As I Lay Dying Sympathy Quotes

Brilynn Harvey

Tancredi

AP Lit

5th Hour

Darl is not worthy of reader’s sympathy

Societal view of mental illness in the 1920s often placed neurodivergent individuals into a box. A person was either “crazy” or normal and any attempted nuance was deemed unnecessary. This flippant perspective allowed a multitude of people to live without treatment for their mental health and trauma. In the novel “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner, Darl existed during this era of turmoil, although he suffered from insanity, his actions towards his family are malicious in nature; as he loses his grasp on reality his actions become more unreasonable and prove he is undeserving of sympathy from the reader.

From the very beginning it is established

Jewel was Addie’s prized possession, and she did not hide it. Darl deeply craved this attention that Addie bestowed upon Jewel. [quote]. This in turn resulted in Darl’s unfair resentment towards his mother’s favorite son. Which is demonstrated early on through Darl’s descriptions of Jewel, to Darl, Jewel is unnecessarily aggressive, beating his horse with “obscene ferocity” (12). This interpretation of Jewel as abusive and “savage” is only depicted by Darl, leaving questions towards the validity of his narration. His childhood trauma and Addie’s favoritism continue to cloud his judgement. This is intentionally deceitful narration, highlights Darl’s malicious nature. Placing the blame on Jewel for his mother’s shortcomings is childlike and represents the effect of his trauma on his mental state. If Darl’s behavior towards Jewel stopped there, sympathy could be more easily rendered, but this does not happen; he further implicates himself and reveals his hatred for Jewel while Addie is on her deathbed. Knowing the magnitude of Jewel’s love for his mother, he still chooses to take Jewel away, knowing Addie will die before they return. Darl just

After Addie’s sudden death, young Vardaman struggled to come to terms with his mother’s death. In a grief-stricken haze, Vardaman convinces himself that his “mother is a fish” (84). Instead of explaining what death is to Vardaman in a manner suited for a child, Darl feeds into Vardaman’s delusions asserting that “Jewel’s mother is a horse” (101). By allowing Vardaman to utilize an unhealthy coping mechanism and going further to use Vardaman’s deluded logic, Darl reveals his lack of care for his youngest brother. Although Darl may not be maliciously allowing this delusion, it is still representative of his unstable mental state creating problems for other characters in the novel. Darl is the only family member that seems to give Vardaman any attention and because of this Vardaman consistently goes to him with his questions; this gives Darl a lot of power over Vardaman’s thinking patterns. His nonchalant reaction to Vardaman’s ramblings makes it difficult for the reader to see why Darl would allow Vardaman to think this way. Darl similarly exhibits very malicious behavior towards Dewey Dell once he realizes she is pregnant. He outlandishly claims that Dewey Dell wishes Addie would die so she could “get to town” (40). The implication being that Dewey Dell needs an abortion as quickly as possible. This statement is extremely harsh and demonstrates his complete lack of empathy for