"Darl had a little spy-glass that he got in France at the war" (Faulkner 254). Based upon the time period of As I Lay Dying and Darl's socioeconomic background, Darl did not travel to France and have some mental war that waged on within his own conscious. Faukner is talented and at times even discreet, but this passage serves to exemplify a travesty of WW1.
Throughout the text Darl could be characterized as introvert, confiding in himself while maintaining his own agenda. As WW1 came to a close, many soldiers were facing symptoms of what is now called PTSD, but then it was called being weak and cowardly. Because this wasn't perceived to be an issue at the time, treatment was brief. Treatments would usually consist of a little bit of comfort and another tour of war (Worl War I). So where does this leave Darl?
To be literal, it puts Darl in an insane asylum. But, what does it mean in terms of his psyche, which seemed to have split in accordance with his mother's death? Darl was able to take solace in his self inflicted mental solitude, he did not share many of his thoughts and this protected him because it allowed everything he thought to be true. However, when Darl acted on his thoughts, and people reacted to his doings, his period of comfort was ended and he was taken away to a metaphorical battleground.
Life goes in insane asylums but the quality of life is diminished. WW1 concluded in an armistice, not a total victory. War would eventually break out again. Could Faulkner have been expressing a belief that the world was in a state of limbo, characterized by insufficient peace, similar to how Darl had received insufficient care?
"World War I." History of PTSD. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <https://historyofptsd.wordpress.com/world-war-i/>.
Throughout the text Darl could be characterized as introvert, confiding in himself while maintaining his own agenda. As WW1 came to a close, many soldiers were facing symptoms of what is now called PTSD, but then it was called being weak and cowardly. Because this wasn't perceived to be an issue at the time, treatment was brief. Treatments would usually consist of a little bit of comfort and another tour of war (Worl War I). So where does this leave Darl?
To be literal, it puts Darl in an insane asylum. But, what does it mean in terms of his psyche, which seemed to have split in accordance with his mother's death? Darl was able to take solace in his self inflicted mental solitude, he did not share many of his thoughts and this protected him because it allowed everything he thought to be true. However, when Darl acted on his thoughts, and people reacted to his doings, his period of comfort was ended and he was taken away to a metaphorical battleground.
Life goes in insane asylums but the quality of life is diminished. WW1 concluded in an armistice, not a total victory. War would eventually break out again. Could Faulkner have been expressing a belief that the world was in a state of limbo, characterized by insufficient peace, similar to how Darl had received insufficient care?
"World War I." History of PTSD. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <https://historyofptsd.wordpress.com/world-war-i/>.