How is Darl different in As I Lay Dying?
According to Cora Tull, people find Darl strange and unsettling. At times, Darl is almost clairvoyant, as evidenced by the scene in which he is able to describe vividly the scene at his mother’s death, even though he and Jewel are far away from the scene when she dies.
Why is Darl important in As I Lay Dying?
Darl as the Narrator That would certainly explain why he knows everything – narrators are traditionally by nature omniscient regarding the stories they tell. It would also explain how he’s able to narrate scenes for which he is not present, like Addie’s death.
Why does Darl laugh in As I Lay Dying?
Consequently, it can be maintained that this is a rather ridiculous situation and that Darl laughs because he is intelligent and perceptive enough to recognize the absurdity of the entire situation.
Why does Darl refer to himself in the third person?
When he refers to himself in the third person, he is merely reflecting to himself that he knows now what others have been thinking about him. He understands now all their hatred and envy of his superiority. A Darl Bundren in an insane asylum is in a much better position than an Anse Bundren in the outside world.
Is Darl insane As I Lay Dying?
Gillespie’s barn, leads the readers to conclude that Darl is insane. His insanity is closely knitted with a major mental illness of the time Faulkner was writing; Faulkner implicitly states that Darl suffers from PTSD. The novel, As I Lay Dying, was written right after the First World War.
How does Addie feel about Darl?
Only through violence, and not through words, can Addie feel that she is living. But then, as she came to this conclusion, she discovered that she had Darl. Thus Addie felt that somehow she had been tricked by Anse’s words, and because she had been tricked, she could never accept Darl.
Why did Darl burn the barn?
In the early part of this section, Darl tells Vardaman that he heard his mother asking to be hidden from the sight of man. This is one of the motivating reasons behind Darl’s decision to burn the barn. Therefore, he wants to thwart their selfish motives and at the same time give his mother a respectable cremation.
What happens between MacGowan and Dewey Dell?
MacGowan, a clerk at the Jefferson drugstore, is at work when a young girl enters. MacGowan finds the young woman, Dewey Dell, attractive, and he takes advantage of the the absence of his boss by pretending to be a doctor. Dewey Dell explains her situation to MacGowan, who understands that she wants an abortion.
Does Darl have schizophrenia?
The leading diagnosis of the character Darl Bundren, as given by the critics, is schizophrenia (Simon 106).
Why was Darl sent to a mental hospital?
Cash explains why the family has decided to send Darl to a mental institution in Jackson. He says that because Gillespie was prepared to sue the Bundrens over the fire, they had no other choice. The family drives into Jefferson. Darl proposes that they treat Cash’s leg before burying Addie.
What makes Darl different from the other characters?
Darl is different from the other characters because he is the omniscient narrator in the novel. Being able to describe his mother’s death when he was not present proves that Darl had insight that other characters in the novel did not.
Why does Darl burn the barn?
What is the plot of as I Lay Dying?
The plot of As I Lay Dying is deceptively simple. The mother, Addie, is dying, and wants to make sure that her dying request is granted, namely that she be buried with her family in Jefferson. She also wants to make sure that the coffin is made well, so she has Cash build it right outside her bedroom window.
What is a summary of as I Lay Dying?
Plot Summary. As I Lay Dying chronicles the dark, comic story of a Mississippi family’s long and arduous journey to bury Addie, the family matriarch. Respecting Addie’s request to be buried in her family’s burial ground in Jefferson, Anse Bundren and his five children disregard the advice of friends and neighbors and embark on a forty-mile,…
Who are the characters in as I Lay Dying?
As I lay Dying Characters. Addie Bundren — The wife of Anse Bundren and mother to Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman. Addie is a mostly absent protagonist, and her death triggers the novel’s action. She is a former schoolteacher whose bitter, loveless life causes her to despise her husband and to invest all of her love in her favorite child,…