The beginning of the journey is announced by Vardaman, who seems to have already forgotten the grief for his mother and instead has simply substituted in his mind that his mother is a fish. With the confusion of his mother with the fish, Vardaman begins to examine the other relationships and begins to wonder why Darl calls Jewel's mother a horse.
The height of comic irony is seen when Anse thinks it is not respectable for Cash and Dewey Dell to use the trip to town for purposes other than attending to Addie's funeral, that is, Cash is carrying his toolbox and will stop off on his way back to begin work on a barn, and Dewey Dell is carrying Cora Tull's cake, which she will try to sell for Cora. (Actually, Dewey Dell is carrying her Sunday clothes — not the cake.) Anse, however, is going to town to get new teeth, and as we find out in the last section, and to pick up a new wife as soon as Addie is buried. Therefore, his comment about Cash and Dewey Dell is a good example of comic irony.
In Section 25, narrated by Darl, the imagery of Jewel as being wooden-backed is again emphasized. And again this wooden imagery is juxtaposed against the violence of his actions and furious movements.
In Section 26, narrated by Anse, we once again have Anse offering a type of evaluation and criticism of his children, but we know from previous encounters with Anse that he is totally incapable of understanding any member of the family. For example, he is annoyed that Jewel brings the horse on the trip with him. He feels that out of respect for his dead mother, Jewel should not ride the horse. But as has been noted earlier, Jewel uses the horse as a symbol in replacement for his love for his mother. Having the horse with him is Jewel's way of expressing his love, and Anse totally fails to understand the connection and can only think that it is disrespectful, when in reality it is Jewel's acknowledgment of his grief and love. Anse's view is ironic because, later on, it is only by selling the horse that they can continue on the journey.
