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Similes
42. Darl
Explanation and Analysis—Cash's Tools:
In Chapter 42, the Bundren family has just prevailed in the river, but Cash’s leg was broken in the process. As he speaks incoherently (likely due to shock and pain), the family tries to understand what he is asking for. In an ironic twist, he says nothing of his legs or Addie's coffin but instead worries about the fate of his tools:
He tried to say something. Dewey Dell wiped his mouth again.
“What’s he say?” Vernon said.
“What is it, Cash?” Dewey Dell said. She leaned down. “His tools,” she said.
It is ironic that in this moment of crisis, Cash is not worried for himself, his mother's body, or anyone else in the family. This exemplifies Cash's distance from reality and his preoccupation with his own world, which sometimes comes at the expense of his and other people's well-being.
This scene also reveals that Cash does not see himself as capable without the tools—the blow of losing them would be just as devastating (if not more so) than losing his own life. The tools are an essential part of Cash's schematic of the world, meaning that what they represent—Cash's ability to build and serve the family—is of utmost importance to him. Cash's ironic concern for the tools exposes how he views his role and worth within the Bundren family.
