Madness Vs Madness

The act of losing something can relate to a physics item, such as a family member, or a nontangible object, like affection. Regardless, any version of loss is instrumental in the decent towards madness. When one becomes “mad” their actions no longer follow the protocol of most individuals. An insane character can act out as a way of coping, while not even feeling it necessary to justifying their actions. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, Lear is metaphorically blind to the manipulation his daughters reciprocate. Contrastingly, in Faulker’s As I Lay Dying, Darl Bundren sees far beyond the world he directly witnesses. Darl Bunden and King Lear both descend into madness to indicate the significant effects of tragedy. However, Darl’s omniscient capabilities drive him to the point of no return while Lear endures self- reflection at the end of his journey, which illustrates the burden of excessive knowledge.

Darl and Lear are both similar in the fact that they assume a form of madness. This madness develops over a period of time that includes hardships. In order to overcome adversity, the characters cope by becoming somewhat insane. Darl Bundren lost his mother Addie and was rushed into transporting her body for burial. He was not given ample time to morn nor comprehend such a drastic change in his life. Death alone is a traumatic encounter and Faulkner increases the tension when he has Darl and his siblings travel a distressing journey to Jefferson. Shakespeare’s character, King Lear, plays a similar unstable role. Lear’s form of loss dealt with the diminishing support of his daughters. Lear lost the affection and love he craved and was driven to instability after being fooled by Reagan and Goneril. While madness affects an individual, fam...

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...s in the play never portrayed him as an intellectual character. However, in the end his shallow thought process prevented him from irremediable madness. Unfortunately, Darl remains unstable and is ultimately placed in a mental hospital due to his inability to regress to normalcy.

Overall, the powerful effects of tragedy are proven to drive a character mad. Darl and Lear encountered substantial changes to their lives, catalyzing these characters to act insane as a way of coping. Both Darl Bunden and King Lear descend into madness to explicate the consequences of misfortune and the greater effects of a single event. However, Darl’s omniscient capabilities push him to an irrecoverable point while Lear is able to show signs of remorse. Darl’s inability to salvage his sanity, while Lear’s madness temporarily subsides, illustrates the burden of excessive knowledge.