Fluent Essays

1. Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is one of my favorite pieces of southern literature, and we could spend days talking about it. What seems most interesting or noteworthy about the piece? Discuss! 200 Words. © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. LitWeb Workshop: William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” wwnorton.com/litweb Fiction © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. * William Faulkner (1897– 1962) Faulkner grew up in Oxford, Mississippi in Lafayette County, which is the basis of the fictional town of Jefferson in Yoknapatawpha County, where many of Faulkner’s works are set (including “ A Rose for Emily”). * © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. Oxford, Mississippi * Families of mixed ethnic and financial backgrounds inhabited the area, including the descendants of black slaves, farmers, the “planter class,” and Chickasaw Indians. * © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. * “A Rose for Emily” southern gothic “disturbed people doing disturbing things” strange characters macabre occurrences “grotesque” social issues, behavioral codes taboo topics Southern gothic literature focuses on “disturbed people doing disturbed things.” The genre is characterized by odd characters, strange and morbid events, and the grotesque, using these themes to explore issues unique to the American South (i.e. the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the enduring legacy of slavery and discrimination), particularly related to social and behavioral codes. Themes of incest, murder, suicide, sexual depravity, and mental illness are traditional fare in southern gothic literature. * © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. Excerpt, “Authors on their Work”: William Faulkner From Faulkner at Nagano (1956) [Faulkner]: I feel sorry for Emily’s tragedy; her tragedy was, she was an only child, an only daughter. At the time when she could have found a husband, could have had a life of her own, there was probably some one, her father, who said, “No, you must stay here and take care of me.” And then when she found a man, she had no experience in people. She picked out probably a bad one, who was about to desert her. And when she lost him she could see that for her that was the end of life, there was nothing left, except to grow older, alone, solitary; she had had something and she wanted to keep it, which is bad—to go to any length to keep something; but I pity Emily. I don’t know whether I would have liked her or not, I might have been afraid of her. Not of her but of anyone who had suffered, had been warped, as her life had probably been warped by a selfish father. * From Faulkner at Nagano (1956) * © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. Questions for Discussion Who is Emily, what is she a monument to, and why does she deserve a rose? What role does time sequence play in this story? How are gender and voice linked in this story, not only in roles played by the characters but also in the town’s values? Is the story’s ending a shocking revelation? What do you believe was Faulkner’s motive? * One of the most obvious characteristics of this story is its elaborate and complex treatment of historical time—there are three specific times mentioned: the 1870s, when the house was built; the present, with garages and gasoline pumps (probably the 1920s); and the 1860s, the time of the Civil War battle of Jefferson. The townspeople are given only limited glimpses of Emily, yet they construct an entire life for her based on what they imagine. Is the narrator’s position clear? The narrator’s gender is never revealed, though sexism (both in our assumptions about the narrator and in the narrator’s and townspeople’s assumptions about Emily) plays an important role in the story. * © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. Group Activity & Write-Up Create a news column. Faulkner explained that his choice of title for this work was allegorical; he, as author, is honoring a woman who had experienced a terrible tragedy. In this activity, use journalism techniques to develop a very short article on the events surrounding Emily’s life. The article may take the form of a tabloid, editorial, letter to the editor, or front page news. * Students may not be familiar with the term “allegory”—a literary device used by authors to symbolically represent abstract ideas using characters and events. In this story, Emily symbolizes the Old South, with its cruelty and injustice, while the rose represents the pity one feels toward this dejected society. This activity will help students understand the differences between a work of fiction, where the meaning usually isn’t revealed until the story’s end, and a news article, in which the lead is announced from the outset. * © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. Suggestions for Writing What societal values are treated in “A Rose for Emily,” and does Faulkner address them with criticism, nostalgia, praise, or other? How are the narrator’s values reflected in or differentiated from those of his society? Compare the motives and outcomes of the murders committed in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers.” Are these women heroines? Were their crimes justified? Understandable? * © 2013 W. W. Norton Co., Inc. LITERATURE THE NORTON INTRODUCTION TO Kelly J. Mays * For more learning resources, visit the StudySpace: http://wwnorton.com/litweb