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Tone In William Faulkner's 'A Rose For Emily'

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Jill Alexander Dr. Burns 24 March, 2023 English 102 Topic- Which part(s) of the written work you have chosen are ineffective and/or effective at achieving its purpose? Works- “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins (pg. 789) “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (pg. 582) “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (pg. 699) “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner (pg. 692) 1: Intro 2: intro to poetry- diction/main idea 3: Rose for emily- tone 4: rose for emily- symbolism 5: Hills like white elephants - Imagery/ metaphors 6: Hills like white elephants - tone Add quotes 7: The story of an hour- irony * article 8: Conclusion Through understanding the writings “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins, “The Story of an Hour” by …show more content…

Throughout the short story “A Rose for Emily”, Emily faces hardship and defeat. Miss Emily was mocked by town citizens and was often the center of the town's gossip. The narrator of Miss Emily’s story plays an essential role in developing the tone. The narrator states, “That was two years after her father’s death and a short time after her sweetheart- who we believed would marry her- had deserted her” (Faulkner 307). This quote helps to form a dismal and gloomy tone. This tone continues throughout the life of Miss Emily as shown in the quote, “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 306). To refer to Miss Emily as a “hereditary obligation” shows the audience that she was seen as a responsibility and possibly a burden to the citizens of the town, further adding to the gloomy and melancholy tone. As the narrator weaves the tone into the story it opens the audience's eyes to the reality of Miss Emily’s life. Without the strong use of tone it would be harder to fully grasp the overarching themes of loneliness, gloom, and terror throughout the story. To fully understand the life of Miss Emily, tone is an essential element. Not only does the tone add emotion to the story, but it also builds on the larger …show more content…

The story “Hills Like White Elephants” focuses on a couple during the course of a train ride together. Hemingway uses these literary element of a metaphor to demonstrate the communication between the couple. The purpose of this story is to highlight the struggle between the girl and her boyfriend. The metaphor followed throughout the story is that of a white elephant. This metaphor is introduced in the line “ I said the hills looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright?” (Hemingway 330). After this statement was made by the girlfriend, her boyfriend states “I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural” (Hemingway 331). This gives the reader an essential piece of information about the situation that the boyfriend and girlfriend are discussing. They are discussing an operation, specifically an abortion. Knowing the operation they are discussing gives the white elephant a new level of depth in its symbolism. In history a white elephant was known to be a useless possession requiring a large amount of maintenance and upkeep from the owner. Hemingway uses this symbol to relate to the way the couple is feeling about the possibility of having a child. This symbol helps Hemingway to convey his purpose to the audience through a deeper understanding of the conflict

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“A Rose for Emily” is a unique short story that keeps the reader guessing even though its first sentence already reveals the majority of the content. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is the epitome of a work that follows an unconventional plot structure and a non-linear timeline, but this method of organization is intentional, as it creates suspense throughout the story. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” follows an unusual plot structure, which creates an eccentric application of suspense to a short story. Throughout the story, there are no clear indications of standard plot structure in each section, such as intro, climax, and denouement. Instead, there are sections, which are not in chronological order, that describe a particular conflict or event, which in turn creates suspense, as each conflict builds upon each other to make the reader question the overall context and organization of the story.

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To compare, Faulkner shares a slice of evidence as to why Emily has an uncontrollable obsession for the dead, “After her father 's death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all.” (Faulkner) Given these points, her father becomes arrogant and isolates her from society, or anyone who is willing to take Miss Emily from him. When her father, the only man in the world who has loved her,

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They go back in time talking about her and then check out different things about her and have a huge discovery. In his short story,”A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner uses flashbacks and imagery to show the struggles of women in the 1930’s. Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” is best categorized as gothic romanticism. It focused on the love that was being held back then, ”Now the long sleep that outlasts love, that

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One of the most interesting aspects of Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is the use of symbols and figurative language to indicate the meaning of his short story. Hemingway's complex writing style conveys a major theme of talking versus communicating. " Hills Like White Elephants" focuses on an American man and a young woman named Jig at a train station in Spain in the 1920s where they discuss if Jig should get an abortion or not. Although the couple has a conversation throughout the entire story, neither of them can articulate their feelings effectively and take the time to listen or understand each other. Hemingway's significant use of figurative language allows the reader to realize that the description of the setting in the

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“A Rose for Emily” is a dark, suspenseful Gothic tale in which a young girl is put on a pedestal by a town who sees her as haughty and scornful. Miss Emily Grierson’s father controls her and her love life, pushing away all people until he dies and Emily is left alone. As her life goes on the townspeople watch her and judge Emily, almost turning her life into a spectacle to be talked about. At her death, a gruesome sight is unfolded when her lover of over forty years ago is found decomposed in her upstairs room. William Faulkner effectively builds epic suspense in “A Rose for Emily” by the unchronological order of the story, the treatment of Emily’s father towards her, and her family’s history of mental illness.

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In his short story, “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner intends to convey a message to his audience about the unwillingness in human nature to accept change and more specifically the secretive tendencies of aristocrats in the South during the early 20th century. In order to do this, Faulkner sets up a story in which he isolates and old aristocratic woman, Miss Emily, from her fellow townspeople and proceeds to juxtapose her lifestyle with theirs. In doing this he demonstrates her stubborn refusal to change along with the town, but also Among several literary devices the author employs to achieve this contrast, Faulkner sets up his narrator as a seemingly reliable, impartial and knowledgeable member of the community in which Miss Emily lives by using a first person plural, partially omniscient point of view. The narrator is present for all of the scenes that take place in the story, but does not play any role in the events, and speaks for the town as a whole. Faulkner immediately sets up his narrator as a member of the community in the first line of the story, saying that when Miss Emily died “our whole town went to her funeral.”

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I love William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” It contains literary devices that Faulkner uses to make the short story perfect. The three literary devices that Faulkner uses are symbolism, setting and point of view. These three literary devices are what makes it an enjoyable story to read.

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