Crazy

Throughout the novel, I kept passing judgements upon the characters every time a new piece of information (or an old piece of information with a new perspective from a different pair of eyes) came to my attention. For example, I first thought Darl was reliable and I put much weight upon what he said. Then I found that he set the barn on fire with the coffin in it and in the margin wrote "Darl has gone crazy." Well, Cash set me straight: "Sometimes I aint sho who's got ere a right to say when a man is crazy and when he aint. Sometimes I think it aint none of us pure crazy and aint none of us pure sane until the balance of us talks him that-a-way. It's like it ain't so much what a fellow does, but it's the way the majority of folks is looking at him when he does it." (233) To what extent is this a theme in the novel, if you think about it? I mean, only in Faulkner's book can we ever know what is going on in people's heads, and even then, we might not be able to figure them out.

Cash speaks about Darl: "I see all the while how folks could say he was queer, but that was the very reason couldn't nobody hold it personal. It was like he was outside of it too, same as you, and getting mad at it would be kind of like getting mad at a mud-puddle that splashed you when you stepped in it." (237) So Darl laughs for no reason. Maybe he's laughing at a situation that a person has to be at to understand, and that situation being in his brain. I don't understand what the "it" is that nobody could hold personal or get mad at. Queerness? Nobody could help being queer because they have no control over it? Only the people around do, because it is in the way they see things? How much of a part does perspective play here?

Also, as far as the Darl being outside of "it" as we are, perhaps he is not in his mind. I mean, in his chapter (253-254) he speaks in 3rd person and all. Why does Cash take so much pity on Darl? Because he understands Darl's mental state? To me Darl seems pretty crazy, but why does Cash euphemize it? Shouldn't he be angry? He is Addie's as much as Jewel is...1203642003

I think the fact that Darl goes crazy just shows how hard it is for someone to keep it together in this family. Dewey is off getting an abortion from some drugstore clerk, Anse is getting married and stealing money from his daughter, Anse sets Cash's leg in cement and Jewel is off doing whatever it is that makes him happy. I can understand why Darl would go crazy; the whole family is crazy in their own ways. I think that the reason Darl sets the barn on fire is to escape reality; if he can burn the coffin with his mother inside then perhaps he will be able to believe that she never existed. But he cannot do it, he fails, the rest of the family gets it out of the barn before it can burn. Darl cannot escape reality so he goes crazy. Reality is the "it". He laughs because he just cannot handle life anymore; he cannot pretend anymore; he is so far gone that the world is a joke that he can do nothing but laugh at. Cash understands how bad reality can be because he was losing it when he was making the cage, but since he has injured his leg again, I think he has been forced to take a step back and get a grip on things. Cash understands why Darl went crazy and that is why he can take pity on Darl.1203646083

Do you think that Darl really is crazy and deserving to be put into a mental institution? I don't think he is completely. After all, the main reason his family put him in an institution was so that they wouldn't be sued by the Gillespie family. In addition, Cash offers a legitimate explaination for Darl's seemingly crazy behavior in setting the barn on fire: "I thought more than once before we crossed the river and after, how it would be God's blessing if He did take her outen our hands and get shut of her in some clean way, and it seemed to me that when Jewel worked so to get her outen the river, he was going against God in a way, and then when Darl ween that it looked like one of us would have to do something, I can almost believe he done right in a way [by setting the barn on fire]" (233). Although I admit it was disrespectful in a way, Darl acted the way that he did because he couldn't deal with the growing burden that Addie was becoming on the Bundrens.

