies (arguably the most important scene so far, plot-wise). He seems to be the surrogate for Faulkner because a) he's the only who narrates like a writer, rather than the stream of consciousness of an uneducated Depression Era Mississippi farmer, and b) he's the only one who is omniscient, able to narrate scenes he was not present for in detail. Of course, the author surrogate isn't always the hero (unless the bard is the hero of the Odyssey (in which case I've greatly misunderstood the Odyssey)). But Darl also seems to be a better candidate because he has the agency Anse lacks. He doesn't just sit in the background and rub his hands on his knees.
So I can make only one conclusion. If Anse is going to be the hero of this story, he's going to have to undergo some radical character development. Maybe he'll learn to be more assertive, less lazy. (Maybe he'll find a cure for that disease that doesn't let him sweat). It makes sense, as its a hero's journey. After all, Smithy Ide wasn't that dissimilar from Anse at the beginning of The Memory of Running. But in what we've read so far, I just haven't seen Anse in the spotlight. It's not just that he's unheroic, he doesn't even seem to be the main character.
I really enjoyed reading your post- we wrote about the same topic more or less. I totally agree with you, Anse does not seem to be the hero of the story at all so far especially since he has ulterior motives for going to town. However, you make an interesting point about Darl being the hero, and I totally agree that if If Anse is going to be the hero of this story, he has to change a lot.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Anse definitively has to grow as a character if he is to be the hero of the story, but I don't think Darl is the hero either. Darl does a great deal to progress the narrative, but plot-wise, all he seems to do is sit in the wagon and comment on what others are doing. We know very little about him as readers, and he doesn't share much information about himself through his narratives. He also has only done one thing the entire story, which was to get the wagon out of the ditch with Jewel. I think he would have to undergo some serious growth as well to be the "hero" in this story.
ReplyDeleteCool post, I didn't think of Darl as potentially being the main hero before, but it makes a lot of sense. I think we've talked more about Anse in class than we have heard about him in the book. I like the comparison to Smithy, and I made a similar connection on Rima's post. I like the idea of how it isn't any more Anse's journey than any other family member.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I think the question of who can be seen as a hero (if anyone) in this story is open to debate. (I nominate Cash.) In framing our early discussion of Anse, I was pointing out that in structural terms, he occupies the place of the hero--he's the one making the journey happen, it's his "quest," his sense of a "sacred" duty to his wife, and if it weren't for him, none of this would be happening.
ReplyDeleteBut given what a fiasco it turns out to be, this isn't necessarily a good thing. I think it's Gillespie's wife who gets exasperated when her husband says Anse is "doing the best he can"--"Doing? Doing? He's *done* enough!" This sums up Anse in a nutshell: we can see the "doing" as "heroic" in structure and intent, but he creates such a mess before the journey even starts, that we get the idea that the less Anse *does*, the better. And that's not typical of a literary hero, to say the least!
I wrote several posts on Darl, and I too wanted him to be the hero. As we now know, Anse doesn't undergo any radical character development, and honestly, I was jaw-drop shocked at how he remarried. So although Mr. Mitchell says Anse is the hero of this story, do we agree?
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