In the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, many characters choose acts of betrayal against each other. Throughout the book, the Bundrens are on a trip to Jefferson to bury their deceased mother, Addie. While on this journey, the family goes through hardships and discovers more about their true selves. Although all of the characters have gone through some acts of betrayal towards each other, the character that is most highlighted in this is Anse. Anse betrays others by his selfishness, hypocritical nature, egotistical mindset, and greed, which contributes to the meaning of the book as a whole by creating a plot that was shown throughout the book and creating the theme of familial obligations create resentment in more than one way. Anse…show more content… Most likely, this must be of some importance for it to appear once again in these chapters. Throughout the novel, there are subtle hints of Anse’s hypocritical nature that show his true personality: “. . . with Cash, with his dead ma laying in her coffin at his feet, laughing. How many times I told him it’s doing such things at that that makes folks talk about him, . . . I says I got some regard for what folks say about my flesh and blood . . . it’s a reflection on your ma, . . .” (Faulkner 105-6). This quote shows how Anse gets concerned about what other people think about his family. But, if people only knew what he was thinking on the inside, then they would believe he was the crazy one. By him talking about his family like they are insane by laughing, makes himself seem hypocritical because he is only thinking about himself. Furthermore, to go along with him only thinking about himself, he mentions the teeth once again. He states, “But now I can get them teeth. That will be a comfort. It will” (Faulkner 111). This shows that he is repetitive and constant throughout the book to get across his point. He repeats that he wants to get these teeth because that is all that is in his head at this point in time. He can only focus on his self indulgences and can not really focus on burying Addie when all he wants is his…show more content… Teeth may look like they are only one solid piece, but in reality, they are full of layers, four to be exact. Similarly, Anse has layers that are shown throughout the book that expose him more and more. If someone stops taking care of their teeth, it can lead to a cavity that needs to be fixed or else it will get worse. Anse ends up getting a “cavity” by adding in a new wife and it digs deep into the family. Anse acted like he cared about the trip for Addie but he really just went for himself. So, he stopped taking care of his bigger issues and focused on other things that got progressively worse leading to a deep chamber that needs to be fixed, like a cavity. Procrastinating getting a cavity seems like a good idea because it is less money, but it will end up costing more because it will get worse and worse. Anse thinks by procrastinating his issues he can cover them up by getting a new wife, but it will end up costing him more in the
