In “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner lays out a very believable story in a manner that puts you in in the shoes of the narrator. That is up until an ending that even though was foreshadowed inevitably catches you off guard. Our textbook states that “Emily is associated with southern tradition, duty, and privilege that require protection” when explaining how the townspeople reacted to her passing. This leads us towards feeling sorry for Emily as just a reclusive southern belle that did not move on with the times. The same townspeople that had to endure her eccentricities also saw her as a monument to (at least in their minds) better times. This nostalgic view that has been worked into the story however dies quickly when you discover what happened to poor Homer Barron. The one time suiter that the reader and townspeople assumed had left Emily instead has been sharing her bed as a corpse for many years. In one paragraph, you are forced to reevaluate everything you have read. The sad nostalgia story that you have been reading and that the townspeople had been living is suddenly a horror story. In his article for Crisis Magazine http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/faulkners-rose-emily-magnificent-horror Sean Fitzpatrick states that “By making death her own, by twisting death to her will and intertwining it with life, she is both a genius and a Jezebel. And the tomb stink shrouding her house is evidence of not only a psychological horror but of a physical horror also-a magnificent horror.” Rereading the story after knowing the ending completely changes your perspective. The pages lose their nostalgic feel and instead are filled with a tales from the crypt feeling that will make you think twice if you’re ever driving through the old house and see an old plantation fallen into disrepair.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Post 4:
In “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner lays out a very believable story in a manner that puts you in in the shoes of the narrator. That is up until an ending that even though was foreshadowed inevitably catches you off guard. Our textbook states that “Emily is associated with southern tradition, duty, and privilege that require protection” when explaining how the townspeople reacted to her passing. This leads us towards feeling sorry for Emily as just a reclusive southern belle that did not move on with the times. The same townspeople that had to endure her eccentricities also saw her as a monument to (at least in their minds) better times. This nostalgic view that has been worked into the story however dies quickly when you discover what happened to poor Homer Barron. The one time suiter that the reader and townspeople assumed had left Emily instead has been sharing her bed as a corpse for many years. In one paragraph, you are forced to reevaluate everything you have read. The sad nostalgia story that you have been reading and that the townspeople had been living is suddenly a horror story. In his article for Crisis Magazine http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/faulkners-rose-emily-magnificent-horror Sean Fitzpatrick states that “By making death her own, by twisting death to her will and intertwining it with life, she is both a genius and a Jezebel. And the tomb stink shrouding her house is evidence of not only a psychological horror but of a physical horror also-a magnificent horror.” Rereading the story after knowing the ending completely changes your perspective. The pages lose their nostalgic feel and instead are filled with a tales from the crypt feeling that will make you think twice if you’re ever driving through the old house and see an old plantation fallen into disrepair.
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