Section 15, narrated by Vardaman, begins to juxtapose various animals and their breathing. Vardaman's recollection of his rabbits, his dead fish, and his being once trapped in a crib occurs simultaneously with his inability to accept his mother's death as a physical reality. The concept of death leaves him confused as to the nature of reality and thus causes some of his vague and strange statements and acts.
All of these remembrances are Faulkner's preparations for presenting Vardaman's confused mind. Through these associations and others, Vardaman is gradually confusing his dead mother with the dead fish that he caught that afternoon. But already Faulkner has been preparing the reader for the shocking revelation. By this point in the novel, the reader should begin to note that even among the bizarre Bundrens, Vardaman is a little different from the others.
Even though this section is narrated by Vardaman, another motif is introduced. We have previously seen that Anse is anxious to get to Jefferson to get his new teeth. Dewey Dell is anxious to get there to get an abortion. Vardaman also has his selfish motives, as illustrated by his desire to see a toy train in a store window. These personal considerations will ultimately become more important than the burial of Addie Bundren and the promise that she extracted from them to bury her in Jefferson.
In Section 16, narrated by Tull, Vardaman is still associating the death of the fish with the death of his mother. Both memories evoke other memories of when he was not able to breathe because he was in a confined place. Therefore, when Vardaman comes home, he opens the window so that Addie can breathe.
