Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"The Worry That You Are Yourself": Darl's Unforgivable Neurodiversity In As I Lay Dying, Neal Hallgarth

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"This paper is concerned with the character of Darl Bundren and the repeated motif of madness in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Possible psychiatric explanations for Darl's madness, including linguistic evidence for his psychotic breakdown, are explored. The paper does not agree with the critical use of words such as "insane" or "crazy" as the book itself questions the verity of such labels. Critical analyses concerning Darl tend to be sympathetic but use derogatory language when defending the character. Articles related to the relatively new idea of neurodiversity will counter the backhanded sympathy with which the critics regard Darl. …