Jewel's Horse

               The act of purchasing his horse further isolates Jewel from the Bundren family. In order to save the money to afford the horse, he works long nights cleaning acres upon acres of field. He spends his days among his family in a sleepy daze, falling asleep at the dinner table, not making conversation. His window escapes into the night leave Darl suspicious. Darl grows jealous as Jewel's constant fatigue only gains him more attention from their mother, who worries for her son's health. Once Jewel has saved the money, he heads out to buy the horse, leaving him missing from the household for the morning. This makes Darl and the other Bundren's who were skeptical of Jewel actually worry for him. However, when Jewel returns with the horse, this worry quickly switches over to anger, only intensified as they are resentful that they worried for Jewel while he was off on a self-serving mission. The horse creates a rift between Jewel and Addie, Anse, and Darl Bundren, who all feel betrayed Jewel would work hard at night, neglecting his responsibilities to their own land during the day, to make money for a purchase that would only help himself, instead of trying to feed his family. Beyond the immediate separation between Jewel and the Bundren's, the horse serves to provide hope to Jewel that he will eventually physically escape the Bundren house entirely.