Third, we are able to see each event from multiple perspectives. For example, when the coffin is lost in the river, we have several narrations which allow us to see the same event from many different vantage points. Darl gives his narration of the loss of the coffin; from Vardaman, we hear of his mother being a fish swimming in the river; from Cash, we hear that the coffin wasn't on a balance; and from Anse, we hear that this is just one more burden we must endure before he can get his false teeth.
Therefore, with the multiple narration of each event, we see that event from many angles and observe what type of emphasis each character puts on that event; by this technique, we learn more about the character. Thus, in general, the structure of the novel allows us to become a part of the narration by drawing us more intimately into the novel.
But Faulkner has also included some narrators who are not Bundrens. These narrators help to bring a touch of objectivity to the novel. Without the outside narrators, we might become too involved in the unusual Bundren world. Faulkner is therefore careful to include outside narrators so as to remind us that the Bundrens are not typical people. For example, if the story were confined solely to the Bundrens, we might not realize that this dead body stinks so badly and that the Bundrens are violating all sense of decency by carting the body over the countryside. Thus, the outside narrators give us a touch of the real world by which we can measure our reactions to the Bundrens.
Therefore, if a central problem of the novel involved the reasons for Addie's request to be buried and why her family defy fire and water to fulfill it, then the structure of the novel forces the reader to solve these problems by analyzing each character.
