However, Anse makes sure that he does not steal so much that there won't be more left to steal — for his teeth — when he gets to Jefferson. He must also rely on other people to get the grave dug since he didn't bring a spade and refuses to buy one. When the water incident and the fire occur, Anse is always the bystander, commenting: "Was there ere a such unfortunate man," thinking that all these events are just more crosses he must bear before he can get his teeth. The irony of the situation is that Anse is constantly indebted to others but refuses to recognize his obligation and excuses himself by his oft-repeated comment: "I ain't beholden."
With Dewey Dell, Vardaman, and Cash, Addie's efforts to force an awareness of herself on her family again fail. Because of her pregnancy, Dewey Dell is interested only in getting to the druggist in town. Vardaman lives also in a vegetative world, and his is also a world of confusion. He is almost oblivious of his mother's decaying body and looks forward only to seeing the toy train in the store window. Cash sees only one action at a time; therefore, his only concern is with each immediate action. Only upon Jewel and Darl is Addie's presence deeply felt, and ironically these are the two whom she least wished to affect.
After the relationship between Addie and the rest of her family has been established, the next problem lies in Darl's relationship to the Bundren family, and especially their attitudes toward him. Darl is always elusive, complicated, thought-provoking, poetic in stream-of-consciousness observations, and especially observant of details. It is through Darl's eyes and observations that the reader gets a full perspective of the other characters.
