In Section 52, Darl notices the effect of the arduous journey on all of the family. But even though he is exhausted, he is still in control of the situation, as is illustrated in the central episode in this section — that is, the attempted fight between Jewel and the white man. The reader should note that whereas Anse merely stands around saying "fore God," it is Darl who is rational enough to take over and prevent a serious fight between Jewel and the white man. In fact, Darl handles the episode with perfect composure and equanimity. Without Darl, we can project that the entire procession would have been interrupted.
The question is, then, what motivates Jewel's actions in this section. It is obvious that Jewel is now aware of the tremendous stench coming from the coffin. But his love for his mother will not tolerate other people's commenting on the horrible stench. Jewel's violence continues as long as his mother is above ground.
For the first time in the novel, Cash rises above his mundane thought processes in order to contemplate the problems of sanity versus insanity. The experiences that Cash has undergone during the course of the journey force him to consider problems abstractly and not in terms of specific numbers. Consequently, after recognizing that Darl's actions are logically correct and that what Darl did was indeed the proper behavior, he must be compelled some time in the future to view the recent actions of the Bundrens as bizarre and incoherent. For such a man as Anse Bundren, it is much easier to declare his son insane than it would be to pay for a barn.
