He is eloquent, intelligent, and isolated. Isolation is one of the recurring themes of the novel. Because of the novel's unique structure, the isolation of the characters is highlighted. From the very first section, the sensory and sensual images of the novel are a strong element. Although the novel takes the form of interior monologues, each character is powerfully influenced, in his own way, by the sheer physicality of their world.
Work is part of the relationship to the land, and it is an important theme of the novel.
The sound of his saw is the constant background noise that accompanies us all the way to Addie Bundren's death. Where she's got to see him. Where every breath she draws is full of his knocking and sawing where she can see him saying See. Cash is doing for her the only thing he can do. He takes his identity from his work as a carpenter, and the coffin is the only gift he can give his mother.