SHORT STORY PAPER
'Compare/contrast Faulkner's 'Dry September' with 'A rose for Emily' in terms of writing style and character presentation.';
What is going to be analyzed in this paper are the two short stories by W. Faulkner 'A Rose for Emily' and 'Dry September'. Basically, what is to be performed is a comparison/contrast analysis in terms of the writing style and character presentation. More specifically, I will provide first the information from the story 'A Rose for Emily', concerning writing style and character presentation, and following is going to be the same analysis for the other story 'Dry September'. After the necessary data are provided, there is going to be a comparison/contrast of these data, by also citing passages from the two stories, for making them more understandable.
The similarities and differences that exist in the two stories are substantial. Before, the analysis on the stories takes place there are some general points that have to be mentioned that concern other elements of fiction that are as well important. To begin with, the town name that is used in both stories is the same and that is 'Jefferson'. Also both stories are taking place in the old South. And finally, in both of them the main character is a woman, Miss Emily Grierson and Miss Minnie Cooper respectively.
The first story that is going to be analyzed is 'A Rose for Emily', and more specifically the analysis is divided in two parts, first I am concerned with the writing style and second with the character presentation. To begin with I have to say that this story is one that keeps the readers' interest undiminished. It has a complex plot and many questions arise when reading through it. Basically what is creating this is the lack of chronological order in the evolution of the facts that are presented. Things become more clear when one places them in the right order. Since the story is taking place in the old South, the choice and use of words indicts us to that region. Furthermore, what is also noticed here is that there are many descriptions(descriptive language) used in the story; 'It was a big, squarish frame house that … an eyesore among eyesores';(431-2). These help to understand more about the surrounding environment and about the appearance, 'They rose when she entered-a small fat woman in black … while the visitors stated their errand';...
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... story the descriptions about characters are referring to Emily a lot, and to other people that were close to her like the servant and H. Barron. In 'A Rose for Emily';, I saw that the reader is more like adduced to Emily's actions and emotions, while on the other story the reader has to deal with other people's actions and feelings. Added to this, I have also to say that two big differences concerning the main characters in that Emily's complex personality-in relation with her father and loved one is projected more, while on the other story we have more on Minnie's environment and relationships with other people.
Summing up, throughout the analysis of the two stories by W. Faulkner, I spotted many similarities and differences, concerning the two elements of fiction, the writing style and the characters' presentation. Overall, the two stories are really interesting with a strange plot. Faulkner maintains in both stories, the strange feeling of an almost horror stories. He shows the profound wickedness that penetrates the various characters in both of the stories. Bizarre characters, outlandish settings, but more or less the same feelings to the reader, created by William Faulkner.
William Faulkner wrote two short stories, which are alike in many aspects. 'Spotted Horses'; and 'Mule in the Yard'; are short stories that both involve comic animal chases and financial transactions. Even though the stories are written by the same author, have similar characteristics, and share similar plot features, they are entirely different stories. The stories are both examples of interpretive literature, however 'Spotted Horses'; is a more interpretive short story than 'Mule in the Yard because 'Spotted Horses'; fits Perrine's profile of interpretive literature, and 'Mule in the Yard'; seems to replicate Perrine's profile of escape literature.
In "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning," William Faulkner creates two characters worthy of comparison. Emily Grierson, a recluse from Jefferson, Mississippi, is an important figure in the town, despite spending most of her life in seclusion. On the contrary, Abner Snopes is a loud, fiery-tempered man that most people tend to avoid. If these characters are judged by reputation and outward appearance only, the conclusion would be that Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes are complete opposites. However, despite the external differences, these two characters have surprisingly similar personalities.
William Faulkner has written some of the most unique novels and short stories of any author, and, to this day, his stories continue to be enjoyed by many. Both “Barn Burning” and “A Rose for Emily” tell about the life of southern people and their struggles with society, but Faulkner used the dramatic settings of these two stories to create a mood unlike any other and make the audience feel like they too were a part of these southern towns. These two stories have many similarities in there setting, but they also have many differences to that make them unique and interesting.
The two stories A Rose for Emily and A Good Man Is Hard to Find differ more than they do correspondingly. Although they have similar endings, both have morbid thoughts both in the story itself and at the end. They share similarities in their thoughts of Blacks/ African Americans, but have their differences when it comes to their image as a lady. In conclusion, both Miss Emily and the grandmother can not let go of the past and go into the present which does not allow them to accept change easily. This further complicates their lives ending up in their melancholy deaths.
