Describe the various “burdens” that the Bundrens carry in As I Lay Dying. Which one do you think is the heaviest, and why?

1) the coffin/ the loss of a mother

2) the poverty

3) secrets

4) Dewey- her pregnancy

5) Jewel- his illegitimacy

As for their toughest burden. I think that would be isolation, because with everything else they have to bear, they each move through life emotionally separated from each other. This means that though their physically together, there's no support. They move as a group and function (or not) as individuals.