Similarities Between A Rose For Emily And Mericans

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Emily Gierson from “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and Michele from “Mericans” by Sandra Cisneros differ in many aspects; they have different struggles and experiences due to their age, family, and setting. These two characters share contrasting perspectives and personalities due to their different backgrounds and environments. Emily and Michele lived in different eras, had different family structures, different ages, and in different settings. All these factors played a role in the development of the different characters. William Faulkner had a more developed message compared to Sandra Cisneros; Emily's character was able to teach the audience a lesson. His message was to live life without regrets, let go of the past, and embrace change …show more content…

The issues Emily had were primarily because of her father's traditional way of thinking. During the late 1800s, white southerners valued wealth; owning a mansion and slaves were signs of wealth. Mr. Gierson was a wealthy white man who had traditional values instilled in him. He wanted his daughter to marry another wealthy white man to keep his social status and reputation high. The townspeople noticed how high the Giersons carried themselves: “The Giersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner, 695). The era Emily lived in contributed to her issues of isolation and her inability to embrace change. Whereas, the issues Michele had came from within; she struggled with assimilating between her two different cultures. She's a young girl in modern society, struggling to find her identity and trying to fit in both cultures. Her grandmother tries to pressure Michele to conform to Mexican values and traditions. For example, her grandma speaks to Michele in Spanish and calls her Micaela. In modern society, issues with cultural identity and generational gaps are common. The issues Emily and Michele had correlated with the era when it took