Joyce Appleby

Traditional southern gothic writing uses grotesque and disturbing events to create a specific tone and atmosphere within the writing. “A Rose for Emily” is a short story written by William Faulkner. Faulkner’s story is told by an entire community within a town and narrates the development of a mentally-ill woman named Emily Grierson. The reader is shown the downfall of this woman and eventually the dark secrets that she bears inside the house that her father left her after his death. This…

In the narrative, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates, presents you with a look into the life of, Connie, the story’s main character. Connie was your typical rebel teen, she did not always tell the truth to her parents, snuck off to the beach, went out anytime any place, was free willed, and had a dysfunctional family life. “Smooth Talk” (1985) directed by Joyce Chopra, is the motion picture motivated by the narrative, which has a very similar take on the story, yet…

Disconnected The two short stories entitled “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner and “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather focus on two main characters. Both Faulkner and Cather use their characters to prove a point or an outcome of a theory. Williams Faulkner uses Emily as his main character. Emily is a beautiful girl who used to live with her father. On the other hand Willa Cather used Paul as his main character. Paul is a high school student who also used to live with his father. Both…

breaking free of the life she lives by being reckless and not listening to her parents, deciding she can make decisions on her own, and going with a strange man when she knows she shouldn’t. The story “Where are You Going? Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates is similar to the movie Finding Faith (2013) in theme, manner, and tone, such as; in each story a young girl sets out for freedom to go against her parents’ wishes after she has just had enough of them telling her what to do, The…

“A Worn Path” was published in February of 1941, by Eudora Welty. Some other works written by Welty are “The Optimist's Daughter”, “Death of a Traveling Salesman”, and “The Robber Bridegroom”. Common themes and symbolisms seen throughout her short stories are racism, the deep south, journey, and lots of indirect characterization. Welty is from Mississippi, and most of her stories are set down south. “A Worn Path” is a short novel set in the south and introduces the journey of a young African…

A Good Man is Hard to Find A Good Man is Hard to Find, is a short story written by Mary Flannery O’Connor, but she didn’t use her first name Mary. She was a writer of short stories and novels and her writings were filled with dark comedy and violence, usually mixed with moral and theological backgrounds. She was born in Savannah, Georgia on March 25, 1925. Both her parents came from Catholic families and her religion played a huge role in her writings. In the late 1930s, her father developed…

A Rose For Emily In William Faulkner’s, A Rose For Emily, Faulkner illustrates a southern town that is rapidly changing to fit the times. Emily Grierson is an old fashioned woman who watches her town alter around her but, her tenacious attitude towards change prohibits her from adjusting to a new lifestyle. Faulkner portrays the change in the social structure of the American South in the early twentieth century with Homer Barron, Miss Emily’s house, and the townspeople. Homer Barron was a dark…

In the short story social and cultural values decline during the 1960s can be seen through, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, which is narrating the fatal destiny of a fifteen-year-old girl. The story is unsettling and an incredibly formidable story of a young girl’s loss of innocence during a time of social change, unrest and turbulence. The story’s protagonist is Connie, a self-absorbed, yet beautiful fifteen-year-old girl, who is at odds with not only her…

The movie plays with these different elements of gothic and romanticism to project the feelings of the protagonists from the inside to the outside. To underline it, the music in Beauty and a Beast goes parallel with the setting. At first, the contrast between Belle’s vil-lage and the castle is significant. The village is full with happy people who sing and dance (3:30 - 8:28) while the castle is presented with dark tones and music (13:30 – 15:00). It has the function to thrill the audience and…

Sexuality in adolescence Sexuality is the most notorious and common sign of development in adolescence.“The House on Mango street”, by Sandra Cisneros is a coming of age novel where Esperanza transitions from a girl into a young teen. In her journey, Esperanza comes across many challenges, she is forced to grow up by life’s adversities. In the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, a mother advises her daughter and scolds her into becoming a good woman. In her guidance, the mother is worried…