College Essay

Submitted By xheatherlynnx
Words: 2828
Pages: 12

As I Lay Dying Character Journal
Darl
- Darl has a deeper intellectual level than the rest of his family. He spends much of his time in the inner parts of his mind thinking about things on a more intense level than other characters. He views Cash as savage and unattached as he builds the coffin. - Darl is also not self-absorbed like Dewey Dell or Anse. "At night it is better still. I used to lie on the pallet in the hall waiting until I could hear them all asleep, so I could get up and go back to the bucket. It would be black, the shelf black, the still surface of the water a round orifice in nothingness where before I stirred it awake with the dipper I could see maybe a star or two in the bucket and maybe in the dipper a star or two before I drank" (Faulkner 11). - Articulate, deeply insightful and incredibly cognizant of his surroundings - recalls the simple yet mesmerizing act of getting a cup of water in the dark - narrates, at times, in a stream of consciousness - prefers being independent - Darl describes the crossing of the river scene poetically, and brings the river to life: "...the log rears in a long sluggish lunge between us, bearing down upon the team...the wagon sheers crosswise, poised on the crest of the ford as the log strikes it...I see the beared head of the rearing log strike up again" (Faulkner 148-149). - Darl was in a war: "Darl had a little spy-glass he got in France at the war" (Faulkner 254). The war may have affected Darl and his outlook on life. Darl is introspective and thinks about things unlike any other character. After serving in the war, Darl may look at life differently and think about it more in the depths of his mind rather than communicating his thoughts with people. - Cruel: harasses his brothers Jewel and Vardaman; comes between his sister and her lover. Gave Jewel a hard time because of Addie's preference for him
- burns down Gillespie’s barn with Addie’s coffin inside due to embarrassment (prideful man who thinks himself to be above his family) - talking about himself on the train illustrates his turn to madness "Why do you laugh? Is it because you hate the sound of laughter?" (Faulkner 254). - After Darl is sent to an institution, Cash is troubled by their family's actions but eventually realizes "...it is better so for him. This world is not his world; this life his life" (Faulkner 261).

Cora - wife of Tull, Eula and Kate's mother - She ought to have taken them.but those rich town ladies can change their minds. Poor folks can't. (Faulkner 7). - Cora Tull's daughter Kate says this to her mother after Cora's sale of cakes falls through. The self-consumed Cora says she doesn't mind. Social differences are illustrated here as well as women's work which is often disregarded - dwells on her decisions and obsesses over her obligations - judgments are self-centered and comical - stays during Abbie's final hours; respects Darl's caring behavior towards mother's death (majorly religious)

Jewel - son from mother's affair - Jewel's monologues were never close to the beginning of the novel, which made him mysterious and highlighted his separation from his family. The rest of the family often describe Jewel as "wooden" and hard to read - Jewel's love for his mother and his dedication to the family is communicated through his actions, even though he does not vocalize his feelings. He is dedicated to the memory of his mother; twice he saves her corpse from the river and later from the fire "He was out there under the apple tree, lying with her" (Faulkner 225). - Selfless: sacrifices his horse in order to create a team to carry the body to Jefferson. His dedication to his dead mother is an admirable quality of his character - When Cash is building Addie's coffin outside her window, it is Jewel that worries: "Good God do you want her to see it?" Jewel lifts her coffin single-handedly into the wagon: "Pick it up, Goddamn you, pick it up"