A Comparison of Two Literary Works In order to create a logical and interesting product, a literary work consists of elements such as: theme, plot, figurative language, characters, etc. The writer of the short story “A Rose for Emily,” is a man named William Faulkner. Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. He is known for many of his literary works and is a 1949 Nobel Prize winner. “A Rose for Emily” is a product of the South’s growth following the Civil War. In addition, the writer of the play A Doll House is a playwright named Henrik Ibsen. He was born on March 20, 1828, in Skien, Norway. He is identified as a literary hero in Norway. …show more content…
The narrator in “A Rose for Emily” states, “Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up” (Faulkner 734). This quote is an explanation of the reaction Emily has when the druggist asks what she needs to buy the arsenic for. She chooses to keep her reasoning quietly to herself, leaving his mind in a state of looming curiosity. Then the narrator adds, “Now and then we would see her in one of the downstairs windows- she had evidently shut up the top floor of the house…” (Faulkner 734). Emily stays in her home, letting no one know of her reasoning or of her sickness. Also, she closes-up the upstairs, which is another secretive action that the towns people do not understand. Similarly, in A Doll House, Doctor Rank is concerned with Nora’s well-being, and she replies, “It’s only some- it’s my new dress” (Ibsen 1476). She lies to Doctor Rank, adding that she is bothered by her new dress. She is truly thinking about the calling card that the maid had just handed her. Additionally, Nora tells Kristine Linde, “…I’m telling you: nobody else has known about this…” (Ibsen ). She talks to her about the secret she has kept from every person she is acquainted with. This secret is about forging her father’s name on the loan she received from Krogstad. This secrecy builds suspense on what each character will …show more content…
The result of these characteristics give each story suspense and mystery, leaving the readers wondering what each character will do next and what further action will take place. Characters hold a primary role in determining the outcome of a story, which is the reasoning behind the many similarities and differences among literary characters. Also, a clear example is the similar plots with two completely different outcomes. Once the audience understands a character, they are capable of building on their existing knowledge to foreshadow events or understand the text more logically, which is evident when reading these
Characters play a major role in ensuring that the novels can be read and comprehended. However, the success of a novel is dependent on the quality of characterization and whether they will attract the
Characterization can show how the characters personalities change throughout or towards the end of the story. Foreshadowing can help the readers to understand how the events of the story build up and can lead to the theme of the story. Conflict can tell the readers how the story builds up and shows the different events that happen in the story to refer back to the plot. The author Saki showed the readers how characterization, foreshadowing, and conflict explain the theme of friendship can be made with a person that is your enemy in the
William Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. He was the oldest of four Brothers since a very young age William developed a love for literature.He was awarded multiple awards including Nobel prices and Pulitzer awards. William Faulkner is known for his stories about the decadence of the south and the tones his stories have. In this story, we see how Emily is a symbol for the town of the old South and how everyone need to adapt to the new changes in the town. William tone influences every part of his stories.“A Rose for Emily” is about Emily Grierson a girl in a post-civil war Mississippi and how she isolated from everyone during tough situations. In “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner use of imagery and symbolism help us develop the theme of the story.
In this paper, I will be comparing and contrasting three works that we have studied this semester. I will be writing about A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, The Hairy Ape by Eugene O’Neill, and The Open Boat by Stephen Crane. All of these authors’ stories use setting to encompass the idea of freedom. Each author has a different perspective on liberty and they all express it differently through their writing. In each story the main character is trapped, either literally or metaphorically. They can all achieve freedom from their situations, but there are obstacles that stop them from reaching their goal. In A Rose for Emily, the main character is trapped in her house. In The Hairy Ape, the main character is stuck in
In “A Rose for Emily”, Miss Emily Grierson lives a life of quiet turmoil. Her
William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” are two short stories that incorporate multiple similarities and differences. Both stories main characters are females who are isolated from the world by male figures and are eventually driven to insanity. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the unidentified narrator moves to a secluded area with her husband and sister-in-law in hopes to overcome her illness. In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily’s father keeps Emily sheltered from the world and when he dies, she is left with nothing. Both stories have many similarities and differences pertaining to the setting, characterization, symbolism.
