...story, not just by their literal content of the story but by their intentions for devising the story and telling it the way they do. One particular short story that shows the importance of the narrator or story teller is The Zebra Storyteller by Stephen Holst. In this novel the reader can view the story through different narrators and choosing a particular point of view which in turn directly coincides with the end meaning you experience. This shows how crucial narrators are to creating the atmosphere of a story. Through each of these we can witness the power of the narrator and what they are responsible for in a story. Furthermore realizing the “function of the storyteller” helps us to also understand the main themes for a second story, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner. The Zebra Storyteller can have two different narrators. It can be a third person narrative about a cocky Siamese cat trying to be a lion, a story that is told by an outsider to the plot. A fable about pretending to be something you’re not and letting it lead to your demise. The narrator could also be the Zebra Storyteller himself who only appears later in the text. When attributing him the narrator view we can see a time shift in the story. One where we are given a background of a Siamese cat and how one day a zebra storyteller came up with that same story later on. Given this point of view we see that the zebra’s story that he made up that day may have saved himself, or he may have possibly killed an innocent...
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...A Rose for Emily is a short story that basically is broken up into 5 parts that tells of Emily Grierson’s death and the stories leading up to and surrounding it. The first section of the story talks about the death of Emily and how everyone had come to her home for her funeral. The inside of her home had not been seen in over a decade. When she was alive she was told by the town mayor, Colonel Sartoris that she would not have to pay taxes due to the large sum her father had lent to the town at one time. When new leaders of the town came along, they tried, though unsuccessfully, to make her pay taxes. She told them that she was not required to pay taxes and that they need to take it up with Colonel Sartoris. However he had been dead at that point for almost a decade. The second part goes on about Emily’s father’s death and how she was still single by the time she turned 30. Everyone in the town thought that the Griersons believed that they were better than everyone and that her dad chased away all potential suitors because no one was good enough for her. This...
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...Allan Poe and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner like a fine silk thread, supporting the theme of death in each. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the cause of death is never obviously revealed but lightly hinted upon Emily as the cause. “The Cask of Amontillado,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, the cause of death is revealed but no one knew the cause of Fortunato’s disappearance. These stories contain many differences as well as similarities ranging from imagery, symbolism, theme, and tone. The recognizable commonality of the two is the theme of death. Each of these stories portrays death, or murder, as a result of vengeance, revenge and betrayal. “The Cask of Amontillado” deals with the death of Fortunato and “A Rose for Emily” deals with the death of Homer and Emily. William Faulkner never admits that Emily is the cause of Homer’s death but gives the audience clues that suggest Emily was indeed responsible. Emily’s death seemed to be of natural causes (Faulkner, 1931, p 531). Edgar Allan Poe, in “The Cask of Amontillado” tells the audience of Montresor’s plot of revenge and murder of Fortunato. Betrayal and revenge are obvious throughout both stories. In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily first betrayed Homer after he did not take her for his wife after the whole town saw the two of them together. In “The Cask of Amontillado” betrayal is shown in Montresor’s actions, which result in Fortunato’s death. In both stories, death is caused by the...
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...is a clear representation of life and death, as the movie’s main theme is about both and how they go hand in hand. In the first scene, the narrator and main character, Lester, played by Kevin Spacey, is pointing out how his wife’s clogs match the handles on her pruning shears as she works on her garden. We see her cut a red rose close up, and then in the next shot is from far away, showing her gardening, and all of the flowers are red roses. Even before this happens in the movie, Lester tells the audience that in a year, he’ll be dead. So we already know this movie is about Lester, his life, and then his death. With the shot pulled...
