A Rose for Emily II

William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily had an unique narration, first person plural. This type of narration hold many advantages. The entire town seems to collaborate to tell the story of Miss Emily Grierson. THis use of plural narration shows how tight-knit the community was, and how single-mindedly they focused on Miss Emily. Because so little of Emily's life is known for sure, the combination of the town's collective memory helps tell all that is known. Also, the plural narration allows several generations to tell the story, as it extends over much of Emily's lifetime.

Other form's of narration would have inhibited this story. If it was merely been a narration by a townsperson the reader would have only recieved the opinions and information of the one narrator, and would have had no idea of the rest of the town's thoughts. This is important because just one person most likely would not have known so much about Emily's whole life. That information would have been spread out among those who were physically closer to her and those who had lived during whichever event it was.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

In Dylan Thomas's Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, the speaker focuses on four types of men. The first, wise men, realize their life is at an end. However, they fight aganist this departure because they realize they have yet to make any lasting impact on the world they are leaving. The second type, good men, mourn for the good deeds that will never be accomplished due to their death. The third type of me are wild, who spent their lifetime frivolously. They fight death because they realize how much time the recklessly wasted. The last type of men are grave, who have taken life too seriously. Their realisation is of all the fun they never got to experience.

Although the speaker details how each men lived thier lives completely different, they all dealt with death exactly the same. No man thought he was ready for death. Each many resisted, for they believed there was still more for them to do. The real tragedy was that the men could not have come to their respective realisations sooner, as no one's time on this earth is unlimited.

Crossing the Bar

Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Crossing the Bar details an upcoming death. This death is represented by the speaker's journy on the sea. The speaker uses sailors diction, speaking of the tide and the sea. It is clear he sees death as an adventure, not a tragedy. The speaker even states "And may there be no sadness of farewell When I embark..." The speaker continues to use symbolism in his diction when talking about the afterlife. He expresses his wish to see his "Pilot", or the Creater, God.

The speaker's continued reference to death throughout the poem is the use of time. He frequently expresses that it is not, speaking of the sunset, twilight, and the stars. This continual darkness symbolizes the loss of life, and hope for a new beginning.

A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner's stunning conclusion of A Rose for Emily sends the reader reeling. Emily's obsession with Homer Barron is evident by her hair on the pillow of the bed containing his decomposing body. While this act may seem like undying devotion to a man she loved dearly, it was actually the act of a women obsessed with a false life and love she was willing to kill for. Throughout the text, Emily acts suspiciously regarding Homer, and with a motive and means, she most likely was the reason for his death.

Emily's means to kill Home is quite clear. She resides with him alone, and their anti-society lifestyle allows her access to him away from the prying eyes of the townsfolk. She also purchoses means in which to kill Homer, arsenic poison. She purchosed it suspiciously, asking the druggist for the best kind. She refused to state what it was for until forced, and her hesitation makes the reader wonder if it is really for rats.

Emily's motive for killing Homer remains slightly more complex. It was clear she feared he did not love her and would leave her. Indeed "Homer himself had remarked - he liked men..." Homer's sexual orientation firmly stated he could never love Emily. Her fear of abandonment had grown after her father's death, and her increasing worries that Homer would leave her eventually led to her act of murder.

The Lottery

                                                     

In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, a tradition-obsessed town annually sacrafices one of their own. Old Man Warner's saying "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" shows the town believes this sacrafice is necessary for the corn harvest, and therefore for the good of all. This idea of sacraficing a life for the good of all has been explored continuously throughout film and literature. In C.S. Lewis's adventure The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the main characters Lucy, Edmund, and Prince Caspian stumble upon an island in which the townsfolk regularly sacrafice a boat full of people to a mysterious sea monster in order for the island to remain fruitful. Another modern popular culture reference occurred on the television series Supernatural. Within the episode, Sam and Dean Winchester fight to stop the supernatural creature that a town in Ohio sacrafices young women to, in order to provide abundantly for the town.


This popular idea raises many moral questions among audiences. Is the greater good more important then the individual? If the sacrafice insures a fruitful harvest, fending off famine and starvation, one could argue the loterry would save more lives than it would cost. This is certainly what the townspeople think. However, if the village banded together in unity all the time just as they do for the tradition of the lottery once a year, then they could insure everyone is adequete, without the loss of life.

