Darl Bundren, as we discussed last hebdomad, is a character whose distinctive feature has and continues to animate argument. Having reached the terminal of the novel, we now possess some of import information sing this character, such as Darl ‘s combustion of the barn which housed the cadaver of his female parent and his subsequent arrogation by the work forces from the Jackson mental establishment. From their response to the barn combustion, we see that the characters of the fresh believe Darl to be insane, and this may really good be the instance, but there are critics who believe Darl ‘s saneness is no open-and-shut instance. In this study, we will analyze three articles which contain somewhat contrasting positions of Darl Bundren, go forthing us, the reader, to make up one’s mind if we believe Darl is clairvoyant, brainsick, or merely extremely perceptive. We will besides be looking at these articles through the lens of my last study, seeing if critics agree or disagree with my readings, and what inside informations I might hold missed.
In his article, “ What Are You Laughing at, Darl? Madness and Humor in As I Lay Dying, ” John Simon seems to believe Darl is non merely huffy but clairvoyant. First, Simon makes the claim that “ aˆ¦Darl is a failure as an individualaˆ¦ ” , utilizing words like “ dehumanised ” to depict him, and even utilizing my ain chosen word, “ detached ” ( 108 ) . Unlike the other critics we will look at, Simon does non look to hold any realistic account for Darl ‘s gift of penetration, looking satisfied with the thought that he is in fact gifted, intending that he possesses some unusual ability to see what natural human senses can non observe. Simon says: “ Darl is the alternate of the writer within the novel in a really definite sense insofar as his second sight allows him to roll indoors and outside the head of others and his ain head ” ( 108 ) . Simon here indicates his belief that Darl ‘s second sight is non merely a distinguishable character trait but is besides an evident tool for the writer, enabling Faulkner to accomplish the benefits of a 3rd individual storyteller in a novel which has merely first individual storytellers.
Another point of involvement in Simon ‘s essay is his comparing of Darl to Shakespeare ‘s Hamlet: Simon makes this comparison early on in the essay, but, despite stating “ We shall return to the Hamlet themeaˆ¦ ” he unluckily does non state much else on the topic. However, the suggestion entirely brought to mind certain similarities between Darl and Hamlet, non merely in the inquiry of their lunacy but in each character ‘s reluctance to lift to action. Darl, after all, delaies during most of the novel to acquire involved with the Bundren ‘s ordeal, taking possibly an inopportune minute to take action ( I am mentioning of class to the combustion of the barn ) . But non all critics agree with the thought that Darl is huffy and, in the instance of Charles Palliser, they surely do non hold that Darl has clairvoyant abilities.
In “ Fate and Madness: The Determinist Vision of Darl Bundren, ” Charles Palliser departs from the positions of critics like John Simon, seeing Darl non as a lunatic but as a extremely logical, extremely perceptive member of his household. In his ain words, Palliser says, “ aˆ¦Darl really has no supernatural gifts and there is a rational account for his supposed second sight: all that he knows is the consequence of guessing based on his cognition of the past ” ( 623 ) . In Palliser ‘s sentiment, Darl tickers and learns so good the personalities and motivations of those in his life to the point that these people have merely become predictable to him. This thought is in line with something I said in my last study, when I suggested that readers may really good see Darl to be a psychic but that I believed he was merely extremely perceptive. Furthermore, Palliser contends that Darl ‘s evident anticipations of the hereafter ( for illustration, his averment that Dewey Dell intended to travel to Jefferson for an abortion ) are all grounded in the kingdom of foreseeable human picks: “ Darl, so, $ foresees nil that is non dependent on homo will or, like his prognosis of the rain-storm and of the minute when his female parent will decease, predictable on rational or experiential evidences ” ( 624 ) . Darl, harmonizing to Palliser, does non see the hereafter ; he merely collects information like a psychological squirrel, hive awaying this cognition within himself for subsequently usage.
Unlike the antecedently mentioned critics, Calvin Bedient, in his essay “ Pride and Nakedness, ” sets aside the thought of Darl being clairvoyant or insane, puting his focal point alternatively on the fact that Darl is decidedly disturbed ; accepting this, Bedient attempts to place what may hold caused this perturbation. His sentiment, in short, seems to be that Darl does non hold a distinguishable individuality, at least non in his ain eyes. “ This acrimonious gift and human death, ” Bedient says, “ this plurality of being, Darl carries like a cross. If he is a monster, he is besides a victim, and knows with characteristic clarity what has made him the casualty he is ” ( 67 ) . And what has made Darl a casualty? Bedient thinks it is Addie ‘s love for Jewel. “ Darl exists, ” Bedient says, “ but, because he is unloved, he can non go himselfaˆ¦ ” ( 67 ) . The absence of a loving female parent figure in Darl ‘s life has left him with a more metaphorical absence in his bosom and in his head ; and from this absence extends the ambiguity of Darl ‘s topographic point in his household and in world. Bedient ‘s statement seems peculiarly telling since it can be supported by the fact that Darl does so look to miss an individuality of himself. He does non mention to himself all excessively frequently, particularly non his emotions or desires, finally coming to mention to himself in the 3rd individual as if he were anyone else. “ Darl can non happen his ain form ” Bedient says. “ It is therefore his fate to be, non himself, but the universe. Since Darl, neither Acts of the Apostless ( he is called “ lazy ” ) , nor possesses anything that he can name his ain, nor is loved, he must fall back upon self-contemplation to give him individuality ” ( 68 ) . And this is what Darl does until seemingly losing a necessary appreciation on the world in which those around him reside.
Plants Consulted
Deville, Michel. “ Alienating Language and Darl ‘s Narrative Consciousness in Faulkner ‘s As I Lay Diing. ” Southern Literary Journal 27.1 ( 1994 ) : 61-72. Print.
Olsen, Kathryn. “ Raveling Out Like a Looping String: As I Lay Dying and Regenerative Language. ” Journal of Modern Literature 33.4 ( 2010 ) : 95-111. Print.
Palliser, Charles. “ Fate and Madness: The Determinist Vision of Darl Bundren. ” American Literature 49.4 ( 1978 ) : 619-33. Print.
Simon, John K. “ What Are You Laughing At, Darl? Madness and Humor in As I Lay Diing. ” College English 25.2 ( 1963 ) : 104-10. Print.
