The voices in As I Lay Dying are more numerous and more ambiguous. Darl is the first and most important narrator of the novel. For much of the novel, he acts as a kind of narrative anchor. One of the challenges of the novel is the complete absence of an objective third-person narrator. He is eloquent, intelligent, and isolated.
Isolation is one of the recurring themes of the novel.
Because of the novel's unique structure, the isolation of the characters is highlighted. From the very first section, the sensory and sensual images of the novel are a strong element. Although the novel takes the form of interior monologues, each character is powerfully influenced, in his own way, by the sheer physicality of their world. Work is part of the relationship to the land, and it is an important theme of the novel. The sound of his saw is the constant background noise that accompanies us all the way to Addie Bundren's death.