Both of the short stories are told from a 3rd person perspective—an outsider or townsperson looking into the lives of the protagonists. Rather than allowing the reader to experience the character’s thoughts and feelings, the authors let the stories unfold solely based on their plot development. This allows the reader to be a “fly on the wall,” and join the community in their gossip. Despite what an outsider may see externally, often times if one looks more closely, they will discover the truth. In A Rose for Emily, the townspeople thought that Miss Emily was hiding from society, but after looking more closely, they discover she was hiding the secret death of
William Faulkner and Eudora Welty was born in different centuries, but their book, “A Rose for Emily” and “Why I live at the PO” have many kinds of similarities and differences throughout the story. Both stories have similar settings which takes place in a small town in a South part of United States. We could see that the story have similarities in the places, but both story takes place in different decades. On the point-of-view, in “A Rose for Emily” has first-person while in “Why I live at the PO” has third-person and both story have different narrator. Usually, different story has different main protagonist. The protagonist of “A Rose for Emily” is Emily Grierson and “Why I live at the PO” is the sister. Each story has different author
Faulkner lives the majority of his life looking back and remembering the past, similar to Emily’s lifestyle in “A Rose for Emily”. Tracey Matthews, author of “Introduction to Faulkner, William (1897-1962)”, writes that “many of Faulkner’s novels and short stories are set in Yoknapatawha County, a fictional area reflecting the geographical and cultural background of his native Mississippi” (104). Never forgetting his home state of Mississippi, Faulkner loves to create fictional characters that live in a made up town in the south. This short story about insecurity and longing bring alive Faulkner’s passion for writing about obsessions. The author embraces modernistic literature in “A Rose for Emily” by exhibiting a changing community leaving many traditions as a thing of the
Because “A Rose for Emily” is narrated in retrospect, this description of Miss Emily’s relationship with the town possesses a kind of foreshadowing not always present in stories narrated as the action unfolds. Each word takes on added meaning given that the narrator already know about Homer Barron and the room upstairs.
...s have a lot of comparison and contrast dealing with theme, foreshadowing and imagery. These stories are more different because in “A Rose for Emily” she feels the need to get married to fit in with the other women in her town, but in contrast to “The Lottery” they have the norm of killing someone and they don’t want to fit in with everyone. Analyzing literature is important because it helps understand society in a physiological and sociological way. These two stories say a lot about society. They say that there are traditions people follow to fit in and some do it to not fit in. In conclusion literature has a big reflection on society.
In the stories “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, talk about how two women are experiencing the same emotional situations they have to endure. Both of these stories express the emotional and physical trials the characters have to endure on an everyday basis. In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” it shows a woman who is oppressed and is suffering from depression and loneliness. In “A Rose for Emily” it is showing the struggle of maintaining a tradition and struggling with depression. Both of the stories resemble uncontrollable changes and the struggles of acceptance the characters face during those changes.
Emily and the narrator both face issues pertaining to their identity in the short stories. Both take place in different settings although both women are essentially imprisoned in their houses. The two women are at very different places in life. In “A Rose for Emily,” she is young in the beginning and it ends with her being an old woman. “The Yellow Wallpaper,” focuses on the narrator when she is middle aged woman, it takes place over the course of just a few months. Both stories give different outlooks on the women as “The Yellow Wallpaper” is written in first person while “A Rose for Emily” is written in third person. Nonetheless, it is seen that the lives of both women are similar in certain ways yet different in other aspects.
Three key elements link William Faulkner's two short stories "A Rose for Emily" and "Dry September": sex, death, and women (King 203). Staging his two stories against a backdrop of stereotypical characters and a southern code of honor, Faulkner deliberately withholds important details, fragments chronological times, and fuses the past with the present to imply the character's act and motivation.
In “ A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner tells the complex tale of a woman who is battered by time and unable to move through life after the loss of each significant male figure in her life. Unlike Disney Stories, there is no prince charming to rescue fallen princess, and her assumed misery becomes the subject of everyone in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi. As the townspeople gossip about her and develop various scenarios to account for her behaviors and the unknown details of her life, Emily Grierson serves as a scapegoat for the lower classes to validate their lives. In telling this story, Faulkner decides to take an unusual approach; he utilizes a narrator to convey the details of a first-person tale, by examining chronology, the role of the narrator and the interpretations of “A Rose for Emily”, it can be seen that this story is impossible to tell without a narrator.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Shorter 5th ed. Ed. R.V.Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton & Comp., 1995.
In "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner's use of setting and characterization foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. His use of metaphors prepares the reader for the bittersweet ending. A theme of respectability and the loss of, is threaded throughout the story. Appropriately, the story begins with death, flashes back to the past and hints towards the demise of a woman and the traditions of the past she personifies. Faulkner has carefully crafted a multi-layered masterpiece, and he uses setting, characterization, and theme to move it along.