Insanity and Narration: an Analysis of Darl Bundren As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is told from the perspectives of fifteen different characters. Some have just one monologue. Others have several. The lengths all vary from five words to several pages. However, it is still plain to see which character is at the center of the novel. Although the story revolves around the death and burial of Addie Bundren, it is her second son, Darl Bundren, who holds the strongest spotlight.
Of the fifty-nine chapters, Darl narrates nineteen. Through these nineteen chapters as well as multiple chapters told by the other characters, we get a glimpse into Darl. As Darl develops as a character throughout the novel, we see him go from this peculiar individual …show more content…
This could be a plausible theory especially since this novel is not a work of realism. However, Charles Palliser proposes a different explanation that is worth consideration in his article “Fate and Madness: the Determinist Vision of Darl Bundren.” One might point out Darl’s ability to demonstrate three kinds of supernatural perception including prophecy, telepathy, and “second sight” by citing various pieces of evidence from the book. Palliser maintains, however, that Darl does not necessarily actually express these skills. He states that Darl’s “percipience derives solely from the completeness of his acceptance of the operation of destiny, a completeness which means that his insight into the motives and actions of his family is accurate” (Palliser 623).
Darl apparently foresees the future in some instances, such as when he predicts that Addie will die while he and Jewel are gone delivering the lumber or when he predicts that Anse is going to trade Jewel’s horse to buy a team of mules. While a gift of prophecy might explain these instances it is not the sole possible explanation. It is clear that Darl is a very observant character. It is, therefore, alternatively believable that he could know his family well enough to merely guess what is going to happen rather …show more content…
Jewel is clearly her favorite child. He is the anti-Anse and a product of her own choice. Her relationship with Cash, her firstborn, is relatively normal for a mother and a son. It lacks the intensity of her relationship with Jewel, but there is still apparent love between her and Cash. Her last words are even, “‘You, Cash’…‘You, Cash’” (Faulkner 48). Dewey Dell and Vardaman at least serve a role as repayment for her infidelity to Anse by Addie’s faulty logic. It is Darl’s birth that Addie resents the most and drives her to seek revenge on Anse by making him promise to take her to Jefferson to be buried with her family when she dies. Jewel may be the child of another father, but it is Darl who is the outsider of the
Of the fifty-nine chapters, Darl narrates nineteen. Through these nineteen chapters as well as multiple chapters told by the other characters, we get a glimpse into Darl. As Darl develops as a character throughout the novel, we see him go from this peculiar individual …show more content…
This could be a plausible theory especially since this novel is not a work of realism. However, Charles Palliser proposes a different explanation that is worth consideration in his article “Fate and Madness: the Determinist Vision of Darl Bundren.” One might point out Darl’s ability to demonstrate three kinds of supernatural perception including prophecy, telepathy, and “second sight” by citing various pieces of evidence from the book. Palliser maintains, however, that Darl does not necessarily actually express these skills. He states that Darl’s “percipience derives solely from the completeness of his acceptance of the operation of destiny, a completeness which means that his insight into the motives and actions of his family is accurate” (Palliser 623).
Darl apparently foresees the future in some instances, such as when he predicts that Addie will die while he and Jewel are gone delivering the lumber or when he predicts that Anse is going to trade Jewel’s horse to buy a team of mules. While a gift of prophecy might explain these instances it is not the sole possible explanation. It is clear that Darl is a very observant character. It is, therefore, alternatively believable that he could know his family well enough to merely guess what is going to happen rather …show more content…
Jewel is clearly her favorite child. He is the anti-Anse and a product of her own choice. Her relationship with Cash, her firstborn, is relatively normal for a mother and a son. It lacks the intensity of her relationship with Jewel, but there is still apparent love between her and Cash. Her last words are even, “‘You, Cash’…‘You, Cash’” (Faulkner 48). Dewey Dell and Vardaman at least serve a role as repayment for her infidelity to Anse by Addie’s faulty logic. It is Darl’s birth that Addie resents the most and drives her to seek revenge on Anse by making him promise to take her to Jefferson to be buried with her family when she dies. Jewel may be the child of another father, but it is Darl who is the outsider of the