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Cash, at 29 or 30 Addie\'s oldest son, is a carpenter. His name is short for Cassius. His mother loved him, and he returns that love, painstakingly crafting her coffin outside her window in the opening scenes. A recognizable country type, his unexpected responses--to pain, for example, and to a question about the height of his fall from a church roof--are a source of humor. At the end of the book, his insights into the family relationships and Darl\'s sanity reveal him to be the wisest of the Bundrens, and perhaps the one most changed by the journey.
His lameness suggests to some readers a parallel with Hephaestus (also known as Vulcan or Mulciber), the Greek god of fire. Hephaestus was a kindly, peace-loving god, patron of handicrafts. Though lame, he made weapons and furnishings for the other gods.
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