As I Lay Dying: Darl's State of Mind.

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Type 4 Catherine Record February 12, 2014 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner In the multipart novel, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner employs transitions of language from elevated to chaotic, in order to develop his character, Darl’s, complex current state of mind. Faulkner writes out Darl's last scene, while being sent away to an insane asylum, using a third person point of view, periodic sentences, and fading complex speech patterns to enhance Darl's final emotional state. In every chapter throughout the book, Faulkner makes use of different character's points of view. Never though, does he practice third person point of view, like that in Darl's final chapter. The closest there is to a third person point of view would be the Tull’s, who speak in the past tense. Here, in Darl's chapter, Faulkner writes as if Darl is not himself; As if there are two different Darl's, talking to each other. "Darl has gone to Jackson. They put him on the train, laughing, down the long car laughing, the heads turning like the heads of owls when he passed. 'What are you laughing at?'" (253). Here, Darl is not only talking to himself in third person, but also answering his own questions stating “Yes yes yes yes yes” (253), over and over again after he asks “Is that why you are laughing, Darl?” (254). The style of this last passage directly contrasts with Darl’s usual way of communication. Talking to one’s self, like Darl is, happens to be commonly categorized as Schizophrenia, a disease that most see as ‘going crazy’. Faulkner's usage of a different point of view is one way in which he elicits language to illustrate Darl's
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