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...and Rose. To what extent is each responsible for their tragedy and how does the character of Troy change throughout the play. The play Fences by August Wilson revolves around the front yard of the main characters Troy and Rose Maxson between the years 1957 and 1965. Rose is a long, responsible mother, wife, and friend who tends to show forgiving and selfless character traits. Many of her words and actions also show that she is a strong and assertive yet tender woman. Her husband Troy, on the other hand, is pretty much her opposite. Troy’s character is very dominant. He is and imaginative and boastful person who mostly comes off as selfish and bitter. Within the eight years, which the play takes place, Rose and Troy find themselves in a tragedy. Troy’s character changes between Act I and Act II, however, both his and Rose’s character are responsible for the tragedy. Rose Maxson is a forty-three year old woman. She is the wife of Troy Maxson and mother of Cory Maxson. Typically Rose is seen cooking and/or cleaning. Through her actions, she is perceived as a woman who does everything they can to keep her loved ones close by and happy. She is a very selfless person. She offers food to anyone who comes to visit and also helps out financially where needed even when her financial situation is sparse. She is also loving and caring. She tends to show concern for others including her son, Cory, her brother-in-law, Gabriel, and even Bono and his significant other, Lucille. Rose has...
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...linked to the themes in the infamous William Faulkner short story, “A Rose for Emily”. Psycho is a film created by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960, which tells the story of a young woman who steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor, Norman Bates, who had be under the domination of his mother for too long. On the other hand, “A Rose for Emily” is a short story by William Faulkner, published in 1930. This short story by Faulkner was about an elder woman by the name of Emily. Faulkner wrote about Emily, how she abandoned herself from the outside and kept her deepest darkest secret hidden from others. Not only do they share similar underlying themes; they also share a very gloomy and unique setting. The film Psycho and the short story “A Rose for Emily” can easily be related, in the respect of their similar settings and themes. In literature, setting is an essential part of creating a storyline. Setting is the locale and period in which the story or film takes place (“Setting”). The setting plays a special role in Psycho and in “A Rose for Emily,” because it creates a mood or feeling in the story. In Hitchcock’s Psycho, the film takes place in the Bates Hotel, which is a dark and dreary place, not well-kept, and placed in front of an enormous, equally dark, house on a hill that seems to be looking down on the little hotel (Psycho). In “A Rose for Emily,” the setting can be portrayed as Figueiredo 2 the...
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...Alvaro Barsallo Ms. Morrow ENC1102 9/28/2014 A Look at “A Rose for Emily” “A Rose for Emily” is a short story by William Faulkner. It is the story of an old southern woman called Emily who lives only with her servant in an old mansion after her father dies; she never goes out and is rarely seen by the townspeople. Nobody in the town knows that she’s keeping a macabre secret inside her room. I chose this story in particular because I’m a huge fan of The Zombies and music from the sixties in general. In The Zombies’ album Odessey and Oracle, there is a short retelling of the story and that is the only version of the story I have ever heard before reading the actual story in class recently. The story is divided in five parts. In the first part of the story, the narrator recalls the time of Emily’s death and how the whole town attends her funeral in her old dilapidated home. We are told how the previous mayor, a man in his eighties, has retracted Emily’s taxes after her father’s death. When the new younger generation town leaders take over they try to make her pay taxes but she gets her way and successfully gets rid of these officials. In the second part, the narrator describes how thirty years earlier, Emily’s house started to smell horrible. The younger officials sprinkle lime along the foundation to appease the townspeople who are complaining of the odor. The narrator gives us a clue about Emily’s state of mind by telling us the Emily’s great aunt had succumbed to mental...
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...Georgia O’Keeffe: Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses- Analysis, Comparison and Contrast Short Biography of Georgia O’Keeffe Georgia O'Keeffe was born on the 15th of November, 1887, in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. She got married to Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer who gave Georgia her first gallery show, in 1916. She moved to New Mexico after his death, thus most of her works were based on inspiration from the environment and natural landscape there. “O'Keeffe was one of the greatest American artists of the twentieth century. She took to making art at a young age and went to study at the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1900s. Later, while living in New York, she studied with such artists as William Merritt Chase as a member of the Art Students League.” (Bio. (Biography.com)). O’Keeffe’s most famous works include Black Iris (1926), Oriental Poppies (1928), Black Cross, New Mexico (1929), and Cow's Skull with Calico Roses (1931), the work which this report shall focus on. She passed away on the 6th of March, 1986, at 98 years of age. Cow's Skull with Calico Roses: the Focus of this Report Figure 1: Georgia O'Keeffe. Cow's Skull with Calico Roses. 1931. Figure 1: Georgia O'Keeffe. Cow's Skull with Calico Roses. 1931. Introduction to the Artwork This painting is called Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses, and was painted by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe. It was completed in 1931 in New Mexico, where Georgia was inspired to paint it. This painting...
