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Anse is a hill farmer who inherited his parents\' farm just south of the Yoknapatawpha River, which crosses the southern end of Yoknapatawpha County. A lazy man, he has convinced himself that if he ever sweats, he will die. He is so ineffectual when confronted with obstacles that his sons have to make many of his decisions for him.
Yet he seems to mean well. When Addie dies, his grief appears genuine, although he can express it only clumsily. In at least one place--while staying at Samson\'s--his resolve to honor Addie\'s wish to be buried in Jefferson wavers. But in general he sticks to the promise he made to her 28 years earlier, at Darl\'s birth, and insists on taking her body to Jefferson, which he has not visited for 12 years.
Selfishness is one of his major motivations, and he is adept at deceiving himself: Some readers see Anse as a comic figure--a sad clown. Others view him as a villain, able to act only from selfish motives. But to people such as Addie, he\'s a \"dead\" person, substituting empty words for experience.
You should try to see whether Anse grows or otherwise changes during the course of the action. Study his words at the end of the book to determine whether he has gained insights into himself or anyone else since he first appeared in section 3.
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