A Sick Growth

At first, I was going to give a resounding NO to the question of whether or not The Violent Bear it Away is a Bildingsroman, but after pondering on it further, I think that in some ways it is. Francis cannot help his distorted and disturbing upbringing, but he does make a lot of choices for himself throughout the novel which define the person he becomes. He chooses to burn Powderhead and, he thinks, Old Tarwater's body, he chooses to go to Rayber, and then he chooses to reject Rayber's push for reason and continue to allow the influence of Tarwater's sickness affect him. So, whether or not the change and growth is positive, Francis indeed undergoes a lot of it in the novel.