Eddie felt humiliated about where she was raised, she didn't want to be associated with the "scandals" that belonged to the shacks north of the creek. She believed that, since she grew up in the shacks, she was worth less than the next person. Edith was embarrassed by her drunken father, even though none of his actions were ever her fault. Her mother, a "hallelujah-shouting fool" who preached, but never actually went to church, was also a huge contributor to the way Eddie felt. With people tormenting her about her cousins who were teen moms, or her father who made a fool of his drunken self in public, the poor girl felt like nothing more than dirt, and she wanted to be thought of as flawless and beautiful.
The fifth stanza reveals a hopeless, distressing attitude towards the woman. During the last two stanzas, the attitude shifts to remorse. The speaker emphasizes on what the woman could have had in her life if she wasn’t so concerned with following society’s expectations of her, changing the overall attitude from optimistic to remorse. Shifts: The first four stanzas are primarily meant to describe the life of this young, wealthy girl. They are optimistic and flattering.
Her home gave off a horrid smell and the town’s people were not happy that she wasn’t paying taxes. These facts gave rise to many complaints. The people of the town didn’t want to confront Emily at first; therefore they would secretly sprinkle lime to neutralize the smell. Emily could occasionally be noticed sitting in a window behind her jalousies with a bright light shining about her. Soon after her fathers death Emily starts to date a much younger man who is in town to work on the sidewalks.
The story begins at the time of Emily Grierson’s death. The narrator represents the community as a whole, doing it’s duty to an honored citizen, when he states that “…our whole town went to her funeral...” (1). His next words reveal a division in the community’s feelings about Emily along the lines of gender by qualifying the reasons for the large turnout. It seems that the men attended the funeral “…through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument…” and the women went “…mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant—a combined gardener and cook—had seen in at least ten years.” (1). This gender divided treatment of Miss Emily is repeated throughout the story.
This southern romanticism with Scarlett fashions part of the Southern Confusion Syndrome. Her epic beauty, fiery attitude, and determination, continues to guide people into this cliché of the Southern woman. The reality of this situation is that Scarlett O’Hara embodies only one type of Southern woman. Gender-analysis literature argues that many different components aid in the making of a Southern woman. Gender roles between women and men go hand-in-hand, especially in the South.
Observers in the town remark how the once-beautiful Delia has lost her shine because of her abusive husband. A practical joker, Sykes scares Delia fifteen years by using her fear of snakes. Delia has come to the conclusion that she does not need Sykes nor his abuse, particularly considering it is her wages that paid for their home. Sykes is a stereotypical abusive husband. He physically and mentally abuses Delia, takes her income while failing to make his own, and has an affair on the side.
Chris’ religious aunt slapped the man on his way out the store which showed that she thought the man was a disgrace. During this time Chris has been reading about mob crimes. In the 70s mob lynching were becoming normal and those accused of crimes and killed for their crimes were most likely to be innocent. This “thief” was surrounded by civilians and was guilty of this crime without any real proof or trial. As the crowd grew more fueled
Carver’s aggression grew wild in those years almost killing her when he hit her with a wine bottle across her head (King 2009).Carver’s alcoholism years only became worse after this incident with his wife. Upon writing “Cathedral” he exhibits himself in the narrator’s point of view which is never named in the story. “The husband” the narrator’s name in the story shows little emotion for his wife or for her blind friend that comes to visit the house. His isolation towards other is revealed by his tone of voice throughout the passage. His tone portrays the characters mood and personality when he speaks.
Consequently he found out that the path is very important to them because it leads to their burial grounds of their ancestors. However since Obi’s concern is the beauty of the path instead of the traditions of the villagers, he decides to close it despite the village priest reasonably requesting Obi to reopen the path; to which he says no. Two days later a young woman in the village dies in childbirth. A diviner recommends heavy sacrifices to appease the spirits who are insulted at having the footpath blocked. In the night the flowers and hedges are torn up and trampled to death and one of the school buildings is torn down.
From the beginning, the community depicts Miss Emily more as an unwanted object they wish to explore than a recently deceased person. Part of the first line reads, “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house” (Faulkner, 391). When a person dies, the initial reaction of most people would