The point of view of the stories “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is an essential literary mechanism when comparing these two stories. With a gothic-like horror, I found the points of view of these two stories to depict their climaxes in a shocking but also almost mundane way. Painting the world with a dark palette steeped in death and an adverse to change, I found these story to be dark but also enlightening. Faulkner and Jackson use of point of view dramatically affect how I saw the use of chronology, how one interpreted author's' intent, and theme of death in their two stories and how they differed. The short story “A Rose for Emily” is written in the first person perspective of a town as they both …show more content…
discovered Emily’s, an elder of the town, mysterious and dark secret. In contrast, I will compare the story of “A Rose for Emily” with another short story “The Lottery.” The short story “The Lottery” is told in objective third person depicting a town holding a mysterious lottery and quickly discovering the dark purpose behind it and what awaits the winner. The point of view can tell a lot about these stories individually but these stories can be even more powerful when read side by side. The use of time is intimately tied to the points of view of the stories “A Rose for Emily” and “The Lottery.” For Example, in “A Rose for Emily” the narrator is the town recalling the time they were defeated 30 years before (Faulkner, 2). This is just one of many time jumps that shows how the town sees Emily as she digresses more and more, “ SHE WAS SICK for a long time. When we saw her again (Faulkner, 4). These time jumps depict the disjointed memories of a town struggling to make sense of the events leading up to discovering the body of Homer Barron in Emily's upper room (Faulkner, 7). Without this first-person point of view of the town recalling more and more with each time jump, I feel this story’s ending would not have the same impact. “The Lottery” however is told very differently. The point of view and order “The Lottery” is told in it feels like one whole camera shot. The third person objective telling of “The Lottery” goes scene by scene giving the story horror movie like feel to it. For example, when Old Man Warner references an old sang the town has “lottery in June, corn be heavy soon. (Jackson, 11), it gave the town a haunted feeling to it. Together this shows how the use of time in third person objective can paints a picture of a corrupt archaic town with little to now humanity. If “The Lottery” was written in first person perspective the use of time would have been accompanied by the thoughts of the town making them feel more human. “The Lottery” and “A Rose for Emily”, are different yet similar to each other. “The Lottery” is relatively is linear in it chronological and in objective third, while “A Rose for Emily” make multiple jumps in time recalling the story non-chronological first-person perspective. “The Lottery” shows the building tension over time, while “A Rose for Emily” is told in first person jumping from memory to memory. This painted the town of A Rose for Emily in a much more human way them “The Lottery”. This use of time and point of view tells a lot about the two authors’ intent. The point of view of “A Rose for Emily” and “The Lottery” can tell a lot about the author's intent. Stories are intended to communicate, evoke, or show people something and many times the author's mode of doing this is from the point of view. For example, in “A Rose for Emily” the narrator portrayed Emily as someone to be pitied. “They just said, ‘Poor Emily’” (Faulkner, 4), they in this sentence is the town. We see with the murder of Homer Barron (7), the author’s intent in “A Rose for Emily” is to depict an ashamed town trying to make peace with its past. This is a very different picture than ”The Lottery”. In “The Lottery” The reader never people’s thoughts, let alone the narrator's feelings toward a character in the story, only hear and see what people do and say. For example, when Old Man Warner talked about how archaic The Lottery is you catch a glimpse at what it read is for (Jackson, 11). Later when Tessie Hutchinson was stoned by the town (Jackson, 14) one begins to see that the author wants the reader to see that the lottery for what it is a dangerous ritual based in religion. This being told from an objective third person point of view clearly shows the scene by scene builds on what is a horrific ritual of fertility. This is the difference between “The Lottery” and “A Rose for Emily”. Differing between “A Rose for Emily” and “The Lottery’s”intended meaning of the story can challenge the reader. In “The Lottery” it clearly shows how Jackson of wanted the reader to see the town as evil and corrupt thru an objective look into the story scene by scene. Rather than in “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner uses the first person perspective of the town to help the reader connect with the story as the town saw it. This draws a distinct contrast between the two stories. It is like Jackson wants the reader of “The Lottery” to see practices of the town as savage and see them as evil, while in “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner wants the reader to experience and understand the same conflict that the town feels in the story. The use of these two points of view are very different are can very much change how one interacts with the story and the death that can be found in them. Lastly, the point of view of “A Rose for Emily” and “The Lottery” affected how I interpret the theme of death.