The Glass Menagerie V

In Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie, the story ends with Tom's abandonment of his family. However, unlike his father, it is clear Tom is tormented by guilt for this action. Tom was repressed and his anger and frustration boiled over until he escaped his family, not thinking of the consequences. It is clear by his ending monologue, however, that his decision haunts him. He states "I was pursued by something" (Williams, 1289). Tom is pursued by guilt, although he seeks out vices in his new life in an attempt to forget. In the end, Tom begs Laura to blow out her candles. These candles represent her connection to Tom. Due to his guilt, Tom would rather forget his family and enjoy his new life without them. He feels he cannot do this until Laura willingly breaks the connection, blowing out the candle. In the last line, he states goodbye to her, and she blows out the candle, and their connection forever.

The Glass Menagerie IV

Tennessee Williams uses devices such as foreshadowing in her story, The Glass Menagerie. Tom's eventual abandonment of the family is actually alluded to several times in the story. The greatest way William's foreshadows this event is through mentioning Tom's father, whom also abandoned the family. Several times Tom mentions his envy of his father's route in life. He even tells Amanda that if he was selfish, he would leave just like their father.  Amanda constantly compares the two men, no doubt worried Tom will follow his father's example. She accuses him of being a drunk like his father, and makes him swear he will not. Amanda even compares the two during conflicts, expresssing to Tom during a fight that "More and more you remind me of your father! He was out all hours without explanation! Then left! Goodbye!" (Williams, 1252). Tom even compares himself to his father when he tells Jim of his plans to run away and leave his family behind. The repetitive comparision between Tom and his father foreshadow Tom's eventual departure from his family.

The Glass Menagerie III

In Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, the characters participate in several external conflicts with one another. One major conflict is between Amanda and Laura. Most of the women's conflicts stem from misunderstandings about each other. Amanda remains in denial about her daughter's physical state and the drawbacks it causes. She goes on and on about Laura's gentlemen callers, ignoring the fact that, due to her shyness and brace, Laura has none. Amanda ignores Laura when she suggests there will be no gentlemen callers, simply stating "Sometimes they come when they are least expected" (Williams, 1238). This denial and pressure placed upon Laura causes strain on their relationship.

In contrast, Laura's shyness and submissive nature cause her to become agitated by her mother's outspoken nature. This leads to many conflicts in the story, such as the woman's arguement over who should answer the door for the gentleman caller. Amanda is unable to accept Laura's embarassment and bashfullness. Laura is unable to overcome her fears and articulate to her mother her concerns and fears. These misunderstandings and lack of communication cause rifts in the mother and daughter relationship.

The Glass Menagerie II

Symbols are a major part of the Tennesse Williams' The Glass Menagerie. One of the most obvious symbols is Laura's collection of glass figurines. The author even specifies that these figurines symbolize Laure and her fragility, stating "...she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf" (Williams, 1234) . However, there are many more similarities between Laura and her collection besides fragility. Like Laura, the figurines have little productivity or usefullness. They resided permonantly in the house, away from the prying eyes of the public. Laura's embarassment and anxioity force her to remain out of the public eye as well. It is clear that Laura also views herself as similar to the glass figures. Laura's favorite figurine, a tiny unicorn, tragically breaks its horn, sentencing it to look like her other horse figurines. However, Laura seems unbothered by the loss, stating it makes the unicorn less freakish. Obviously, Laura sees the unicorn as herself, and thinks that the unicorn losing what makes it different is a good thing because of her desire to be free of her brace. Only when Laura learns to break free of her shy persona, will she no longer by symbolized by her own figurines.

The Glass Menagerie I

Tennessee Williams' characters in The Glass Menagerie have a large impact on the plot. However, one unseen character has an overall impact on each character and their actions, the absentee father. It is clear the father is prevalent in the daily lives of the Wingfield family. He is mentioned in every scene, showing his abandonment still remains in the thoughts of the family. His picture remains over their mantle, a subtle reminder of his life of adventure without them. This has a lasting effect on Tom. His father's abandonment has placed the strain of the family on Tom, a responsibility he clearly detests. But despite his anger at his father, Tom is also slightly amazed and envious that his father was able to leave the family behind for a life of adventure. His admiration for his father is shown when Tom, speaking of the magic show in which he witnessed a man escape a nailed coffin, states "But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail? (Williams, 1249). In answer to his question, a light shines on his father's picture. Tom views his family situation as a strain and sees the example his father set as his only chance to escape.  His father's example eventually leads to Tom's abandonment of his mother and sister.