In Honor of Dewey Dell
As we wrap up As I Lay Dying , nearly all of our characters on the hero's wagon failed to get what they were going to town for. Vardaman didn't get his train, Cash didn't get his tools (on top of his foot being amputated soon so he can't even really work on the barn roof), and Dewey Dell didn't get her abortion. Darl's being carted off to a mental institution in Jackson, and Jewel lost his horse. The only person who got what he wanted was Anse. But in the mess at the end of the book, I can't help but feeling that Dewey Dell has been severely overlooked over the course of the entire novel. As I Lay Dying is chock-full of chapters about the men in the book. Darl and Cash get more than their fair share of narration, especially at the end. Everyone's little storyline is coming to a close at the end of the book, but Darl and Cash's are presented in such a way that they overshadow Dewey Dell's. Hers is just as important and impactful, but because it