preview

Poe V's Faulkner: Analysis Of Grotesque Literature

Decent Essays
Open Document

Poe v.s Faulkner- Analysis of Grotesque Literature “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner are both examples grotesque stories. Grotesque is a subgenre of literature that involves disturbing elements like horror, but also likes to portray sympathy with the characters. However, “The Black Cat” is more grotesque. Firstly, both stories portray love as a central theme; secondly, both portray empathy as a central theme. However, ultimately, the depictions of revenge in “The Black Cat” are more grotesque than in “A Rose for Emily”. Firstly, both stories have love as a central theme. Both of them show how love can be twisted into something horrific. In “The Black Cat,” the narrator says, “One morning, in cold …show more content…

In “The Black Cat” the new cat gets his revenge: “...a wailing shriek, half of horror and half of triumph, such as might have arisen only out of hell, conjointly from the throats of the damned in their agony and of the demons that exult in damnation” (Poe 14) This story portrays a cat getting revenge on its owner for maltreating it and his previous pets, as the story had implied before that it had a connection to Pluto. This is both revenge and vengeance- the cat seems to be doing this for itself and for the other pets. Conversely, in “A Rose for Emily” revenge is portrayed less like an act of vengeance and more an act of greed :“The man himself lay in the bed. For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him” (Faulkner 7) The story implies that Miss Emily killed Homer. It was an act of revenge for not wanting to marry her. But this revenge was so she could have him forever, and was more about what she was not given rather than what was taken from her. Therefore, both stories have revenge as a theme, but portray them very

Get Access