Understanding how the point of view affects one interpretation of the theme of death in these stories is imperative. For example in the story “A Rose for Emily” when some of the towns went into Emily's upper room at her funeral and find Homer Barron's body lies in the bed next to a strand of hair (Faulkner, 7), it paints a clear picture that her death no longer is simple. It implies that she killed him and that she was most likely was a necrophiliac and the town did nothing. Having this story in the first person puts the reader in the shoes of the town evoking the feeling of responsibility for what happened to Homer Barron. Rather than in “The Lottery” the objective third evokes very different feeling about the theme of death in the story. At the end of “The Lottery” the stoning and death of Tessie (Jackson, 14) evoke a very different response. Have the point of view of the story being told in objective the death of Tessie seems almost savage especially after hearing “Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon (Jackson, 11).” The death of Tessie when told in the objective it paints the town as mob savages mindlessly killing a woman in a fertility ritual. This paints a very specific picture. This shows just how much the points of view affect how the reader interprets the theme of death in these two …show more content…
stories. A Rose for Emily and The Lottery portray death in two very different ways.
In “A Rose for Emily” the story is told from the point of view of the town. This first-person point of view helps the reader connect with the town’s sense of responsibility and rather than if the story was told in an omniscient third. Having this story told in the third person would paint a very different way making the town seem like a neglectful clueless bunch unaware that an old lady killed a man right under their noses. This is why the first person telling the story first person, like in “A Rose for Emily” is so important, the first person point of view humanizes the characters by showing their inner conflict.While in “The Lottery”, having Jackson telling the story in objective third person make out the town to be archaic in a cult-like way. This deliberate because Jackson could have told it in the first person to give the town a sense of humility to them but he didn't. Jackson wanted to make the town out to be the bad guys just like how Faulkner wants the reader to feel the conflict the town did upon discovering Homer Barron's body. The decision to write these stories in this way dramatically affect how the reader interprets death but also the author's
intent. In closing, a “Rose for Emily” and “The Lottery” use their points of view to paint a picture for the reader. One can see how time is affected by the point of view as each story uses it to create a more immersive story. Thru understanding the point of view of the story one can also begin to see how the author's’ intent can be seen through the point of view of “A Rose For Emily” and “The Lottery”. Lastly, Faulkner and Jackson use the points of view of t “A Rose for Emily” and “The Lottery” to help communicate how one interacts with the theme of death in their stories. The mysterious horrific objective telling of the story of "The Lottery" and the tragic disturbing tale of “A Rose for Emily,” in the end shows just how much the point of view can impact a story.
In the book Literature by Edgar V Roberts, Faulkner begins the story “A Rose for Emily” with an extremely long sentence which shows the communities reaction to death and immediately displays a scene through gender differences:
The narrator of the story and its point of view are important to understand the theme of the story. Jackson does not mention who is the narrator of the story, but it seems the narrator is a woman who is Jackson herself, and she is part of the society because she knows the townspeople’s character and the event that happens in the town. Although the narrator is part of the society, she seems to be a trustworthy narrator. She tells the story in third point of view with an objective omniscience. She does not bias to any character and describes the story based on what she sees. The point of view in the story is important because it leads the reader to think the reason why the townspeople conduct such a horrible tradition which is one part of the theme of the story. The theme might change if the narrator tells the story in different point of view because she will not tell the story in objective view.
Luck and love have always been two very important and contradicting themes in many stories. Children and adults would go above and beyond to receive their parent’s affection and approval even to the point of death and isolation. At times this creates a dysfunctional aspect in the family’s lives. “A Rose for Emily” and “The Rocking Horse Winner” have very similar symbol meanings and themes explaining the dysfunctional family, love and luck.
In William Faulkner’s short story A Rose for Emily the order of events, though ordered un-chronologically, still contains extensive uses of foreshadowing. Faulkner Foreshadows Emily’s inability to perceive death as finality, Homer Baron’s death, and the fact that she [Emily] is hoarding Homers dead body. Faulkner also uses precise detailing and dynamic repetition in certain areas that contain foreshadowing, to grasp the reader’s attention.
In society, the motives behind people partaking in violence and crime vary. Individuals may act for survival, peer pressure, religion, or even culture and tradition. Two short stories, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, both portray tradition in their themes. By exploring violence, brutality, and death within these traditions, similarities and differences emerge between the two tales.
