Emily Grierson's Tradition

Luke Maffia
Mrs. Lonergan
English 9A
4 January 2015 In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee depicts a few southern, female characters to have influence on the protagonist, Scout. These female characters are Aunt Alexandra, Mrs. Dubose and Calpurnia. Scout is a tomboy who wears shorts, plays with her older brother, Jem and hates being called a girl. For example, Jem said, “Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home--I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!" With that, I had no option but to join them.” (Lee 69).” With this, in William Faulkner’s short story A Rose For Emily, he depicts a woman named Emily Grierson who goes through many struggles in her life like losing her father, being

Miss Emily is the old fashioned person in a town that’s evolving to become more updated. The story states, “It was a big, squarish frame house ..., set on what had once been our most select street. ...only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores.” (Faulkner). In another part of the story, Miss Emily never paid her taxes and when someone came to her house to discuss the tax problem, she said Colonel Sartoris, the once mayor of the town, didn’t require her to pay her taxes. The problem was he had been dead for 10 years. For Aunt Alexandra, she is obsessed with “old family” and traditional views. Shows this by coming to the Finch house and trying to make Scout more ladylike. With these things in mind, it’s clear that Miss Emily and Aunt Alexandra are both similar, demonstrating the same traits and viewing at the same

Aunt Alexandra is similar to her because of their family views and traditional way of living, Mrs. Dubose is alike to Miss Emily because they both never leave the house and are both misunderstood by their fellow neighbors. Lastly, Calpurnia is comparable to Miss Emily because they both exert strength and never show any sign of weakness. I see a parallel in both authors work, having similar women being depicted in the stories but with different intentions. Faulkner’s is to show the decay of a frail women who goes through many hardships but Lee’s purpose for these women is to inspire a young girl named Scout, who is growing up, realizing different things going on around her and trying to make sense of them. With this, I wonder if Miss Emily would be a good role model for Scout. Who