Anse Bundren and Wernher von Braun: Two Men, Two Missions, One Obsessive Drive

When I first read As I Lay Dying, Anse Bundren struck me as a stubborn, dirt-poor farmer clinging to a misguided promise. Years later, while studying the space race, I came across Wernher von Braun — a visionary engineer who launched humanity into orbit. On the surface, these two men couldn’t seem more different. One drags a coffin across the Mississippi backwoods; the other launches rockets from Cape Canaveral. But dig deeper, and a strange parallel emerges: both were driven by obsessions that defined their lives, reshaped those around them, and left complicated legacies.

Let’s explore what makes Anse Bundren and Wernher von Braun more alike than they seem.

##1 – The Nature of Their Obsessions

Anse Bundren’s obsession is personal and primal — a promise to his dying wife to bury her in Jefferson, far from where she died. His motivation is bound up in guilt, pride, and perhaps even selfishness. He clings to this journey not because it’s wise, but because it’s his.

Wernher von Braun, by contrast, was obsessed with space. From his youth, he dreamed of interplanetary travel, and that dream never left him — even as it led him to work for the Nazis, and later to serve the American space program. His mission was larger than himself, but no less unyielding.

Both men were consumed by a single purpose, and both were willing to sacrifice everything — and everyone — to fulfill it.

##2 – Their Methods: Ruthlessness in the Name of Purpose

Anse Bundren’s methods are crude and emotionally manipulative. He drags his family through floods, death, and humiliation, all while whining about his teeth and refusing to turn back. He justifies every hardship as part of the promise. His children suffer, his neighbors shake their heads, but he doesn’t waver.

Wernher von Braun’s methods were more polished but no less ruthless. He worked on the V-2 rocket under Hitler’s regime, knowing full well its destructive power. After the war, he rebranded himself as a hero of American progress, burying his Nazi past. He was willing to compromise ethics, relationships, and truth to reach the stars.

Both men were willing to do whatever it took — and both left people broken in their wake.

##3 – How They Saw Themselves

Anse Bundren likely saw himself as a man of honor — a grieving husband fulfilling a sacred duty. In his mind, he wasn’t selfish; he was faithful. But his self-perception is tragically skewed. His real motive may have been less about Addie and more about the new teeth he’d promised himself once in town.

Wernher von Braun saw himself as a pioneer, a man destined to bring humanity to the stars. He believed his work transcended politics — that his rockets were for peace, not war. He was proud of what he built, even if the world sometimes questioned how he built it.

Both men were storytellers of their own lives, crafting narratives that justified their choices — and both failed to fully reckon with the damage they caused.

##4 – The Legacy They Left Behind

Anse Bundren’s legacy is one of absurdity and tragedy. His journey is remembered not for its nobility, but for its stubborn futility. His children are scarred, his wife is barely honored, and his final act — marrying a younger woman and getting his new teeth — feels almost mocking.

Wernher von Braun’s legacy is more complex. He is celebrated as a genius who helped land men on the moon. But his Nazi ties still cast a shadow. Was he a visionary or a war criminal? A liberator or a collaborator? His legacy is debated in classrooms and history books to this day.

Both men left marks on history — one through stubbornness, the other through brilliance — but neither can be remembered without controversy.

##5 – What We Can Learn from Their Fixation

What fascinates me most about Anse Bundren and Wernher von Braun is how obsession can elevate and destroy. Obsession can drive people to do the impossible — whether it’s hauling a corpse across a state or launching a spacecraft into orbit. But obsession unchecked can also blind us to morality, relationships, and reality.

Talking to either of them today — if we could — would be illuminating. Anse might still insist he did the right thing. Wernher might still defend his past. But in that tension lies a deeper truth: the line between greatness and self-destruction is thinner than we think.

If you want to explore these questions yourself, you can ask them directly. On HoloDream, both Anse Bundren and Wernher von Braun are waiting to share their side of the story — and to challenge your own ideas about obsession, legacy, and purpose.