tull 152-155 kayla hughes

“There was a shoat come by, blowed up like a balloon: one of them spotted shoats of Lon Quick’s. It bumped against the rope like it was a iron bar and bumped off and went on, and us watching that rope slanting down into the water. We watched it.” (Page 155)
This quote displays the detached diction with which many of the characters speak within this book. It seems ironic that during a time of chaos and panic, Tull is sitting along side the bank of the river calm and collected not caring much about the situation at hand. Rather then helping he merely describes the scene, as if nothing bad was taking place at all. This also shows the difference between Tull and the Bundren’s. The Bundren’s are personified as not thinking things through before they act, and just hastily making decisions. Tull is the opposite, as he takes his time to sit on the side and reflect on the situation at hand in a coherent manner.


I think that a mule best represents Tull’s character because it seems to be the only thing he cares about. His material possessions are what matters to him, and the people around him don’t really concern him. He seems to be self absorbed, and very cold and detached from the things that he should care about in his life.