Darl

 In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Darl, when on the journey with his family to bury his mother, tries to cremate his decaying mother. This is due to his slowly decaying mind from PTSD. He wants his mother to be finally put to rest, like he wants his mind to be finally put to rest. So, he tries to burn his mother's coffin, made by Cash, and accidentally sets the barn on fire. Dewey Dell tells Vardaman, who has witnessed this action, to not say anything about it to anyone. The secrets and deceit in this family just keeps piling up as this journey proceeds, but I strongly believe that Darl thinks his mother's decay coincides with the decay of his mind. I believe he feels that the way to cure him is to stop the decay of his mother, thus stopping the decay of his mind due to PTSD. This scene in the book just really stood out to me because it clearly shows Darl's struggle with his condition and the rising tensions among the family with Cash's broken leg, Dewey Dell's pregnancy, Anse's selfishness, and now Darl's mental health declining.

A Message to Anse in "As I Lay Dying" Movie

Dear Anse,

   Please shut your mouth and annunciate when you speak!! It is actually painful listening to you talk and your teeth are just disgusting. I understand that you do not have the money to fix your grotesque oral situation, but spare everyone else from the sight of your mouth. Just wondering... how many flies have you eaten and how dry is your tongue?
   On the other side though, you do a good job of portraying how dirt poor and thick skulled you are. I can't believe you sent your sons to make three dollars when your wife is on her death bed! It is so inconsiderate and morbid because you knew she was going to die. So, in total what I have gotten out of this movie is that you have bad teeth and hygiene and you care more about money than you dying wife, whose last wish is to see Jewel.


In closing, CLOSE YOUR MOUTH AND BE CONSIDERATE,

Maddie Gergar

The Development of Darl

In Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, the oldest of the Bundren family, Darl, speaks first. Even through this first chapter, Darl's character is developed and the readers get a better understanding of what he believes. In the opening chapter of the book, it is evident that Darl does not like visitors in his home because he feels that they are just watching his mother die. It is also demonstrated that Darl and his mother share a special kind of bond, but this is not directly stated. He wants the best for his mother and wants her to be at peace, and feels that having guests over is disturbing that peace. Darl's relationships with his other family members are not as special to him as his with his mother, but upon reading it is discovered that there is a sense of hatred among the family. They all have issues with each other.
Darl's character is developed especially through the first couple chapters that he is the narrator. These chapters are clearer than the rest of the family's because his thoughts are clearly organized, which allow the readers to understand his perspective and how he feels about certain topics, particularly his mother's death.

Style of Faulkner

In William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Faulkner's style is easily detectable. He uses the style of stream of consciousness. This stylistic technique allows for the thoughts and ideas of each character to be read by the reader, thus allowing for a better comprehension of the characters as a whole. However; this form of writing can be very misleading for the readers because rather than following a plot, the storyline moves all over the place following the train of the thought of these characters. Faulkner imposes this technique not to confuse the readers, but to allow them to understand the inner workings of the each character's mind and allow them to understand what was happening through the perspective of each character. In Faulkner's book, it seems as though the younger Bundren family members' sections of the book are harder to follow. The storyline becomes more abstract and harder to piece together, as opposed to Darl's, the oldest of the Bundren children, sections.