Accomplishments
Feb. 23rd, 2009 11:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorchawenchSo. TMF is going to school. He's taking American History and English Comp and Grammar. One of his dreaded assignments is to write essays. His first English assignment was a 3 page essay on the character development of "Emily" in A Rose For Emily by Faulkner, using plot, imagery, and environment.
He died this last couple of weeks, dreading this essay. He swore he'd never accomplish it. He worked himself into anxiety attack after anxiety attack. And I managed to keep him redirected and eventually he wrote.
What follows the cut is his first essay in 18 years. Not having much of a clue of what he was doing. And I am extraordinarily proud of what he has accomplished. Not only did he write it, the damn thing ended up being 5 pages long. And he got it done a day early.
I'm posting the essay because I'm proud of what he's done. Any tips, suggestions, and positive criticism welcome, because this is a re-learning experience, for both of us.
The character development of Emily Grierson in Faulkner’s, A Rose for Emily comes from her assumed social upbringing. Her interaction with the characters around her, the imagery that Faulkner uses in describing her, and her reactions to the loss of the men in her life all play a part in developing this character to fullness.
Emily Grierson is a product of an assumed upbringing. We have very little knowledge of her childhood and the story hints throughout at her Old South roots. The Old South was a stratified class system of the landed wealthy, the common white man, and the slave. It was a society steeped in traditions of etiquette and chivalry. Part of this reflects in the example of sheltering its women, especially those of higher class, from anything disturbing or of a base nature. They were considered to be delicate flowers of the South.
As such, Emily is outdated in the New South, as out of place as her home which Faulkner describes, “It was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had once been our most select street. But garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood; only Miss Emily’s house was left lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores.” (95)
The townspeople provide us with further insight into Miss Emily’s life of traditional ideals versus the ideas of the New South. Miss Emily maintains an air of privilege in all her encounters with the populace of Jefferson. When confronted with taxes on her home, she stands firm. Faulkner has her say, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson.” (96) This statement shows also shows her detachment from the world outside her home as Falkner tells us that, “Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years.” (96) Faulkner shows us again Miss Emily’s perceived social position by saying,” I have no taxes in Jefferson, Tobe! Show these gentlemen out”. (96) And with that, she sends them on their way.
She again stands on her almost sanctified status when she is confronted by the drug store clerk about buying arsenic. Her bearing and her refusal to answer the questions of the clerk leave us with the impression that Miss Emily will not be treated in so common a manner as to have her actions questioned. Faulkner describes her, “She looked back at him, erect, face like a strained flag.” (99) Faulkner describes her further, “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.” (99) Once again Miss Emily has her way due to her perceived status as both a woman and a Grierson.
Miss Emily is described throughout her life with somewhat vivid imagery from her youth to her death. In youth, Faulkner describes Emily as “a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip”. (97) This hints at a sense of purity and a submissive nature and reminds us of the Southern elite and the position of the women in those households. After her father’s death Faulkner writes about her appearance again, “Her hair cut short making her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows-sort of tragic and serene.” (98) Her father’s death seems to herald a catharsis in Emily’s life. She develops a relationship with Homer Barron, a day laborer, and Faulkner gives us this image of Emily, “She carried her head high enough-even when we believed that she was fallen. It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson; as if it had wanted that touch of earthiness to reaffirm her imperviousness.” (98) As she goes to buy the arsenic Faulkner describes Emily, “She was over thirty then, still a slight woman, thinner than usual with cold, haughty black eyes in a face of flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eye sockets as you imagine a lighthouse-keepers face ought to look”. (99) However, it appears her relationship does not come to fruition and Emily retreats into solitude. When the men come to collect the taxes Faulkner shows us a changed woman, “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in fatty ridges of her face, looked like two pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough, as they moved from one face to another while the visitors stated their errand”. (96) After Homer disappeared Faulkner ages Emily by describing her hair, “During the next few years it grew grayer and grayer until it attained an even pepper-and-salt iron-gray, when it ceased turning. Up to the day of her death at seventy-four, it was still that vigorous iron-gray, like the hair of an active man”. (100)
Plot is an important aspect of developing the character of Emily. An article in Contemporary Authors Online purports, “One of Faulkner’s chief thematic preoccupations is the past and this is reflected in his form.” This is clearly evidenced in A Rose for Emily. We begin the story with her death and move on to tell of her life, the past. Edward Murray said in an article for Contemporary Authors Online, “the flashbacks are not there merely to supply expository material for the actions of the present that need further explanation. Since the past is Faulkner’s subject-or a large part of it-the flashbacks are not simply functional; they are thematically necessary”.