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...Gothic Elements Gothic can be defined as literature written to conduct “frightening, feral scenarios in which mysterious secrets, extreme isolation, grotesque images, and characters’ duress combine to create a dark and horrid image for its bold readers” (Renaldo 2). Generally presenting the same themes and tropes, Gothic literature discusses madness, isolation, disease, nightmares, and death. Although in some stories, it also explores unmentionable topics such as murder, suicide, and incest. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a story of a spinster woman who has killed her lover and lain for years beside his decaying body. The story deals with a murder caused by possessive love, and it elucidates the face of death which results in repulsion and compassion. “A Rose for Emily” represents Southern Gothic literature through descriptions of Emily, her house, necrophilia, and the theme of death. To begin with, the narrator portrays Emily Grierson as a once prominent member of the community. However, after the death of her father, she is pitied and often irritating, demanding to live life on her own terms. In the beginning of the story, the author describes her as looking “bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, [look] like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough” (Faulkner 53). Being isolated from the outside world since her father died and Homer Barron, her lover, went...
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...has gone through me like thread through a needle. Everything I do is stitched with its color.” This quote by William S. Merwin exemplifies grief, which is portrayed throughout the course of the short story “A Rose for Emily,” but with an uncanny twist. In William Faulkner’s short story Emily, the main character. She is an old woman living in a town called Jefferson with a southern upbringing. Devastated and alone after her father’s death, she is an object of pity for the townspeople with the only comfort coming from her servant Tobe. After a life of having potential suitors rejected by her father, she spends time after his death with a newcomer, Homer Barron. As they continue their relationship the chances of his marrying her decrease as the years pass. As the connection dies off Emily isn’t seen except for the occasional glimpse of her in the windows. Once she has passed the townspeople arrive to the conclusion to enter the house, ultimately finding something troubling. In “A Rose for Emily,” a rose for Emily, the strand of hair, and decay are symbols that provide a strong representation of grief throughout the short story demonstrating the prominence of the passing. The first symbol that becomes recognized throughout “A Rose for Emily” is in the title itself. The rose for Emily is very symbolic for the reason that it represents the love that Emily was never able to capture and something more unsubstantiated. This caused for her to become a mysterious figure who changed from...
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...nothing, I'd choose grief” (Brainyquote). He further explains why he’d do this in “A Rose for Emily”; although the story is not about him, he details the loneliness and selfishness of a poor woman, Miss Emily. Miss Emily is unable to grip the idea of death and suffers great deals of denial. After the death of her father, the townspeople expected her to be in a state of grief but alas she is not. Instead she proceeds to say that her father is very well with her, alive. William Faulkner’s idea of grieving is clear in this story because he shows his audience that it is better to accept death than to ignore it through the accounts of Miss Emily’s journey. William Faulkner’s story takes place in the South, during a time period of racial discrimination and major political change. By using reader response criticism, a reader can analyze “A Rose for Emily” through the aspects of the secret held within the story, race found through anthropology, and gender found through anthropology. To begin with, one can analyze “A Rose for Emily” by examining the underlying hidden message found within the story. The hidden message that William Faulkner tried to convey in his story was the themes of death and change. Death looms through the story from the beginning right on through to the end as the narrator begins describing the beginning of Miss Emily’s funeral. Miss Emily herself chooses not to accept the fate of death when her extremely controlling father passes away. “Miss Emily met them at the door...
