Addie

Addie's chapter is what caused the change of my perception of the novel from a hero's journey to a tragedy, before any real damage has been done to the rest of the Bundren family.  Her narration, among other things, reveals that she was not the loving mother that everyone seems to think of her as. Indeed, Addie's dying wish was nothing more than her last attempt to spite Anse.

Addie is one of the most interesting characters in the novel, despite her complete absence from the plot.  I'm not sure why Faulkner decided to write her in this way; perhaps it was to generate some sympathy, but maybe it was just the best way to rationalize her decisions.  Addie is definitely one of the most morally questionable characters we encounter.  She enjoys or at least looks forward to beating her schoolchildren, and doesn't express any love to her children other than Jewel.  Of course she does have her reasons.  Addie enjoys beating the children because she sees it as a way of affirming her existence in their selfish miserable lives.  This rationale isn't really anything that your run-of-the-mill bully doesn't possess.  Her mentality of living only to die causes her to not feel the urge to make anyone's life any happier, including her own.  Addie's strongest asset is her philosophical mind, but it doesn't make up for her flaws.

 Sure, her life was not the greatest, and she didn't have any options for advancement, but Faulkner gives us an example of another female character, Dewey Dell, who suffers from every disadvantage that Addie did and then some.  Yet she doesn't seem to harbor any resentment for her family, and is probably one of the most pleasant characters in the novel.  Even her betrayal of Darl is more an action of desperation than anything else.  

Ending of As I Lay Dying: Anse

Throughout the course of the novel, I've been something of a supporter of Anse, or at least I was open to accepting him as a hero should he end up proving himself.  He did have some endearing characteristics, and was initially portrayed as an honest and honorable man.  At Addie's bedside, he showed genuine concern and tried to express this with his awkward smoothing of the bed.  Anse was the one to motivate (or force) the family to set out for Jefferson, and even if he wasn't doing any manual labor, he was doing his best to keep everyone focused on their goal and respectful of their mother's death.

His development as a character was complicated when it was revealed that he may have an ulterior motive, or at least another goal on his mind, this being obtaining a set of false teeth.  He merely mentioned it after Addie's death, but it became more and more concerning as Anse continued to think fondly of his teeth and how they would greatly improve his life.  When Anse has to buy a new team of mules, he perhaps dishonorably exchanges everything his children have, including Jewel's much-prized horse.  However when he is left with no other choice, Anse sacrifices his teeth fund for the sake of the journey, and presumably Addie's honor.  At this point I was a bit concerned as to where Anse would end up psychologically, but he seemed to be proving his integrity.

Ultimately it seems Faulkner isn't content to leave us with this forgiving picture of the clumsy hero, with Anse stealing all that Dewey Dell has left to buy those teeth.  While doing so, he attempts to justify his actions by suggesting that the $10 was probably earned immorally, and generally questioning the value of all his children.  

The last straw is of course Anse's "introduction" of Mrs. Bundren to his family.  Not only does he dismissively list off his children's names, but he doesn't see fit to even mention Darl.  I think this makes it clear that Anse has little or no emotional attachment to his family or Addie, as he quickly moves on and accepts this new Bundren family.  My issue with Anse in the end isn't that he emerges victorious, or even that he was the only one to benefit from the journey.  Instead it is his failure to stay true to his ideals, or rather, that for Anse these were not ideals, but superstition.  For Anse, it is only right that a family includes a wife in it; it is the way the world works.  Similarly, it is expected that a husband will honor his wife's dying wish.  Perhaps the absurdity of her wish and his absolute willingness to comply are indicative of Anse's surface understanding, rather than the actual moral basis of these practices.  Because the physical journey to Jefferson could not be considered a success. my only hope for Anse's development into a hero was through his psychological strength or development.  The protagonist" ultimately falls short.

Odysseus vs. Anse

On the surface, Odysseus and Anse are almost polar opposites.  Odysseus is a king, whereas Anse is a poor farmer.  Odysseus is adventurous, powerful, and diplomatic.  Anse is a hermit, both physically and emotionally weak, and unskilled with language to say the least.  Yet they do have their similarities, and although I'm not trying to paint Anse as the modern Odysseus, some of Anse's traits do portray him as a potential candidate for a hero.
Anse does have quite a bit of pride despite arguably having little reason to, specifically in his ability to provide for his family.  Just as Odysseus's pride in his combat and leadership skills, this is probably considered the most defining characteristic of a man in this era.  To be a man who cannot provide for his family is to be a failure, and with a general consensus among the characters being that Anse is extremely lazy and unproductive, our protagonist(?) may have to step up to protect his reputation.
In a more abstract way, Anse is someone who values wisdom just as Odysseus does.  We see a clear example of this for Odysseus when the sirens tempt him with the promise of endless knowledge, specifically of the events surrounding the Trojan War.  Anse seems to spend all of his waking hours philosophizing about something or other.  Related to this, the two characters are very firm in their ideals.  For Odysseus this entails the importance of hospitality and the emotional attachment to his homeland, and the exacting of revenge to defend it.  Anse also believes strongly in the attachment of a family to their land and home, and goes so far as to greatly inconvenience himself and others to bring his wife to what he sees as her proper resting place.  He is willing to make a sacrifice to defend his beliefs and honor, which is unarguably a heroic characteristic.