If we compare William Faulkner's two short stories, 'A Rose for Emily' and 'Barn Burning', he structures the plots of these two stories differently. However, both of the stories note the effect of a father¡¦s teaching, and in both the protagonists Miss Emily and Sarty make their own decisions about their lives. The stories present major idea through symbolism that includes strong metaphorical meaning. Both stories affect my thinking of life.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt once said. “It’s only in love and in murder that we still remain sincere.” In both stories, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson murder isn’t seen as murder, it is rather seen as a crime of passion and a tradition. Emily Grierson who has been sheltered all her life, from “A Rose for Emily”, loses her father from a heart attack. This tragic event affected Emily’s life, she was suicidal and on the verge of killing herself when there was a knock on the door. She proceeds to open the door, when she sees her savor, Homer. She is so in love with
Both “ The Lottery” and “ A Rose for Emily” are American Gothic, they focus more on the dark side of life. For example “ Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head.”(Faulkner 1). This shows fear and death, that is the basis of American gothic, also the mood is a mood in both stories where its so slow that, it seems fast, every other line gets goosebumps going. Never knowing when the next plot twist is going to be. The stories help readers understand the true but sad facts of life, of how death eventually comes for everyone. It focus on the dark times. In the lottery a good quote that explains this concept of Death and dark times is “ It isn't fair” she said as a stone hit her head Old man Warner was saying “ Come on come on everyone” “ It isn't fair it isn't right” screamed ms. Hutchinson, then they were upon her. This shows the cruelty and the ignorance of human nature and behavior. So both “A Rose for Emily” and "The Lottery” are great examples of American Go...
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.
Point of view plays a vital role in how the reader perceives the story. “A Rose for Emily” and “Jealous Husband” both employ first person point of view which makes it necessary to have a narrator. Faulkner uses his narrator to submerge the reader in the story. Through the use of first person, a casual tone is established, especially when the narrator recollects the incident involving Homer Baron (Faulkner 101-103). The use of first person allows the reader to absorb the story as though he or she is being told directly. Using a casual tone allows the reader to become more involved in the story.
In “A Rose for Emily”, it is a time where a black woman cannot walk the streets without an apron tied around her waist. But, in her town, it changed into a place where even on the street where Emily had lived, where it once had been very exclusive, now looked intruded on and destroyed, and Emily’s house did not look pretty. This physical setting has a direct correlation to the social changes that were occurring during this time period. On the other hand, in “The Lottery”, not just one town is mentioned in the story. The author talks about the lottery in a way that seems as if he is referencing that this could occur in any town. The time of day and year, along with the weather, is described, making it feel like a positive, cheerful day. When in fact, readers are led to the opposite
First, why does Faulkner present the plot in the way that he does? There can be numerous answers to this question, but I have narrowed it down to one simple answer. He presented the story in this way in order to keep the reader guessing and to also provide some sort of suspense. By Faulkner telling the story in the way that he does, the reader has no way of knowing what might be coming up next in the story. The last thing that a reader wants to do is read a boring story that is easy to predict. Faulkner keeps the reader from knowing what might happen next by not placing the events in the actual order that they occurred. He goes back and forth throughout Miss Emily’s life. At the introduction and conclusion of the story, she is dead, while the body consists of the times when she was alive. The body of the story also jumps back and forth throughout Miss Emily’s life. Faulkner brilliantly divided the story into five key parts, all taking place at some key
The eighteen hundreds was one of many revolutionary eras of time that required a lot of adjustment to millions of people's lives. Many people during this time period faced challenges that one goes through in order to steer away from the loss of cultural and family traditions during the adaptations of these times. "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner and "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson are similar in regards to theme, demising of characters, and time periods, which is significant because it teaches us how both of these stories represent what the people of this time period went through and overcame.
All and all, Jackson’s use of third-person dramatic point of view supports the attitude that subdued and ordinary people have traditions that overshadow the value of human life. The use of language control, the narrator’s indifferent attitude, and the characters’ dialogue proves the point that Jackson intends to present “The Lottery” in such a way that the final event is not disclosed until the very end. Truly it is not what is said, but what is unsaid that is most frightening to the readers.
Through the use of setting, characterization and theme Faulkner was able to create quite a mysterious and memorable story. "A Rose for Emily" is more than just a story though; her death represents the passing of a more genteel way of life. That is much more saddening than the unforgettable scene of Homer's decaying body. The loss of respect and politeness is has a much greater impact on society than a construction worker who by trade is always trying to change things. Generation after generation Miss Emily happily escaped modernism by locking herself in her house the past.