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...In the short story, “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner presents many examples of symbolism. Symbolism is when the author uses an object or a reference to add deeper meaning to the story. William uses symbols that only the reader may be able interpret the true meaning. Williams begins the story with the funeral of Emily Grierson, the main character. The story uses Emily Grierson’s life as an analogy of the south after the Civil War. Willam uses Emily’s house, hair, and most importantly her rose as symbols to illustrate downfall in the south. Emily’s house represents her outlook as time progress and she becomes deeper in sadness. Miss Emily’s house was once beautiful and white. It was decorated to perfected satisfaction, and it set on the most beautiful street. It was perfect, a dream house to say at the least. Then, slowly it became an “eyesore among eyesores”(96). Miss Emily changed in the same ways as her house. She then too became an eyesore. She had once been a white, slender, and gorgeous woman. Through time she becomes “bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water with eyes lost in the fatty ridges of her face” (96). During Miss Emily’s death she was related to an “fallen monument,” stating that she was once something beautiful. With time she grew old and impoverished. These same changes from affluence to impoverishment...
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...Ricardo Moss Eng. 113-A Ms. Jennings Tupac Shakur, the Rose That Was “The Rose That Grew from Concrete,” a poem by the late Tupac Shakur, is a poem that parallels Tupac’s life from early childhood until his death and beyond. The concrete representing the struggles and hardships that were a part of Tupac’s earlier days. The rose represents Tupac and his determination to make something of himself against all odds. Tupac Shakur, born Lesane Parrish Crooks on June 16, 1971, spent the majority of his youth in New York City where he was born. In Tupac’s poem the concrete symbolizes his early childhood and the struggles that were a part of growing up. Tupac’s father was absent for most of his life, according to the (urbandictionary.com). Tupac did not meet his biological father, Billy (William) Garland, until after he was shot five times on November 30, 1994, in New York City. Tupac would eventually incorporate the “thug life” persona in his life which would lead Tupac on a downward spiral of misfortunes. Mikal Gilmore, in Rolling Stones article characterizes Tupac as “perhaps the most despised man in America.” Gilmore goes on to describe the late rapper’s music as being merciless and condemned by some of Americas most powerful people (Glimore102-104). Tupac would eventually end up in jail for sexual assault which would not be his last brush with the law. Between Tupac’s vision of what the concrete symbolizes and what was instilled in him from a mother and step father that...
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...Roses may be beautiful, but they also have thorns. Gatsby also realized that the sunlight this rose was receiving was "raw", or harsh and gritty. Sunlight is an important source for flowers, without it they cannot live, therefore if this rose, is receiving such raw sunlight it must be just as harsh as it's living source, as to why it was described as a "grotesque" thing. Daisy was never truly loyal to Gatsby, she didn't wait for him to return for her and after her husband Tom finally found out about their love affair she continued to stay by Tom''s side, Gatsby was much too consumed with the idea of finally having wealth and Daisy to see that. F Scott Fitzgerald incorporates this line before he speaks on Gatsby's death so show how he died with his mind made up, ultimately too late. The line of Gatsby's death was "like that ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees" (Fitzgerald 161). The "ashen" figure was Wilson, who was poor and lived in the Valley of Ashes. Fitzgerald uses words like "fantastic" and "amorphous" to show how unrealistic everything must've felt to Gatsby during his...
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... EN 300 December 10, 2014 A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner captures the life of a wealthy woman coping with life after the death of a loved one. Death is an indescribable feeling that can cause pain, anger, and sorrow for almost everyone. Early on in the story, Emily’s father passes away leaving her with all of these emotions concealed on the inside. After her father’s death Emily was left alone to grieve which caused her to react to his death in an unusual manner eventually leading to a state of depression. Emily barricades herself in her home away from the outside world for a long period of time trying to cope with her loss, but it seems as if life has moved on without her. Once she emerges from her home, it is like she is trapped in the past. Emily no longer has a sense of place and time. Emily finally finds happiness in a man by the name of Homer, but because of her family’s status in the community it causes a rift between Emily and herself on whether to keep him around or not. This caused Emily to go into a deeper depression, hiding from the world once again. Although death is a reoccurring theme in the story, it is not the only thing that has critics striving to understand the story even further. For starters, the title of the story has one scholar by the name of Laura Getty extremely interested because Faulkner does not come right out and say why he titled this story “A Rose for Emily.” It is almost as if...
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