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Dewey Dell Bundren
Vardaman, at six years old, is the youngest Bundren child. He narrates a great number of sections in the novel, engaging in similar existential questions to his brother Darl throughout his narrations. Famously, Vardaman remarks, “My mother is a fish,” relating the death of the fish he caught for dinner to the death of his mother.
Vardaman Bundren Quotes in As I Lay Dying
The As I Lay Dying quotes below are all either spoken by Vardaman Bundren or refer to Vardaman Bundren. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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13. Vardaman
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“I will be where the fish was, and it all cut up into not-fish now.”
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15. Vardaman
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“It was not here. I was there, looking. I saw. I thought it was her, but it was not. It was not my mother….It was not here because it was laying right yonder in the dirt. And now it’s all chopped up. I chopped it up. It’s laying in the kitchen in the bleeding pan, waiting to be cooked and et.”
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19. Vardaman
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“My mother is a fish.”
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49. Vardaman
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“And I saw something Dewey Dell told me not to tell nobody. It is not about pa and it is not about Cash and it is not about Jewel and it is not about Dewey Dell and it is not about me.”
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51. Vardaman
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“The barn was still red, but it wasn’t a barn now.”
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59. Cash
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“It’s Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell…Meet Mrs. Bundren.”
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Vardaman Bundren Quotes in As I Lay Dying
The As I Lay Dying quotes below are all either spoken by Vardaman Bundren or refer to Vardaman Bundren. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
13. Vardaman
Quotes
“I will be where the fish was, and it all cut up into not-fish now.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
15. Vardaman
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“It was not here. I was there, looking. I saw. I thought it was her, but it was not. It was not my mother….It was not here because it was laying right yonder in the dirt. And now it’s all chopped up. I chopped it up. It’s laying in the kitchen in the bleeding pan, waiting to be cooked and et.”
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19. Vardaman
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“My mother is a fish.”
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49. Vardaman
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“And I saw something Dewey Dell told me not to tell nobody. It is not about pa and it is not about Cash and it is not about Jewel and it is not about Dewey Dell and it is not about me.”
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51. Vardaman
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“The barn was still red, but it wasn’t a barn now.”
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59. Cash
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“It’s Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell…Meet Mrs. Bundren.”
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