“True love is hard to find.” “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”. These words have been told to and heard from family, friends, co-workers and even words in a poem. (A.C. Bradley). These words are said to someone to comfort and express sympathy and understanding to one that is having a relationship issues. Only a lucky few have found true love the very first time love has entered the into their space, some have managed to remain married over forty years or more. Life’s dilemmas interfere with true love from entering the lives of the people that love has touched. Parents protecting their children, worrying about what other think, love not being reciprocated, fell in love too young, self-esteem too low, looking for
1. Discuss the ways in which Faulkner uses Miss Emily 's house as a symbol and/or metaphor both her character 's personality and circumstances and for the narrative 's broader themes. What does the description of Emily 's house—at the beginning of the story, particularly, but also throughout the narrative—reveal about her character? About the story 's historical setting? About the narrative 's central concerns?
Somehow Miss Emily was able to buy arsenic without confirming to the druggist what it was being used for. Many people in the town had pity for Miss Emily. She was a single woman who lived alone and would rarely leave her house. When she was on the streets, many would say, “poor Emily,” because she was a single woman and seemed lonely. According to Thomas Argiro in Miss Emily After Dark, “Her morbid behavior suggests a profound pathology that naturally raises serious doubts about her sanity” (447). One day, a Yankee named Homer Baron came into town. People began seeing him and Miss Emily around town together and going home together. She had no trouble showing off her affair around town. During the 1890s, affairs were not even to be thought of. People began criticizing her and saying “Poor Emily. Her kinsfolk should come to her.” Therefore, it was no surprise when it became known that Miss Emily had gone to the drugstore to buy arsenic. It was no surprise to the townspeople because during the 1890s, people were considered as good as dead when they were having an affair. However, Miss Emily did what others could not. She would not tell the druggist what the poison was for, but since it was for Miss Emily he played it off as she were buying it to kill rats. At the time, it was not legal to buy arsenic without truly knowing what the person wanted to use it for. This was another illegal thing that Miss Emily
In American society today, women and men enjoy equal freedoms and equal rights. As well, mental illness is treated both seriously and more effectively, and is being studied more than ever. The view of women and mental illness has shifted dramatically from those in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In the short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the protagonists experience gender stereotyping and live in a society where there are certain expectations of women all the while they suffer from mistreatment due to the lack of understanding of their mental illness. In “A Rose for Emily” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” William Faulkner and Charlotte Perkins Gilman challenge the role of women and the stigma
Not only do the roles of the characters compel a reader, they also illustrate the
Compare and Contrast Essay William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” was published in 1931. Emily Grierson, who lives with her father in antebellum Southern aristocracy and her father is very protective toward her. Therefore, she could not immerse with any other people beside her father. When her father passed away, she could not accept it still lives alone in her house and refuses to meet anyone. She teaches china painting for the kids and rejects to pay the tax.
In “A Rose for Emily” and “A Doll House” the woman faced several courses of different imbalances such as gender inequality, social issues, and sacrifices in each story. The men in the stories entrapped the women into oppressive roles in their society. The sacrifices the women in each story that they had to face were the inequalities of how women were treated and belittled. In “A Doll House” Nora was treated like a doll, her husband was very controlling in their relationship and sheltered her from society. In ‘A Rose for Emily” her father controlled her completely throughout her whole life up until his death. So how is “A Rose for Emily” and “A Doll House” Similar for the women? What Sacrifice did they have to give up?
A conflictive episode of "A Rose for Emily" occurs when Emily bought arsenic from the druggist. He surely knew that she was insane and she would kill herself. Nevertheless, with very few words Emily persuaded him to sell her the arsenic, using her powerful reputation.
A Rose for Emily was written by William Faulkner, the story was written to show how the South has evolved, furthermore it is about a woman named Emily who refuses to accept change, as change is happening all around her. Emily is stuck in her ways and she functions as a symbol of the Old South as the town around her becomes more civilized and developed.