Skip to main content

Darl's Descent into Madness

“They pulled two seats together so Darl could sit by the window to laugh. One of them sat beside him, the other sat on the seat facing him, riding backward. One of them had to ride backward because the state’s money has a face to each backside and a backside to each face, and they are riding on the state’s money which is incest. A nickel has a woman on one side and a buffalo on the other; two faces and no back. I dont know what that is. Darl had a little spy-glass he got in France at the war. In it it had a woman and a pig with two backs and no face. I know what that is. ‘Is that why you are laughing, Darl?’
‘Yes yes yes yes yes yes’” (254).


            Darl’s final chapter in As I Lay Dying is a stark contrast to his previous narration throughout the novel. The narration is not poetic and musing, but rather unorganized and angry. Yet, it seems to provide the most insight into Darl’s character, and the reader begins to see why the other characters see him as “queer.” Darl states how “Darl had a little spy-glass he got in France at the war.” His use of the third person point of view underscores his descent into madness. Moreover, the “little spy-glass he got in France at the war” suggests that he served as a soldier in World War I and thus suffers from “shell-shock,” or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He notes how the glass “had a woman and a pig with two backs and no face,” which is his way of describing the horrific acts of war he observed; perhaps the woman and the pig were blown up by a bomb and as a result, they could not be distinguished from each other. It becomes clear that Darl’s war experiences are the cause of his madness when, after remembering them, Darl asks himself, “Is that why you are laughing?” and he responds, “Yes yes yes yes yes yes.” At the same time, the syntax and diction in Darl’s narration expresses his frustration with the government. The chiasmus in the statement “the state’s money has a face to each backside and a backside to each face” seems to allude to the two-faced Roman god Janus. To the Romans, the two faces of Janus represented the two sides of man’s nature: virtue and maleficence. To Darl, the two sides of the state’s money represent the two sides of the government’s nature: its willingness to send its men to fight its wars, and its audacity to lock the same men in jails and mental asylums. Darl emphasizes this point when he states, “The state’s money…is incest.” The use of the word “incest” has an extremely negative connotation, and it shows the state’s moral corruption. Through Darl’s descent into madness, Faulkner challenges the way government treats those with mental illness.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Allusions in Song of Solomon

           Song of Solomon is peppered with many different allusions. Ranging from classical myths to traditional folk tales, these stories enhance the text and establish parallels between Morrison’s characters and well-known figures. One such allusion is the Brothers’ Grimm tale of “Hansel and Gretel.” At the start of Part II in the novel, Morrison describes the tale of “Hansel and Gretel” and compares the two children’s journey to Milkman searching for Circe’s home. In “Hansel and Gretel,” two children abandoned in the woods by their parents who cannot afford to care for them anymore come across a witch’s house from which they must escape after she attempts to eat them. The story reflects an era’s financial hardships, but also a loss of innocence for Hansel and Gretel. “Hansel and Gretel” functions in Song of Solomon in two different ways. First of all, Macon and Pilate are Hansel and Gretel. After all, their beloved father is killed by racists, and the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interesting Metaphors in Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon is peppered with many different unusual metaphors. Often appearing at unexpected moments, this figurative language enhances the text and offers more meaning into the characters’ minds. The following are a few of my favorite metaphors: “There was the pain and shame of seeing his father crumple before any man–even himself. Sorrow in discovering that the pyramid was not five-thousand-year wonder of the civilized world, mysteriously and permanently constructed by generation after generation of hardy men who had died in order to perfect it, but that it had been made in the back room at Sears, by a clever window dresser, of papier-maché, guaranteed to last a lifetime” (68) In this passage, Milkman reflects on hitting his father after Macon abuses Ruth. The act of retaliation represents Milkman’s loss of innocence and transition into full adulthood; he realizes that he no longer fears his father. Prior to this moment, his father, like the pyramid, is...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jumping Beyond the Literal Meaning of "Jumping Monkey Hill"

To any nonwhite person: “Where are you from?” To an Asian: “Are you good at math?” To an African-American: “Do you want to play football when you grow up?” In the United States, minority groups are often asked these types of questions known as micro-aggressions. A micro-aggression is defined as a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other nondominant group that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype. Though not as traumatizing as blatant displays of racism, micro-aggressions can oftentimes be tiring and hurtful when one experiences many of them on a daily basis. As our society becomes increasingly diverse and connected, many people have become outspoken about their experiences with micro-aggressions to raise more awareness about preventing them. In her short story “Jumping Monkey Hill,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie focuses on the stereotypes and micro-aggressions that native Africans experience. Adichie chronicles the fictional exp...
Post a Comment
Read more