These sections also indicate something of Addie's prophecy, which is fulfilled only because Jewel allows his horse to be sold so that the journey can continue. For Jewel to sacrifice his horse indicates the extent of his inexpressible love for his mother.
While Darl's thought processes are becoming more intricate, Vardaman's thought processes become somewhat more confused. He is trying in these sections to determine the family relationships to one another.
Vardaman has never been able to accept his mother's death. It does not conform to any sense of reality that he has thus far encountered. His thinking, while confused, is an effort to bring divergent facts into a logical whole. He thinks of his mother as a fish and of Jewel's mother as a horse, and yet he knows that he and Jewel are brothers. Thus his confusion is a type of method in madness: he makes valid conclusions while working with false premises.
The dominant image throughout these sections is that of the buzzards, which have increased in number as the journey progressed. These buzzards function as a horrible reminder of the inhuman desecration of Addie Bundren's dead body.
Finally, it is revealed that Cash must suffer so tremendously because Anse does not want to be "beholden" to the Armstids by leaving Cash there in a bed. We assume that as long as it is someone else who is suffering, Anse doesn't mind too much.
