In one, a woman driven to insanity by love murders her beau and sleeps by his corpse for thirty-odd years. In the other, a professor with acute liver disease is unjustly arrested and taken to prison. The two stories “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “Saboteur” by Ha Jin at first do not appear to have much in common; one takes place in an imaginary town in the South around the 1880s, the other in the newly formed People’s Republic of China. The first a story of love, the second of ill-fated justice. However, both of these stories show the far reaching effects of a few people’s actions, and how those that suffer the most from a crime often aren’t related to it at all. In both, the main character has had some injustice pressed upon him/her
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It was he who chased away all her suitors when she was younger, believing that they are not good enough for a Grierson. Her father controlled her life absolutely when she was younger, never allowing her the chance to marry. In a particularly vivid portion of the story, the townspeople describe how they view the two: “We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the backflung front door” (716). This painting of the two of them perfectly describes the relationship between the two. When her father was alive, Miss Emily had no control over her own life; he decided which men were good enough for her, and because he thought that “none of the young men were quite good enough for” her, she missed out on her chances love and a family (716). That her father is described as being in the foreground and she in the background is also very informing of their relationship; they were not equals, he made the decisions and she merely followed them meekly; she did not chose to send away her suitors, he did. The imagery of a horsewhip in his hand is especially revealing; he was a very powerful, forceful man not to be contradicted. Because of the kind of man that her father was, Miss Emily was denied a life of her own, and this turned a just a bit crazy. When her …show more content…
Chiu were wronged at the hands of others; her by her father, and he by the communist police. What happened to them was unjust, and neither had done anything to warrant the punishment they received. However, these victims both become as guilty as those who wronged them, if not more so, for both made purposeful choices to harm others around them more deeply than they had been harmed. In the case of “A Rose for Emily,” she choses to murder Homer instead of accepting that will not marry her. In her choice to murder Homer Emily commits a worse crime then her father; he denied her of the opportunities of a married life believing that the men weren’t worthy of her, whereas she deprived Homer the chance to live. In “Saboteur” Mr. Chiu decides to take warped justice out on the people of Muji, instead of the communist police who arrested and beat him for nothing. His actions resulted in the deaths of six people, including children, which ultimately makes him a murderer, which is far worse than the actions, though cruel, of the corrupt police. The actions of these characters demonstrate how a victim can continue the cycle of injustice and become responsible for a worst injustice than was given to
It was he who chased away all her suitors when she was younger, believing that they are not good enough for a Grierson. Her father controlled her life absolutely when she was younger, never allowing her the chance to marry. In a particularly vivid portion of the story, the townspeople describe how they view the two: “We had long thought of them as a tableau, Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the backflung front door” (716). This painting of the two of them perfectly describes the relationship between the two. When her father was alive, Miss Emily had no control over her own life; he decided which men were good enough for her, and because he thought that “none of the young men were quite good enough for” her, she missed out on her chances love and a family (716). That her father is described as being in the foreground and she in the background is also very informing of their relationship; they were not equals, he made the decisions and she merely followed them meekly; she did not chose to send away her suitors, he did. The imagery of a horsewhip in his hand is especially revealing; he was a very powerful, forceful man not to be contradicted. Because of the kind of man that her father was, Miss Emily was denied a life of her own, and this turned a just a bit crazy. When her …show more content…
Chiu were wronged at the hands of others; her by her father, and he by the communist police. What happened to them was unjust, and neither had done anything to warrant the punishment they received. However, these victims both become as guilty as those who wronged them, if not more so, for both made purposeful choices to harm others around them more deeply than they had been harmed. In the case of “A Rose for Emily,” she choses to murder Homer instead of accepting that will not marry her. In her choice to murder Homer Emily commits a worse crime then her father; he denied her of the opportunities of a married life believing that the men weren’t worthy of her, whereas she deprived Homer the chance to live. In “Saboteur” Mr. Chiu decides to take warped justice out on the people of Muji, instead of the communist police who arrested and beat him for nothing. His actions resulted in the deaths of six people, including children, which ultimately makes him a murderer, which is far worse than the actions, though cruel, of the corrupt police. The actions of these characters demonstrate how a victim can continue the cycle of injustice and become responsible for a worst injustice than was given to