Hoe oud is Darl As I Lay Dying?

What is the tone of As I Lay Dying?

MOOD. The mood is one of futility, hopelessness, and frustration. The episode when Dewey Dell is looking at the sign for New Hope encapsulates the mood. She knows that there is little hope for them; one is not surprised to discover that her “quest” for an abortion frustrated.

Why did 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.

What does Darl do in As I Lay Dying?

It is perhaps this fear, more than Darl’s act of arson, that leads his family to have him committed to an insane asylum at the end of the novel—after all, Dewey Dell, who realizes that Darl knows her sordid secret, is the first to restrain him when the officers from the asylum arrive.

Where is Darl when Addie dies?

He tells Jewel that Addie has died while they’re stuck in a ditch during the storm. Darl philosophizes about existence before he sleeps. Darl returns to the barn with Jewel. He carries the coffin to the wagon with the family.

Why does 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. It can be assumed that Darl saw through the ridiculousness and absurdity of the entire procession.

Is Darl insane As I Lay Dying?

So by the end of the novel, Darl is most definitely insane. From the very beginning of the book the man was not in perfect mental health. The events of the trip caused him to inevitably devolve into a truly insane person. However, he cannot be diagnosed with a specific psychosis.

Why was Darl sent to a mental institution?

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 is MacGowan to Dewey Dell?

MacGowan gives Dewey Dell a box of capsules and leads her to “the rest of the treatment” in the pharmacy basement, where he will take advantage of her. MacGowan’s attempt to pretend to be a doctor is not particularly sophisticated, and thus reveals the extent of both Dewey Dell’s desperation and her ignorance.

How does Darl feel about Addies death?

Darl does not call his mother “mother” or “mama”: he refers to Addie by her full name, which makes their relationship seem formal and distant or cold and clinical. He notes that the coffin will suit her fine; he does not seem particularly upset by her impending death.

How long has Addie been dead when Darl and Jewel return?

We find out that Addie has been in the coffin three days before Darl and Jewel get back with the wagon.

What does Darl say human lives ravel out into?

Here, keenly aware of death, Darl imagines human beings as dolls destined to fall into the silence of death: “How do our lives ravel out into the no-wind, no-sound, the weary gestures wearily recapitulant: echoes of old compulsions with no-hand on no-strings: in sunset we fall into furious attitudes, dead gestures of …