# Cash explained — As I Lay Dying

> Chapter companion for As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.

## What happens

Cash Bundren reflects on the craftsmanship of building Addie's coffin, explaining his decision to make the seams on a bevel to account for the slanting stress of a dead body's animal magnetism.

## Themes in this chapter

### Death and Grief

Cash's meticulous attention to the coffin's design underscores the family's intimate confrontation with Addie's death and the physical reality of her body.

### Language and Communication

Cash's technical, almost mathematical monologue reveals a unique form of expression, where love and grief are communicated through the precision of carpentry rather than emotional words.

## Character check-ins

### Cash Bundren

Narrator and craftsman, detailing the technical reasoning behind the coffin's construction.

## Key lines

> I made it on the bevel. There is more surface for the nails to grip. There is twice the gripping-surface to each seam.

I built the coffin with slanted edges so the nails would have a larger surface to hold, doubling the grip on every joint.

_Cash explains the practical advantage of a beveled design for structural integrity._

> The animal magnetism of a dead body makes the stress come slanting, so the seams and joints of a coffin are made on the bevel.

The natural force of a corpse causes pressure at an angle, so coffin joints must be cut on a slant to withstand it.

_Cash's folk belief about the physics of death informs his craftsmanship._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters/cash
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/as_i_lay_dying_se/chapters