As I Lay Dying Darl Boundren Character Analysis

Darl Bundren is easily the most complicated character out of all the Bundrens and the characters in the novel As I Lay Dying. While doing research on the character that seemingly understands everything going on around him, I came across several speculations on the mental health of said character. Whether it’s PTSD or Schizophrenia, many people have used the information from the novel to determine what led to Darl being sent to the insane asylum or why the book ended with him laughing and another moment having a mental breakdown. Though I would like to argue that Darl Bundren, even though he has a different perception of the world around him, does not have a mental disorder. He’s justified his actions with his own understanding of the world,

Just because someone sees something different, doesn’t mean we can drop the bomb and call him insane. With every action he did that held back the Bundrens from achieving their goal, he simply wanted to save the family from this strenuous journey, and he had justified his reasons for doing what he did. I am not saying that what he did was right, but the category of insane is a gray one to cross, and we simply don’t have enough information to cross that gray area. Another point I would like to make is that knowing that this story takes place in the past, knowledge on mental health wasn’t that great. In fact, we lack any knowledge at all until more than a century later when more research is done. Which also means that any sign that could lead to Darl’s insanity should be taken with a grain of

When Darl burned down the barn, the Bundrens were only asking themselves one question, “Why?”. Darl had his reasons, but nobody could see those reasons, so in their perspective there was no reason for Darl to burn down the barn, this leads to people believing that he has something else going on in his mind. It would also seem easy to let Darl be taken away, since he knew everyone's secrets that nobody else wanted them to know, taking Darl away would keep those secrets hidden. When the novel wraps up the story, the last we see of Darl is of him laughing, laughing at the situation he is in, when thinking about it at first you can see why people might also think this is a sign of a mental insanity. Though yet again his perception has only led him to believe that his situation was odd because he couldn’t see himself in this situation. His family finding out Darl burned the barn and turning him in is one of the only examples we have of the other Bundrens solving a mystery and finding out his secret. Which means the situation has turned around for