At two major plot points we see the most change in Emily. The first of these is at the death of her father. We see Emily clinging to the only person in her life that provided a measure of control. Her father had isolated her and denied her the normal progression of a woman’s life, that of marriage and motherhood. Emily was an old maid of thirty when her father died. Her clinging to the life she knew is illustrated by her refusal to accept her father’s death and relinquish his body. Faulkner says, “Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead”. (98) She denied his death for three days. On the third day Faulkner writes, “Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly”. (98) After her father’s death Emily goes into seclusion and reemerges with a new look, and appears to be confident and self possessed.
The second catalyst of change is her relationship and consequent love for Homer Barron. Her behavior breaks with tradition. She is seen riding with Homer and entertaining at her home, un-chaperoned, thus giving the appearance that she has taken a lover. In the traditions and rigidity of the Old South, courting and marriage were expected of a lady. Taking a lover was scandalous. When Homer does not return her love this pushes her to create the fantasy and appearance of marriage rather than lose Homer. Faulkner shows the development of this fantasy by writing, “We learned that Miss Emily had been to the jewelers and ordered a man’s toilet set in silver with the letters H.B. on each piece. Two days later we learned that she had bought a complete outfit of men’s clothing including a nightshirt and we said ‘They are married’”. (99)
We learn that the final outcome of this fantasy is achieved when Emily poisons Homer and lays him in a room within her house. She visited the body to lie beside it, even in her elder years. Contemporary Authors Online states “In A Rose For Emily, Emily Griersons embracing of her dead lover becomes a gruesome symbol of what happens when one clings to the past”.
Faulkner paints a vivid picture of a demented and perpetually disturbed woman coping with life and death on her own bizarre terms. He shows us the juxtaposition of new and old, accepted and unacceptable within this story. Emily Grierson is a reminder of things past and asks us to look at social morals of past and present. And despite her haughty attitude and gruesome behavior, we cannot help but feel sorry for a woman who was raised with such skewed perspectives. No part of Faulkner’s story may be omitted lest we miss a piece of Emily Grierson.
He died this last couple of weeks, dreading this essay. He swore he'd never accomplish it. He worked himself into anxiety attack after anxiety attack. And I managed to keep him redirected and eventually he wrote.
What follows the cut is his first essay in 18 years. Not having much of a clue of what he was doing. And I am extraordinarily proud of what he has accomplished. Not only did he write it, the damn thing ended up being 5 pages long. And he got it done a day early.
I'm posting the essay because I'm proud of what he's done. Any tips, suggestions, and positive criticism welcome, because this is a re-learning experience, for both of us.
The character development of Emily Grierson in Faulkner’s, A Rose for Emily comes from her assumed social upbringing. Her interaction with the characters around her, the imagery that Faulkner uses in describing her, and her reactions to the loss of the men in her life all play a part in developing this character to fullness.
Emily Grierson is a product of an assumed upbringing. We have very little knowledge of her childhood and the story hints throughout at her Old South roots. The Old South was a stratified class system of the landed wealthy, the common white man, and the slave. It was a society steeped in traditions of etiquette and chivalry. Part of this reflects in the example of sheltering its women, especially those of higher class, from anything disturbing or of a base nature. They were considered to be delicate flowers of the South.
As such, Emily is outdated in the New South, as out of place as her home which Faulkner describes, “It was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had once been our most select street. But garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood; only Miss Emily’s house was left lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores.” (95)
The townspeople provide us with further insight into Miss Emily’s life of traditional ideals versus the ideas of the New South. Miss Emily maintains an air of privilege in all her encounters with the populace of Jefferson. When confronted with taxes on her home, she stands firm. Faulkner has her say, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson.” (96) This statement shows also shows her detachment from the world outside her home as Falkner tells us that, “Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years.” (96) Faulkner shows us again Miss Emily’s perceived social position by saying,” I have no taxes in Jefferson, Tobe! Show these gentlemen out”. (96) And with that, she sends them on their way.
She again stands on her almost sanctified status when she is confronted by the drug store clerk about buying arsenic. Her bearing and her refusal to answer the questions of the clerk leave us with the impression that Miss Emily will not be treated in so common a manner as to have her actions questioned. Faulkner describes her, “She looked back at him, erect, face like a strained flag.” (99) Faulkner describes her further, “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.” (99) Once again Miss Emily has her way due to her perceived status as both a woman and a Grierson.
