What happens in Chapter 44 of As I Lay Dying?
The Bundren family wagon moves steadily toward Mottson and eventually Jefferson. Vardaman narrates the journey from a child's perspective, counting the buzzards overhead—first seven, then nine, then ten as the wagon climbs a hill. Cash lies on the coffin box with a broken leg, clearly in pain from the bumpy road; he sweats and grits his teeth but insists it "don't bother none" and won't let them slow down. Pa mentions they need to pick up medicine in Mottson. At one stop, Darl loosens the rope around Cash, making him sweat and revealing his teeth; Cash asks Darl to tighten the rope again, and Darl complies. Jewel is absent—Vardaman notes that he and his horse "went away one supper time." Dewey Dell wipes Cash's face but stays silent when Darl playfully suggests she should sell her cakes in Mottson instead of waiting for Jefferson. Vardaman's mind drifts between the pain of the moment and his firm belief that his mother escaped her coffin through the holes he made and transformed into a fish in the water, convinced he will see her again when they reach the water. The family walks behind the wagon up the hill to give the mules a rest, then climbs back in at the top.
Analysis
Vardaman's section feels like a counting game—buzzards appear as seven, then nine, then ten—and these growing numbers frame the chapter, both at the start and the finish. This repeated tally isn't merely a childlike observation; each new count marks the passage of time and distance while subtly suggesting the decline of Addie's body, even though Vardaman never explicitly makes that link. The chapter's power comes from the contrast between the child's observations and what the reader understands.
The writing shifts between sharp, clear insights ("Cash's teeth look out") and jarring, dissonant leaps into Vardaman's personal myths ("My mother is a fish"). These mythological phrases pop up four times, interrupting realistic domestic scenes—like Cash's suffering and Dewey Dell wiping his face—creating a tonal clash that is both darkly funny and genuinely unsettling.
Faulkner also uses this chapter to highlight stoic endurance through the exchange between Cash and Darl. The dialogue is almost stripped down: short, declarative questions and denials. Cash's repeated "It don't bother none" becomes a grim mantra, its understated tone measuring pain by what remains unsaid.
Vardaman's mid-section internal monologue—where a sentence about keeping "the bustard away from" something suddenly halts—reflects the fragmented nature of trauma and the child's struggle to make sense of conflicting thoughts. The image of the mules laboring up the hill closes the chapter with Darl, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman walking behind the wagon while Cash lies on the box, unable to move due to his broken leg.
Key quotes from Chapter 44
““It kind of grinds together a little on a bump. I don’t bother none.””
Cash answers Darl's repeated question about whether the journey is hurting his broken leg.
“My mother is not in the box. My mother does not smell like that. My mother is a fish.”
Vardaman states his private belief after recounting Darl's explanation about seeing their mother in the water.
“Now there are ten of them, tall in little tall black circles on the sky.”
The final line of the chapter, as the wagon reaches the top of the hill.
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