Texts portray hidden agendas through characters and actions. This is evident within William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying”(1935/2004) in which characters are shown to have hidden agendas that contribute to the climax of the story. Although, the novel is centralized on the death of Annie Bundren and the burial of the family’s dead mother, the characters themselves possess their own stories. The themes prevalent within the text are the power of perceptiveness as well as Darl’s insanity versus reality. These notions are explored within section 27 (pp. 96-97) of the novel and are narrated by Darl.
Firstly, Darl is a narrator who possesses the power of perception and the ability of insight into the other characters. His ability extends to the secrets …show more content…
This highlights the importance of him as the narrator who possesses intelligence that the other characters lack and his insight enables him to be different from the others. His ability to understand other characters empowers him as a narrator, yet it creates hostility between him and the others as seen in “She looks back at me”(p.97) and the diction of “Smouldering while”(p.97), which demonstrate the discontentment Dewey Dell encounters with Darl due to his abilities as a clairvoyant character. Darl’s power of perception also enables him to sympathise with Jewel as when he informs Cash to “tell Jewel that”(p.97), which is repetitious, hints to the audience that …show more content…
This idea is prevalent in “Like an owl’s head, his face composed”(p.96), although the simile is directed to Cash portraying him as intelligent and wise. The idea still resonates with Darl as he recognizes the philosophical nature of Cash who is normally recognized as materialistic, demonstrating the intuition Darl possesses when perceiving others. This symbolism of the “owl”(pp.96, 241) is extended near the end when Darl is dispatched to the mental asylum, reinforces his intelligent nature rather than his insanity. Additionally, he is an all-seeing person who is not insane but rather betrayed and this is implied through the reference to the “owl”(p.241), demonstrating Darl’s wisdom of the situation. His knowledge of character secrets becomes his unfortunate downfall as a character that is forcefully sent to a mental asylum with the help of Jewel and Dewey Dell and the reason behind this is observed by hostility of the characters towards Darl’s actions and behaviour. Within the passage, Dewey Dell is dissatisfied with Darl’s ability to envision her pregnancy and causes her to be alert as seen in the poetic visualization of “Her eyes watchful and repudiant”(p.97), which demonstrates her denial of Darl as
Firstly, Darl is a narrator who possesses the power of perception and the ability of insight into the other characters. His ability extends to the secrets …show more content…
This highlights the importance of him as the narrator who possesses intelligence that the other characters lack and his insight enables him to be different from the others. His ability to understand other characters empowers him as a narrator, yet it creates hostility between him and the others as seen in “She looks back at me”(p.97) and the diction of “Smouldering while”(p.97), which demonstrate the discontentment Dewey Dell encounters with Darl due to his abilities as a clairvoyant character. Darl’s power of perception also enables him to sympathise with Jewel as when he informs Cash to “tell Jewel that”(p.97), which is repetitious, hints to the audience that …show more content…
This idea is prevalent in “Like an owl’s head, his face composed”(p.96), although the simile is directed to Cash portraying him as intelligent and wise. The idea still resonates with Darl as he recognizes the philosophical nature of Cash who is normally recognized as materialistic, demonstrating the intuition Darl possesses when perceiving others. This symbolism of the “owl”(pp.96, 241) is extended near the end when Darl is dispatched to the mental asylum, reinforces his intelligent nature rather than his insanity. Additionally, he is an all-seeing person who is not insane but rather betrayed and this is implied through the reference to the “owl”(p.241), demonstrating Darl’s wisdom of the situation. His knowledge of character secrets becomes his unfortunate downfall as a character that is forcefully sent to a mental asylum with the help of Jewel and Dewey Dell and the reason behind this is observed by hostility of the characters towards Darl’s actions and behaviour. Within the passage, Dewey Dell is dissatisfied with Darl’s ability to envision her pregnancy and causes her to be alert as seen in the poetic visualization of “Her eyes watchful and repudiant”(p.97), which demonstrates her denial of Darl as