Addie Bundren vs Fagin: Manipulation, Morality, and the Children They Shape

Who Are These Men and Why Compare Them?

At first glance, Addie Bundren from William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Fagin from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist seem to have little in common. One is a dying rural schoolteacher in the American South; the other is a criminal mastermind in the back alleys of Victorian London. Yet both men exert a powerful influence over the children around them, shaping their lives in ways that blur the line between guidance and manipulation. Their methods differ, but their legacies echo with the weight of moral ambiguity.

What Were Their Core Beliefs About Life and Children?

Addie Bundren sees life as a series of burdens, a quiet tragedy that people endure more than live. Her belief that words are meaningless shapes the way she treats her children — often with emotional distance and occasional cruelty. She sees her sons as extensions of her own disillusionment, especially Darl, whose intelligence she finds unsettling.

Fagin, on the other hand, sees children as tools. He does not believe in moral absolutes — only in survival and profit. He takes in orphans and outcasts, offering them shelter and food in exchange for theft. His worldview is transactional: loyalty is earned through usefulness, and love is a currency he cannot afford.

How Did They Exert Control Over the Young?

Addie’s control is psychological and indirect. She rarely speaks to her children, yet her silence and occasional moments of cold affection mold their identities. Her son Cash is methodical and loyal, perhaps in response to her quiet expectations. Darl becomes introspective and observant, perhaps because he was never truly seen. Even Vardaman, the youngest, struggles to process her death, asking questions that echo with confusion and fear.

Fagin’s control is far more overt. He trains boys to steal, rewards them with small kindnesses, and instills fear through the threat of violence from Bill Sikes. He uses storytelling and theatrics to romanticize a life of crime, convincing the boys that they are part of something exciting and necessary. He manipulates Oliver’s vulnerability, trying to pull him into a world of crime, showing how easily innocence can be twisted.

What Were Their Justifications for Their Actions?

Addie Bundren never explicitly justifies her behavior. She rarely speaks at all in the novel, and when she does, it is often in cryptic or philosophical terms. Her monologue in the novel reveals her belief that life is a mistake — that the only real truth is death. Her children are part of that mistake, and her treatment of them seems less about cruelty and more about resignation.

Fagin, by contrast, knows exactly what he’s doing — and he makes no apologies for it. He sees himself as a product of his environment, someone who learned to survive by any means necessary. He doesn’t pretend to be a moral guide; he’s honest about the corruption he offers. Yet he also shows moments of tenderness, especially toward Nancy, suggesting that even he is not entirely without conscience.

How Did Their Legacies Endure?

Addie Bundren’s legacy is one of emotional absence. Her children are left to grapple with her death, trying to understand her through their own fractured perspectives. In the end, her burial becomes a journey not just of her corpse, but of their attempts to reconcile with who she was — or wasn’t. Her legacy lives on in the quiet suffering of her family.

Fagin’s legacy is more public and dramatic. He is hanged for his crimes, and his death serves as a warning in Dickens’ moral universe. Yet his influence lingers in the lives of the boys he shaped. Oliver escapes, but others may not have. His story is a cautionary tale about the corruption of innocence and the dangers of unchecked greed.

What Do These Figures Teach Us About Influence and Childhood?

Both Addie Bundren and Fagin remind us that adults have immense power over the children they raise — whether through blood or circumstance. Addie’s emotional withdrawal and Fagin’s calculated manipulation each leave lasting scars. Their stories force us to ask: What responsibility do we have to the young? And how much of our own pain do we pass on, knowingly or not?

Talk to Addie Bundren or Fagin on HoloDream — ask Addie what she regrets most, or challenge Fagin to justify his life choices.