However I do admit that in Darl's chapter on pg. 253-254, he does show tell-tale signs of craziness like talking to yourself and refering to yourself in the third person. So I'm not quite sure what exactly to believe. Is he crazy for sure? Is he just putting on a show perhaps? Does he switch between being crazy and sane? 1203648628

Consider this ... by Emily Dickinson:

435

Much Madness is divinest Sense — To a discerning Eye — Much Sense — the starkest Madness — 'Tis the Majority In this, as All, prevail — Assent — and you are sane — Demur — you're straightway dangerous — And handled with a Chain —

Could Faulkner have had this in mind //vis-a-vis// Darl (and Cash's thoughts about him)?1203651018

Like Kirsten, I always looked to Darl for a voice of reason in this crazy family. To me, he was seeing clearly what no one else wanted to face, and therefore was labelled crazy. We have seen this in lots of other literary works (most noteably, the fool in King Lear comes to mind), when the crazy person presents a voice of truth. Perhaps, as Matt suggested, Darl went crazy during the novel because the stress of seeing clearly just how dysfunctional the family was drove him over the edge. But I never thought that Darl went crazy as much as the reality became more intense--as the Bundren family's situation got more and more messed up, Darl's recognition of that grew further from what the rest of the family wished to believe. When Darl saw that Addie's body was decaying to such an extent that it really needed to be burned, he went ahead and accepted that reality. However, the rest of the family still insisted that they could take Addie's body to Jefferson, and their view of the situation was quite contrary to Darl's recognition of the reality. Therefore, the family's twisted path to Jefferson drew them apart from Darl's views so much that even they thought he was crazy--and without anyone to vouch for the validity of his views, Darl was labelled insane. Like Dickinson's poem said, Darl chose to "demur" from the majority, and was labelled dangerous. A thought that crossed my mind when reading Darl's chapter about the train ride to Jackson was that upon being labelled crazy, Darl recognized the situation as being incredibly ludicrous and therefore was simply reacting to the reality, and that he never really went crazy at all. He saw that people were calling him crazy, but he knew that was not truly him--thus the use of the third person, for he had begun to discuss the Darl that everyone saw, not himself. 1203653774

I think Cash feels for Darl because of the situation everyone in the family is going through. They all have to deal with some of the strangest most screwed up shit I can think of. Could you imagine having to ride in a wagon with your dead rotting mother for ten days, just feet from family members who obviously should not be within miles of eachother? It really is madness. Frankly I'm surprised more of them didn't go mad. It's just so backwards. If those events are being accepted in reality all around you, the image of sanity and mental acceptability becomes a lot more blurry I think. With this understanding, you could see why Cash would feel for Darl. But also, I think Cash, as one of the more level headed and good characters in the family, understood that Darl was more than just queer, he was special. Darl had probably some of the deepest understanding of the events and world around him. He could percieve others like no one else around him could. He even walked the line of haveing a supernatural ability in that area. He had a beautiful, but also fragile mind, and this was the series of events that broke him. Cash saw that he was special, and he saw what these ten days did to him. He couldn't help but feel for him and what he lost. 1203659042

False post removed //1203693588 // Woah, I completely interpreted that line differently. When they said that "In a sense it was the value of the horse Darl tried to burn up, " I took that as an explanation of why Jewel was so angry at Darl for burning the barn. Jewel sacrificed his horse (which he worked SO hard for) in order for the family to even get that far. If Darl had succeeded in burning the barn and his mother's body along with it, Jewel's sacrifice would have been for nothing. Losing the body could not have helped get Jewel's horse back. As far as whether or not Darl is crazy, we talked in period F a little bit about Darl possibly being a veteran. When he is getting arrested, there is a mention of Darl holding French sand from the war. Is Darl suffering from post-tramatic stress disorder? Someone even mentioned that Darl might have been suffering from the effects of poisonous gases. The only thing that knocks this theory for me is that none of the other characters mention that Darl has changed. They seem to accept that Darl is "queer" and they don't look for any reasons for his craziness. Any ideas? 1203780669

I don't think that Darl was completely crazy. He always seemed to be the one that had the most figured out even if his knowledge couldn't always have been explained. He knew of Dewey Dell's pregnancy and Jewel's true origin. Knowing all that he knew can you really blame him? He has always been viewed as strange, but I almost think that he is more "normal” then many of the other people in his family. His behavior is a way of reacting to his mother's death and the other things that have happened to his family. He lets his emotions run wild and acts on them in a violent way. This may not have been the best idea, but at least he is showing some reaction and emotion. He is dealing with reality even if it isn't in the best way. Many of the characters like Anse are so insensitive to the whole situation. It just seems like they label Darl as crazy because they don't want to face the reality of their situation and Addie's death.1203888064

