A Rose For Emily And Average Waves In Unprotected Waters

Great writers create intriguing characters. The short stories, “A Rose For Emily” by William Falkner, “Through The Tunnel” by Doris Lessing, and “Average Waves in Unprotected Waters” by Anne Tyler each offer unique conflicts that dive into the internal struggles that shape characters. While their settings, plots, and tones differ, a common thread between these tales appears -- the exploration of internal conflict faced by the protagonists. Doris Lessing uses conflicts to develop the character of Jerry. Jerry struggles with his own fears, doubts, and fears. On the beach, “he ran looking over his shoulder at the wild bay, all morning he played on the safe beach”(Lessing(1)). Jerry wants to explore the dangerous beach, but he’s stuck between choosing

At the Wild Bay, he will meet the older boys and begin the transition into manhood. On that first day of staying with his mother on the safe beach, Jerry lets the internal struggles he faces get the best of him. The next morning as Jerry and his mother are walking towards the sea, he leaves his mother’s side as “ She walked away, that bare arm, now slightly reddened from yesterday’s sun, swinging and he almost ran after her again, feeling it unbearable that she should go by herself, but he did not”(Lessing(4)). Jerry straying away from his mother shows the growing independence, but the loneliness that comes with it. His conflict within himself drives and propels Jerry's development. Jerry began his descent towards the wild bay “he ran straight into the water the water, over a middle region where the rock lay like discolored monsters under the surface, he was in the real sea, a warm sea, where irregular currents from the deep water shocked his limbs(lessing(8)). The wild bay is more than wild. Rocks lay like discolored monsters, showing the true wildness of the wild

Emily grapples with her emotions, desires and her mental state. In the small southern town of Jefferson where “Alive, Miss Emily has been a tradition, a duty, and a carer (Falkner (3)). Miss Emily, more of a symbol to the town than an actual person. She embodies the upper-class southern women made of steel, accepting any help would be even worse than admitting that there is a problem in the first place. Miss Emily, struggling within herself to accept the new culture of the town, refuses to pay the taxes nor accept help. The townspeople of Jefferson did not say she was crazy because “with nothing left, she would cling to that which had robbed her”(Falkner(28)). Mr. Grierson prevented Miss Emily from marrying and surrounding herself with people who love her. Miss Emily refuses to accept her father's death due to him being the only person in her life, she cannot bear being alone. Miss Emily struggling emotionally with her father's death develops her by directly influencing her behavior and already struggling mental state. After her fathers death, “dressing “usal with no trace of grief on her face” (Falkner(27)) she is in denial about her