Carol Ann Duffy

A Rose for Emily: An Analysis of Theme, Imagery and Symbolism A Rose for Emily is a prime example of the many themes of southern gothic literature. The story demonstrates not only the elements of southern gothic but the similarities of southern gothic and basic gothic literature such as Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. The author’s story is thus made interesting and catches a reader attention with its non-chronological telling and dialogue. Through the use of imagery and symbolism the author gets his…

What’s Really There?: The Underlying Themes of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Joyce Carol Oates’ famous short story presents a compelling tale of a girl, Connie, and her certain decisions she chooses depending on her setting and the people around her. As the story progresses, one of these lifestyles becomes overwhelming, and she becomes unable to effectively control her situation. Even though the story appears to be a shallow tale of a girl making poor life decisions, many underlying…

“Everything in life can teach you a lesson, you just have to be willing to observe and learn” is a familiar phrase that can apply to nearly anything (Unknown). It can often apply to literature, especially American literature. Putting the quote into relation with American literature, there is lesson in every story written and read but the only way to find it is to be open to discover and understand. Often at times, the lesson is not openly written, so the reader would have to use the actions and…

In Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been, the understanding or initial misunderstanding of characters, are pivotal to the reader’s roller coaster experience of the plot. The story revolves around the character of Connie, a fairly typical 15-year-old teenage girl, who comes to be confronted with a dangerous situation. This story and the character of Connie were particularly interesting and engrossing to me. As Oates illustrates Connie’s character and her motivations, I was…

“A Rose for Emily” is a short story written by William Faulkner about a psychotic woman by the name of Emily Grierson. Emily appears to be greatly separated from the reality of life and proves to be depressed and lonely due to past life circumstances. After the death of her father and the series of unfortunate events she experiences throughout her life, Emily deals with her pain by residing in a world filled with sorrow and depression. Unfortunately, not being able to overcome her life…

In “Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner intentionally structures the timeline of events to develop a Southern Gothic perverse characterization of Miss Emily. By doing this the author doesn’t just want the reader to view Emily as an insane and disgusting person, but instead intends for them to gain of understanding of why she did those “perverse” things. Faulkner achieves this goal by purposefully changing the order of events, which allows the reader to make sense of her actions. This format was…

An Analysis on the Plot Development of the Short Story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner 1. INTRODUCTION A short story is the art of imagination which is composed of facts and fantasy. It allows the readers experience different emotions and different lives through the characters. There are five basic elements of a short story. They are setting, plot, character, point of view and theme. These elements can be examined to analyze a short story. Among them, the plot is an important tool that…

Character Analysis of Emily Grierson In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily", the main character Emily Grierson is a burden to the town she resides in. Emily is living in a town that is still being haunted by the Civil War due to her presence.The town views her the way it views its confederate, agrarian past – it has to take care of it, but at the same time, they are stuck with it although they don't want to be. The location of the story explains the town's faliure to move on to a new…

The Garden of Gatsby Flower imagery is a popular trend in literature. The symbolism and imagery of flowers are greatly important to the themes and characters of The Great Gatsby. Elements of wealth, secrecy, and dying dreams are all represented by flower imagery in this novel. Symbolism of a rose majorly defines Nick Carraway. Daisy says, “I love to see you at my table, Nick. You remind me of a – of a rose, an absolute rose. Doesn't he?” She turned to Miss Baker for confirmation: “An absolute…

William Faulkner once said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner resurrects an old southern lady named Emily Grierson to recreate a biography covering over seventy years and her utmost life highlights. He paints a story embedded with rose motifs, contrasts, and questions of moral worth within his short story’s few pages. Just as Miss Emily painted her teacups to be symbolic of her being a lady, Faulkner decorates Emily as a tragic heroine in remembrance…