In as i lay dying, what was anse most preoccupied with?

Anse Bundren, the father of four children and husband of Addie, as portrayed in the book, is lazy, selfish, and lacks human affection. He is engrossed with vanity and his actions of self-obsession illustrate his priorities in life. His actions of not arranging a finer doctor, not saving the coffin, thinking of an opportunity to mend his teeth first, are all suggestive that he is very much preoccupied with himself.

Moreover, his wife's carcass, that he neglected for a long time, rots and smells in front of him, yet he gives more importance to the location of cremation.

This character is indisputably selfish and drenched in misconceptions such as supernatural energies, bad luck, which act as his vertebrae for survival.

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.