Darl's Role in "As I Lay Dying"

In William Faulkner's novel "As I Lay Dying", a unique narrative style is used in that every chapter is told from the viewpoint of one of the many protagonists in the form of a stream-of-consciousness ramble. Although many characters contribute to narrating the chapters, the most prominent among them is Darl Bundren. No other character narrates as many chapters as Darl, making him the primary protagonist of sorts. Each of the characters has their own peculiar narrative style, but Darl's is the easiest to read, for he is the most educated of the Bundren children. In this way, Darl almost serves as Faulkner's voice in the novel, for he is coherent and telepathic, allowing Faulkner to write from an omniscient point of view when using Darl. Instead of allowing his personal feelings to impede on the narration, Darl stays objective and tells things how they are, with very little personal input on the matter.

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