James Franco's Vision and Mine

One of the greatest things about As I Lay Dying is how much in the gray area the novel is with humor. Is it a tragic parable meant to be taken dead seriously? Is it a humorous story designed to be laughed at? Guess what, it's up to you! Franco's approach certainly seemed to be closer to that of the former though. From what little we saw in class on Wednesday (and yes, I'm basing my whole post on just that much but I hope to watch it in its entirety later on), Franco paints the book in a much darker, creepier, more serious tone, and I'm not too sure how much I liked it.

I appreciated what he was going for with the split screens and I thought it was interesting how much the movie was tailored very specifically to those who had already read the book. I just wish he would have included a bit more humor in some of the scenes we had seen. The book is neither inherently funny nor is it inherently somber. It's a mix, and if I were to create my own movie adaptation of As I Lay Dying I would definitely be sure to bring out the best of both. I feel like the movie could have absolutely worked with having very quick changes in mood, depicting something like the river scene as very amusing then suddenly showing its more serious side.

I understand that not everything in the book is meant to be taken as a joke (Looking at you, poor Dewey Dell), but I think there's merit in the critique of the movie that it's "too artsy" and taking itself a bit seriously. I'd like to see a version where the clash between Jewel and Cash is laughable, where Anse Bundren is more of a Delmar-ish character. As I Lay Dying is a book that became so much better once I could see the lighter side of things, and I feel like a movie would be as well.

"Why Are You Anse"

One discussion topic that I've found we keep returning to is the debate of whether or not Anse can be considered a heroic figure. Can his journey be described as an act of heroism? I feel like for the most part the book has done a good job of keeping it very much in the gray area for me, that is, right up until the very last chapter. It was those final few paragraphs that put a whole lot into perspective for me and made me see that no, this really wasn't a particularly heroic journey for Anse Bundren.

Initially, I had found myself defending Anse, explaining how this was a journey for his deceased wife and it was heroic simply because these kind of journeys were such a massively huge deal for him. The thing is, he began to lose perspective of that, Samson even going so far as to remark that he enjoyed the challenges he faced out there because they made him seem braver than he really was. His stubbornness would never allow him to return back (Gotta get those teeth, ya know?). The trip was no longer a challenge for him because he had his whole team slaving away mercilessly, doing their best to get him to Jefferson.

The whole idea behind a heroic journey is that a protagonist faces adversity that causes them to undergo a transformation, and unfortunately, Anse is easily one of the most static characters in the entire book. It's so bad that I could easily see his actions in the final chapter as exactly something he would have done all those years ago when he met Addie as well. He let others deal with his problems the whole way and completely lost sight of his original mission, spending more time picking out teeth and getting a new wife than putting his last one in the ground.

Anse is the winner of the Bundrens, no doubt about it. He is the only one where everything goes according to plan. Meanwhile all of his children have been completely and utterly screwed over in one way or another. They all have undergone transformations and sacrifice, so where's his? I feel like Anse certainly had the potential to be a heroic figure, but being Anse, it slid right past him.

Concealed Emotion

All of the characters in As I lay Dying have reacted to Addie's death in one way or another. In class, we've especially been assessing everyone's different emotional reactions and I've begun to realize that each family member has a very unique way of showing or expressing their grief. One of the biggest questions I've been thinking about is how Anse, Cash, and Vardaman all expresses emotion, and it's certainly an interesting question to delve into.

Upon Addie's death, Anse is definitely described as being the clumsiest of the family. His "claw-like hands," his extreme incapacity to help out Cash, his reluctance/inability to do any work, etc. all make him a rather tragic character. Despite his failings to really do anything laborious for Addie, he clearly feels grief and anxiety, as most obviously demonstrated by the constant rubbing of his knees and his absolute stubbornness to continue his monumental (for him personally at least) journey to Jefferson for his wife. His journey is so far out of his comfort zone that it really is, for the most part, a way for him to demonstrate remorse for Addie's death. I think that he truly believes this as well.

Cash is interesting because, like Anse, he doesn't seem to be doing anything obvious to grieve Addie at first. But it slowly becomes clear just how invested he is in making this perfect coffin for her. It's not just work for him. it's his craft, a work of art do demonstrate his love for her, a present essentially. His constant protection of the box isn't just him taking pride in his work, but also him taking care of his gift to his mother. Cash really isn't one to express emotion through hugs and kisses, but that certainly doesn't mean that he's just a robot.

Vardaman really doesn't know how to show remorse for his mother's death. He's still a very little kid and only understands death in a very limited way. His angst over the fish is the chief way that he expresses grief, as he understands how, like the fish, his mother was there, underwent some sort of non-physical transformation, and now just isn't. He is extremely concerned about the preparation of the fish for food, and is upset about imagining the equivalent for his mother.

I see these three characters as three of the most emotional characters in the book, they just all have very different methods of expression. Once I realized and comprehended that they do in fact have feelings of their own, the book attains a new level of depth for me and becomes even more intriguing than before.