Styron talks about how he had serenity in the mornings and throughout the day it seemed like the gloom would intensify. In the beginning he would nap during the late afternoon hours when his depression was at its height. As the disorder progressed he was unable to escape his scheduled naps due to insomnia.
It is very clear from the beginning of the book that Styron is depressed throughout the majority of the day with intervals of lucidity, but as the story moves on the lucidity disappears and major depressive episodes take it's place. "Gloom crowding in on me, sense of dread and alienation and, above all, stifling anxiety." (Styron, pg.12)
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