I really liked Darl; he was always a voice of reason for me, and he seemed to have a much better understanding of the situation than the rest of the family. He saw what was happening, even when he wasn't there, and he knew that his family was falling apart around him. I wouldn't say that he was going crazy, and I like the line that lma posted about Darl doing what he thought was best when he tried to burn the coffin when he lit the farm on fire. It seemed like everything was going against him; maybe addie wasn't meant to be buried in Jefferson, and Darl realized that these obstacles were coming in their way for a reason. It may just be that Darl saw this as the most respectable way to put his mother out of misery. The whole family is really quite crazy--none of them are normal or straightforward; Vardaman thinks his mom is a fish, Jewel values a horse more than his mom, Anse wants to honor his wife's last wish but ends up remarrying [did they actually marry or just decide to be together?]; it seems like they all are crazy in some way. Every one of them has motives for all they do; it seems they don't really believe in Darl's insanity, they are just trying to keep themselves out of trouble. They always have their own concerns in mind. 1203982854

I wanted to comment on what bro tom said a little ways up. He referred to a poem Emily Dickinson wrote -- I am not exactly sure why her poem, out of all the poems in history, should be so significant to Faulkner, but I am sure bro knows what he is talking about and basically it makes sense to me:

Faulkner is pointing out something that most people overlook ~ the shocking intellectual abilities and intuition that so-called "crazy" people often have. Just because Darl goes 'insane' does not mean that we should disregard what he has/had to say. He is still a valuable character with a unique perspective and something to tell us. The poem says this, too: "Much madness is the divinest Sense." Darl may see things differently, but perhaps he understands his family's situation in his own mind more than the other characters can explain it themselves. The others see him as insane, but as Cash says, Who is to say what is insane or not? Maybe Darl just knows so much and has seen so much, from being in the war and being the only 'sane' one in his twisted family for so long, that it overwhelmed him. But now he understands, just without being able to communicate it. This is why Dickinson knows that people call this "Much Sense" the "starkest Madness." Others do not understand and do not accept the anti-conformity. . . otherwise, "you're straightway dangerous."1203992396

I agree. I do not believe that Darl is actually "crazy." Yes, he has queer eyes and is quite strange probably because of something to do with fighting in World War I. However, Darl is probably the most sane and rational character. Seriously, he started the fire in the barn to try to burn the casket to relieve the family of its burden. In addition, he knew the reason the family wanted to go to town was for selfish reasons such as teeth and an abortion, not for Addie. Darl is the one who was able to realize this. Although his continuous laughing is quite bizarre and out of the ordinary, I believe that he was laughing at the ironic sitution of his family. I actually believe that he was the lucky one to get out of that unstructured family. So, although Darl is being sent away for his hasty decision, he is also being sent away from the chaos. I don't know, does anyone else see Darl's capture as almost a present or a vaccation? 1204003447

I was personally really surprised about the insight Cash gave about being crazy, and by the end of the novel I think he really is crazy. The depth of the intellect and fairness he uses to judge Darl seems to be a little out of character for him, and I think that he is filling in the hole that Darl left in the narrative. I think that Darl who was obviously the voice of reason for much of the book began to lose his mind with the frustrations of his disfunctional family, but was finally pushed over the edge into real madness when his family betrayed him and had him institutionalized. He may have been beginning to go crazy when he burned down the barn, but he doesn't seem to be completely off the deep end until after his family, that he has done so much for betrays his trust, and I think that this betrayal is what finally caused him to lose what was left of his sanity. I really don't think that he is genuinely crazy when he burns down the barn, but he is viewed that way by the people around him (who really have no right to make that judgement) and is institutionalized. I was surprised when he actually did go completely crazy in the end and I felt really bad for him, as it seems Cash did, because he had tried to hold the family together, and the sold him out. 1204004337