My Father's Death Rhetorical Analysis

Addie's Coffin
Cash and Jewel vs. Darl and Vardaman
Addie complex relationship with her family is symbolized by each member of the family relationship to the coffin. How they treat the coffin, what they call it, how close they are to it, and how they protect it. It is because she did not love them equally.
It is important to clarify that Addie has a daughter Dewey Dell and a husband Anse. Neither one of them gets close to the coffin or has an active role in the burial process. Every time the image of the coffin appears, it is associated with one of the four sons, but not Anse or Dewey Dell. This is because Addie has a complicated relationship with these two the result of the distance is shown even after her death. Addie and Anse have a loveless marriage. Addie considers Anse dead a long time ago.when she is about to die, she does not look at her husband "she lies back and turns her head without so much as glancing at pa." (page 48). Anse does not care about her after her death. His pretended sense of loyalty hides behinds it anterior motive that started with his desire to have new teeth and ended with

"Then turn loose," Jewel says. He will not stop. Cash begins to fall behind, hobbling to keep up, breathing harshly; then he is distanced and Jewel carries the entire front end alone, so that, tilting as the path begins to slant, it begins to rush away from me and slip down the air like a sled upon invisible snow, smoothly evacuating atmosphere in which the sense of it is still shaped."(page 98). This beautiful narration by Darl shows how one by one men of the Bundern family fall behind in comparison to Jewel. He is the only one capable of fulfilling his mother's wish. Even Cash is no match at that point. And Darl the observer describes the situation but his words are not useful like actions. This scene testifies to Addie hatred of words and those who use