Miss Emily is described throughout her life with somewhat vivid imagery from her youth to her death. In youth, Faulkner describes Emily as “a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip”. (97) This hints at a sense of purity and a submissive nature and reminds us of the Southern elite and the position of the women in those households. After her father’s death Faulkner writes about her appearance again, “Her hair cut short making her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows-sort of tragic and serene.” (98) Her father’s death seems to herald a catharsis in Emily’s life. She develops a relationship with Homer Barron, a day laborer, and Faulkner gives us this image of Emily, “She carried her head high enough-even when we believed that she was fallen. It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson; as if it had wanted that touch of earthiness to reaffirm her imperviousness.” (98) As she goes to buy the arsenic Faulkner describes Emily, “She was over thirty then, still a slight woman, thinner than usual with cold, haughty black eyes in a face of flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eye sockets as you imagine a lighthouse-keepers face ought to look”. (99) However, it appears her relationship does not come to fruition and Emily retreats into solitude. When the men come to collect the taxes Faulkner shows us a changed woman, “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in fatty ridges of her face, looked like two pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough, as they moved from one face to another while the visitors stated their errand”. (96) After Homer disappeared Faulkner ages Emily by describing her hair, “During the next few years it grew grayer and grayer until it attained an even pepper-and-salt iron-gray, when it ceased turning. Up to the day of her death at seventy-four, it was still that vigorous iron-gray, like the hair of an active man”. (100)
Plot is an important aspect of developing the character of Emily. An article in Contemporary Authors Online purports, “One of Faulkner’s chief thematic preoccupations is the past and this is reflected in his form.” This is clearly evidenced in A Rose for Emily. We begin the story with her death and move on to tell of her life, the past. Edward Murray said in an article for Contemporary Authors Online, “the flashbacks are not there merely to supply expository material for the actions of the present that need further explanation. Since the past is Faulkner’s subject-or a large part of it-the flashbacks are not simply functional; they are thematically necessary”.
At two major plot points we see the most change in Emily. The first of these is at the death of her father. We see Emily clinging to the only person in her life that provided a measure of control. Her father had isolated her and denied her the normal progression of a woman’s life, that of marriage and motherhood. Emily was an old maid of thirty when her father died. Her clinging to the life she knew is illustrated by her refusal to accept her father’s death and relinquish his body. Faulkner says, “Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead”. (98) She denied his death for three days. On the third day Faulkner writes, “Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly”. (98) After her father’s death Emily goes into seclusion and reemerges with a new look, and appears to be confident and self possessed.
The second catalyst of change is her relationship and consequent love for Homer Barron. Her behavior breaks with tradition. She is seen riding with Homer and entertaining at her home, un-chaperoned, thus giving the appearance that she has taken a lover. In the traditions and rigidity of the Old South, courting and marriage were expected of a lady. Taking a lover was scandalous. When Homer does not return her love this pushes her to create the fantasy and appearance of marriage rather than lose Homer. Faulkner shows the development of this fantasy by writing, “We learned that Miss Emily had been to the jewelers and ordered a man’s toilet set in silver with the letters H.B. on each piece. Two days later we learned that she had bought a complete outfit of men’s clothing including a nightshirt and we said ‘They are married’”. (99)
We learn that the final outcome of this fantasy is achieved when Emily poisons Homer and lays him in a room within her house. She visited the body to lie beside it, even in her elder years. Contemporary Authors Online states “In A Rose For Emily, Emily Griersons embracing of her dead lover becomes a gruesome symbol of what happens when one clings to the past”.
Faulkner paints a vivid picture of a demented and perpetually disturbed woman coping with life and death on her own bizarre terms. He shows us the juxtaposition of new and old, accepted and unacceptable within this story. Emily Grierson is a reminder of things past and asks us to look at social morals of past and present. And despite her haughty attitude and gruesome behavior, we cannot help but feel sorry for a woman who was raised with such skewed perspectives. No part of Faulkner’s story may be omitted lest we miss a piece of Emily Grierson.
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no subject
on 2009-02-24 05:29 pm (UTC)He should be absolutely, positively proud of himself. I'd give him an A. Well done. *clapping*
Bravo
on 2009-02-24 06:00 pm (UTC)