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This source discusses the isolation Darl undergoes. He originally was one of the few rational thinkers of his family, however, he is rejected and despised as queer and different, and so alienated that he finally is driven to despair and starts losing his grasp. He's been rejected, even by his mother, to the point at which he even considers himself an onlooker and spectator,

This source compares Anse and Addie to Adam and Eve, and also explores the ideas that poor parenting leads to poor children behavior. Like Victor, Anse and Addie really don't fulfill the roles of decent father/mother figures. As a result, most of the children go astray (Vardaman is clueless and baffled, Darl starts to lose his grip, Dewey Dell is left pregnant and alone)

This here shows the specfic isolation of Cash and Darl. Addie disowns them as she lumps them into the pre-Jewel children, and this isolation has different effects on both boys

Darl and Jewel are shown to have a great deal of tension on the journey to bury their mother, Addie, in Jefferson. While each family member has their own selfish reasons to want to reach Jefferson, Jewel is the real driving force behind the trip due to his love of Addie. Darl, on the other hand, slows the trip down in direct opposition of Jewel. His jealousy leads him to transition to an antagonistic figure.

This article focuses on the etymology behind each name in As I Lay Dying. Darl is a darling, but his mother scorns his love, whereas Jewel is the most loved child in the family, even though he has an unkind personality. The names are highly sarcastic

Each member of the Bundren family in Willam Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying is unique and memorable, but the most complex of these characters is the second son.

Darl is sent away by his remaining family to an insane asylum at the end of the book. However, his thoughts and actions during the trip were sane, especially when viewed against those of his family. His omniscient point of view may be eerie to Dewey Dell and Jewel, but in the end Darl understands the true nature of his family.

"The fact is, many mental disorders have their beginnings in childhood or adolescence, yet may go undiagnosed and untreated for years."

"Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan"

This article discusses mental illness, its causes, its effects, and its treatment. Mental illness often results in a person's inability to cope with normal situations like Darl who is not able to cope with Addie's death in an acceptable way. Darl inability is most likely caused by a poor upbringing from parents like Addie, who hates children, and Anse, who views children as a labor force. Also, Darl's situation is treatable, however no one in the Bundren family bothers to try and help him opting instead to send him to a mental institution, against Darl's will.

"The most prolific narrator is Darl, the second-oldest son, who has unusual perceptive abilities but is committed to an insane asylum for setting fire to a barn in a futile attempt to end their ridiculous journey, a ten-day ordeal in July without the aid of embalming"

This source provides a short but thorough analysis of the basic themes in the novel. The quote focuses on Darl, and his seemingly insane actions, which also seem very reasonable. This goes along with the theme of sanity vs. insanity.

After looking over the powerpointish sort of presentation the psychopathic and sociopathic symptoms displayed by Perry and dick are very similar to the type of behavior we see in protagonists in other novels, such as Darl and Victor who both share qualities such as appearing to be normal, and being charming.

This source discusses several themes of the novel, including isolation, death, sanity, and identity. Without the role of any decent parent, most of the children evolve into isolated, uncaring characters, who only seek their own self interests. This contrasts sharply with Jewel, who has a caring mother, and ends up sacrificing all that he cares about in order to respectfully (in his opinion) bury his mother.

"Faulkner's use of multiple narrators underscores one of his primary themes: every character is essentially isolated from the others. Moreover, the characters in the novel do not communicate effectively with one another"

This source outlines the themes in As I lay Dying, as well as giving examples. This quote provides an overview of Faulkner's style of using the different characters as narrators in order to further emphasize that the characters do not communicate well.

This source discusses Jewel's isolation from his family (except his mother). Sort of like Victor's monster with humanity, Jewel knows he does not belong to his family, and as a result fails to get along with most of them. He constantly bickers and curses at his brothers, to the point of hating them, as well as Anse. However, like the monster, the only person whose affection he desires are his creator's, Addie's, which he does absolutely anything to obtain. He wants acceptance and approval from the only person he cares about.

Both Darl and Jewel struggle with their own identity. And the death of their mother at the time of the largest development of their identity makes it even harder to discover who the are.

"A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life's ordinary demands and routines."

"Your family member's behavior may be as dismaying to them as it is to you. Ask questions, listen with an open mind and be there to support them."

This article discusses mental disorders within the family unit and how to respond to mental disorders of family members. The first tactic the article stresses is the communication one must maintain with the effected family member. Contrary to this approach, in As I Lay Dying, the Bundrens refuse to discuss the corrupted mental function of Darl. They try to find the root of the issue or even support their struggling family member.

"In As I Lay Dying, Anse Bundren is a grotesque character partly because of his moral deformity: his lack of self-understanding, his parasitic and manipulative relations with others, his pious posturing."

"Insofar as the journey seemed to be a collective effort courageously undertaken by the whole family for the whole, involving heroic suffering and heroic action, that perception is undermined by the sudden dismissal of Addie, the expulsion of Darl, and the scurrying aftermath of selfish pursuits."

This article discusses the use of grotesque art in As I Lay Dying. Grotesque art is art with bad manners that challenges ideals and notions of proper order with dissonant elements. The article emphasizes the backwardness of the events of Addie's burial like the burying of a week old stinking corpse. The article also highlights the unusually motives each narrative maintains through their journey to bury Addie even though their sole concern should be about the burial of the matriarch of the family. This article would support an essay dwelling on the detachedness the Bundren family experiences.

This shows the isolation and alienation in the characters live. As isolation spawns alienation, this main theme reflects the families ability to communicate together and interact

"It gradually becomes clear that each member of the family has an ulterior, selfish motive for wanting to get to Jefferson."

"Irving Howe has pointed out that the novel's central theme is the tension between individual self-definition and the contingency of selfhood upon others, particularly parents and family."

This article is a general overview of As I Lay Dying and the main theme of identity and identity within the family structure. Throughout As I Lay Dying, the selfish motives of each family monopolize the characters' attentions. The characters struggle to find their place within the family and how to communicate their feelings with each other. The most disturbing effect of this inability to form an identity results in the incarceration of Darl in a mental institution.

"The more sensitive characters, especially Addie and Darl, recognize their alienation from others. In particular, Addie is a striking example of someone who both longs to transcend this isolation and stubbornly works to maintain an impenetrable individuality"

This source outlines the theme of isolation in the novel very well. It discusses the characters that recognize the isolation, as well as the isolation that is forced on them by Addie, who wants solitude.

focuses on darl and his role in AILD as well as his ability to oversee everything