1。2 A Rose for Emily

A Rose for Emily tells a short story that happened in Faulkner’s fictional city, Jefferson in Yoknapatawpha County。 This novel mainly focuses on the isolated life of Emily Grierson, who is the heroine of A Rose for Emily。 Emily, as the last member of a southern aristocracy family, lived a miserable life which bloomed and faded。

The master artist Faulkner paints the portrait of a tragic woman, Miss Emily Grierson。 T, who has been twisted in personality by forces beyond her control。 Due to her aristocratic father’s prevention, she didn’t marry anyone and she was left alone after his father’s death。 Later, Emily ignored people’s objection and fell in love with a northern foreman named Homer Barron, a dark and ready man who had no interests in marriage。 After a short-lived relationship between them, Homer was tired of Emily and abandoned her。 In order to keep Homer at hand, she took the extreme way to murder Homer Barron and put his dead body on a bed in order to keep him with her, which can explain the foul smell that emitted from her house。 Emily didn’t leave her house in the rest of her life and alienated herself from the outside。 People were allowed to get into Miss Emily’s gloomy deep cartilage and found the corpse of Homer Barron until Emily died and got buried。 Beside the corpse lies another pillow, with some long white hair on it, which proves that Emily slept with corpse。 Emily is the embodiment of southern tradition。 The theme of the story is universal, transcending the boundaries of time and space。 Like many other works of great literature, this short novel conveys love, death, honor, pride, change and loss。

2。Literature Review论文网

Like so many American writers, Faulkner found himself again and again writing short stories, some of which are considered as equally important as his best novels。 Good as his short stories are, they seem always at the threshold of being absorbed into the Yoknapatawpha saga--that legendary matrix which is Faulkner's real achievement。 However, for a beginner of Faulkner scholarship, his short stories may well be an easy start。

2。1 The study of foreign scholars

In this dissertation Narrative patterns of racism and resistance in the work of William Faulkner which was written by Barnwell Janet Elizabeth, the author said “Keeping in mind the complicated nature of race relations in the South during the segregation era, as well as the economic volatility of the time, and recognizing Faulkner's position as a white southern writer, this dissertation poses and attempts to answer a few specific questions regarding Faulkner's work。”(Barnwell 18) Because most of his novels are set in the same Oxford-inspired Yoknapatawpha county, it is not surprising that certain characters appear again and again in his work。 Likewise, Faulkner also revisits similar themes and repeats certain narrative patterns。 Juxtaposing a character “type” with other characters or “community,” Faulkner is able to create real possibilities for exploring human nature。 Repeating broad narrative patterns allows Faulkner to reveal particular intricacies of social hierarchies and to expose the origins of oppressive actions by inpiduals and masses。 The repetition allows Faulkner to emphasize the existence of unspoken cultural norms that empower some while oppressing others。 One such repeated theme shows a white middle-class moderate choosing to turn away from injustice, choosing complicity with other white characters rather than action on behalf of a black or mixed-race character that suffers and sometimes dies unfairly。 If Faulkner had portrayed only one such character, the importance might be lost to readers。 Because Faulkner creates several characters choosing to turn away from injustice, avid readers of Faulkner must pause to consider the significance of this repeated behavior。