Ahhh, Darl. My thoughts on him have definitely changed a bit, and I've come to... understand(?) him a little better. The beginning of As I Lay Dying gave Darl a mysterious aura. He became a "supernatural" character that was able to see life in a different perspective. However, although this "power" and strange (slightly odd) ability seemed cool at first, my thoughts quickly evolved.

The first instance where Darl's peculiarity seemed off was when Anse told him off for laughing, saying that's why people thought he was odd; Darl would have a strange way of laughing inappropriately. And I first though, "Oh, it's just Anse being a lil sensitive and annoying. Darl is doing no harm. I'm still going to be a fan of Darl, besides what Anse or any other character thinks." But I looked past my fond curiosity of Darl, and realized, I (begrudgingly) kind of sort of agreed with Anse. It does kind of unnerve me when someone starts laughing inappropriately, especially if they've just spouted some odd ramblings about God-knows-what. Or if they have a tendency to stare into my soul and somehow figure out all of my secrets; actually Anse pointing out Darl's odd laughing spell changed my thoughts on Darl, made them slightly more negative/unsure about his character.

And then the plot goes crazy (well, this whole book's been a bit out there), and Darl gets hauled off to a mental institute and his narrations go haywire. His third-person narrative doesn't try to disguise itself as first-person anymore. Darl straight up goes third/first/third/whatever he wants with his new unleashed mental tone. And although Darl's now unpredictable and a little kooky/eerie, I do still really like him. He's unique, and definitely an unforgettable character.