Comparing Faulkner's A Rose For Emily And That Evening Sun

.Faulkner writes about the Southern Gothic in his many short stories. The Southern Gothic genre deals with the grotesque realities of Southern life. It is specifically found in: “A Rose For Emily”, “Barn Burning”, and “That Evening Sun.” In “A Rose For Emily” Miss Emily is the last descendant of the esteemed Grierson family. She is the last remnant of the old south. The South lives in the past, always reminiscing about their glory days, and Miss Emily is no exception. She clings to the body of her dead fiance and even develops necrophiliac desires for his corpse (Faulkner 5). This grotesque image of necrophilism is an example of the Southern Gothic in Faulkner’s writing. Another example of the Southern Gothic is in the story “Barn Burning”. In this story Abner Snopes is a proud man who strikes back for every blow he receives. He burns down people’s barns in a twisted way of getting revenge. He is a man who knows how to inflict pain (Faulkner 4). He is another image of the Southern Gothic in Faulkner's writing. …show more content…
In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner utilizes an unique narrator. This narrator is the town. The story is told through the perspective of the townspeople looking at Miss Emily’s life. The narrator is prying and nosy. The town is not really interested in Emily as a person but is interested in her actions and personal life so as to amuse themselves. They observe her relationship with Homer Barron with great interest (Faulkner 4). They feel even go as far as to say that she ought to kill herself. Faulkner is showing a similarity between Miss Emily and a dog in pain. They ought to be put down. This example portrays the South as having a warped and disgusting view of the human person. Their culture is deeply flawed. In this story, Faulkner is revealing just how twisted and deformed the culture of the South really