Failed+Heroism

I've noticed in the book that so many times, the characters are trying to be heroic, and it just seems to fail. For example, when the wagon falls in the river and the coffin topples off of it, Darl tries valiantly to save it, but comes up from the water empty-handed. Just before this event, Anse tries to make a heroic crossing of the river in apparent determination to fulfill his wife's wishes, but this crossing fails miserably. Does anyone else see what I am saying? Do you know of any other examples of failed heroism in the novel? What is the significance of this?

I think there is significance to Darl's failure, as a small foreshadowing of his craziness. Could this be? And what about Anse? 1204252675

I've also noticed the large number at failed attempts to be heroic also. However, I feel that their motives have to do with their success. For example, Anse wanted to get to town for selfish reasons, not of his stated reason of burying his wife. Darl also just wanted to be rid of his mother's casket. For crying out loud he started a fire to end this mother's burden on the family. Another example of failed heroism might be when Cash rebroke his leg in the fire, eventually amputation was needed. One example of successful heroism was Jewel. He gave up his horse for his mother and saved his mother from the fire. Thus, I see failure in this novel as a revalation of improper motives of characters. Any other thoughts? 1204253052

I have been trying to come up with an explanation for the significance of all of these failed attempts at heroism. It seems so odd that an author would not want anyone to succeed. Well, Anse is the only exception seeing as how he did get his teeth, but he wasn't really a hero. Kva mentioned one of the greater attempts to be a hero, when Darl burned down the barn. Darl thought he was doing a favor for his family by burning the barn with his mother's casket inside. He thought he would stop the chaos and help his family return home quickly. In his eyes he was a hero, but it failed miserably. I think that Faulkner used this failed heroism to emphasize how disfunctional this family was. They all could try to save the day but they just end up messing everything up. This family is very strange and disfunctional and the idea that they could all be heros is strange. Faulkner wanted to prove to his audience that not all characters and not every single novel needs to have a hero. 1204257476

I feel the same as you, KVa. But how would Cash's failure be explained? Was he not one of the closest of Addie's children, being the eldest? I think he tried extremely hard to save the wagon in the river, but even he could not control the wagon. Anse and Darl, on the other hand, didn't seem like they put that much effort into it. Darl gave up and swam to shore, and any attempt of Anse's was for selfish reasons (typical). But Cash gave it all he had, and that still wasn't enough. Maybe Jewel was the only success story to highlight the way Addie said he was going to be her savior. But then would that make the drive-heroism theory merely a coincidence? 1204257530

Well at least for Cash's failure, I saw it as more that he made the attempt. Cash and Jewel stayed in the flooded river to try and save her corpse while everyone else went safely to shore and abandoned her to the river. This clearly shows that they truly loved their mother and they were her favorites. The love was mutual. Our value in life is not measured by our successes but by our attempts. Though Cash did not end up having the success that Jewel did, this does not mean his love had any less value or strength. He put forth the same effort --- he just can't swim. By the way, what do you think Cash's inability to swim reveals about his character? 1204260695

Cash never failed, really. His perceived failures were more the result of his weak voice. He told them that it wouldn't balance. They just didn't listen. He was Anse's whipping boy throughout the novel anyway. Peabody really picks up on that. "You mean, it never bothered Anse much," As for Cash's inability to swim, I don't think there is much to it. To learn to swim you have to take risks. Cash doesn't do that. But at the same time, he has a bum leg, so he probably doesn't have much paddling capability anyway. I don't really think it is all that important.

I am more interested in Darl's failure. I don't, the more I think about it, think that Darl ever intended to save Addie from the river. I think he would have honored the fact that his mother "is a fish," and would have done what was best for the group - ended their journey. But Jewel had to save her. What I think was Darl's big failure was his mistake with Cash. "It was Darl put [the cement] on" Anse tells us. And I am not sure, but I suspect that Cash was really mad at Darl for hurting him so badly. "A fellow cant get away from a shoddy job. He cant do it. I tried to tell him, but he just said, "I thought you'd a told me"" I know this is meant to be towards the barn burning, but could it also refer to Cash's leg. I would be bitter, even if I would not send my brother to an insane asylum. What do you think? 1204262506