It is generally said that when reading something you shouldn’t put much thought into opinions, take no account to biases, and should only properly consider the facts. But in many stories this general view on reading has to be broken to fully understand the text. A Rose for Emily is a feminist like southern gothic text written by the author William Faulkner and told from the view of one of the townspeople, but one that represented the thought of the town as a whole. The view of the narrator is an important part of the story, as his views, thought not really picked up on the first reading are important and a very reliable source to messages that aren’t obviously stated but should be picked up, such as the main characters insanity. The narrator shows his views quite clearly, when he remarks on events like Emily committing suicide by saying “it would be the best thing” which gives you the feeling that the narrator isn’t exactly the best person (William Faulkner, 22).
A weakness to their relationship would be when his mother told him all the time that she was going to die. It made Gates feel responsible and with that could come depression and guilt. The big idea that is apart of Gates and his mothers relationship was him joining the church. If it wasn’t for his mother going through depression and him witnessing everything at a young age he wouldn’t have had that event happen. His mother knew very well about life and funerals.
As Emily has grown older the town sees her in a different way. In her old age she is seen as a monument to the past that is never seen outside of her house. All of the respect that her father had earned died with the old men and women of the town. In the story, we see how past events affect the life of the main character Miss Emily, especially her inability to accept change. Throughout the story Miss Emily goes to extreme measures to protect her social status.
This short story has reminded me of what my own mother is currently going through right now. She has lost everything from bankruptcy all the way to losing my step father to his affair with alcoholism. The feelings of loneliness and desperateness that I feel for my mother is what I experienced while reading this story. I feel as though my mother feels like there is no way out and could totally relate to Jennie and Jeff. I would love to fix everything for her but I know the only way is to keep going to school.
For as long as he lived Plath was under the control of her father, “black shoe / In which I have lived like a foot”, and in generally a strict family, “Barely daring to breath or Achoo”. This is where the speaker shows her hatred towards her father which is also evident in the second stanza where she says “Daddy, I have had to kill you.” This shows how she wanted out of her life, but “[he] died before [she] had time”, referring to his death. Even though Plath admires her father and looks up to him, referring to him as “a bad full of God”, she is still frightened of him and refers to him as a “ghastly statue”, but with flaws, “gray toe”. In addition, Plath compares her relationship with her father with the relationship between the Nazis and the Jews in the Second World War. “Chuffing me off like a Jew / … to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen” describes her difficult and harsh life and the obstacles she had to face while living with her father.
Mrs. Mallard conflict started with her having health issues and finding out her husband had died. Then she doesn’t know how to feel about her husband’s death. During the story it seems that Mrs. Mallard was only at the will of her husband because her husband (society) expected her to be. When I read “Clever Manka” it left me with a sense of will to fight for what you wish for. I say this because when her husband told her to pick any one thing in the house to take with her.
Her aunt’s unwilling adoption after her mother’s death was the main tragedy that occurred before the first pages of the book. She struggles with the thought that everything she was shown before could turn out horribly. Nhamo began to form a new life that circled around her constantly believing that family members were keeping watch over her. “...She moodily watched the flames die down. A termite mound rose not far from where she was sitting.
Her father was the one that kept her sheltered most of her life. She never really came out the house for anything, besides her servant, Tobe. Towards the middle of the story Miss Emily’s funeral was referred to a symbol as the “fallen monument” (209), which could have meant that it was once a beautiful and wealthy home, but as time passed it grew very old and deprived. Also, Miss Emily’s hair is one of the symbols, after her father’s death she decided to cut her long hair. Her hair could symbolize her being free of her father controlling her life.
William Faulkner chooses to tell the short story “A Rose for Emily” from the perspective of the townspeople of Jefferson, who observe and interact with the eccentric Emily Grierson and her family over the course of her 74 year lifespan. Collectively, the townspeople give the appearance of discharging their duty to Miss Emily, seeming to treat her with the consideration and care which is traditionally due to members of aristocratic families. However, it becomes obvious, over the course of the story, that individual segments of the community are at complete odds with the special treatments afforded her. At times, the opinions and feelings of the townspeople about Miss Emily are divided across multiple boundaries including those of generation, social position and gender. The story begins at the time of Emily Grierson’s death.
I felt disconnected to Catherine, because since she’s one of the main characters, and was one of whom the whole novel was based upon, we didn’t learn much about her which I found to be very lacking. I also found her attitude quite annoying, there wasn’t much