Theme Of Love In A Rose For Emily And Andre Dubus's Killings

Killings by Andre Dubus is a short story that humanizes and normalizes violence and revenge murders. It intends to justify that murder is an okay thing to do as long as you are doing it because you are emotionally distressed. In both killings that take place in this story, there is a lot of hatred and need for revenge. Though murder is reprehensible, I agree that in certain instances, it can be justified, as in the case with Matt and the killing he partook in.

The story “A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner and the poem “Annabel Lee” By Edgar Allan Poe are famous pieces of literature that draw many similarities. “A Rose For Emily” is in the point of view of the townspeople after Miss Emily Grierson has died. Emily has always been a subject of gossip in the town and all her secrets are soon unfolded. The Narrator is the main character of “Annabel Lee” whose story begins as he tells a tale of his lover Annabel Lee’s death, which is said to be caused by the jealousy of angels. While these stories may seem very different, both pieces are forms of gothic literature, and share themes like Alienation and Loneliness after death.

“Killings” is a short story written by Andre Dubus. This story is in third person point of view. According to Paul Gray, Dubus’ characters “remain able to "make the best of [things], even when the best is not very good.” (“Sidelights” par. 1). The article “Andre Dubus” mentions that his characters “worked, married, and raised families, but did not find fulfillment. Sometimes their frustration goads them to infidelity or acts of violence; more often, however, they simply become resigned to their lot.” (Par 4). The protagonist for “Killings” is Matt Fowler, his son had just been murdered by Richard Strout and he faces internal conflicts that lead to killing him. Applying a Psychological Criticism, Matt’s conflicts and actions can be analyzed

Desperation for love arising from detachment can lead to extreme measures and destructive actions as exhibited by the tumultuous relationships of Miss Emily in William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily” (rpt. in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 9th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2006] 556). Miss Emily is confined from society for the majority of her life by her father, so after he has died, she longs for relations that ironically her longing destroys. The despondency and obsession exuded throughout the story portray the predicament at hand.

In William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” his main character Miss Emily Grierson’s deranged behavior leaves the reader questioning her mental status.

Killings and A Rose for Emily were both stories that used love as an excuse for violence. In A Rose for Emily, she killed a man because she loved him and didn’t want to lose him. Matt, in Killings, killed his son’s murder; Matt’s wife had to face her son’s murder daily. Matt decided he loved his wife enough to kill that man.

Emily” by William Faulkner highlights the issue of revenge and showcases the outcomes of mental illness. In these stories, the main characters, Montresor and Emily, both suffer from mental illness, which causes them later on in the story to lose their sense of humanity and commit murder. Both Montresor and Emily believe that they have been wronged, and thus seek revenge on the ones who have wronged them by murdering them. Not only do they both commit murder, but also they do so by committing it through inhumane methods. Montresor murders his rival by burying him alive, and Emily by poisoning and preserving her boyfriend's dead body. Both stories “The Cask of Amontillado” and “A Rose for Emily” illustrate two mentally unstable characters who lose their sanity and commit murder, revealing how the actions of people in the upper class, which were unchecked because of their social status, result in the commission of reprehensible actions.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner presents yet another example of a woman who possesses feelings of adoration and hatred but is constantly in despair and isolation because of the male influences in her life. Like the woman, Delia, in “Sweat”, she holds these hateful and even fearful feelings held up inside of herself until she acts out and does something drastic, for example, murdering Homer Barron (913). In “A Rose for Emily”, like in “Sweat”, the male figures are characterized as being very authoritative and controlling, in the case of Emily, her father is this male figure. The narrator provides a detailed description of him next to Emily as others pictured them, as a “tableau”. “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the backflung front door.”(909). The imagery of the father clutching the whip next to the fragile Emily against a such a pure white background brings one to see and acknowledge the dominating and controlling nature of their relationship, better than any passage of conversation ever could

Meyer, Michael. "A Rose for Emily." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ninth ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 84-90. Print.

If we compare William Faulkner's two short stories, 'A Rose for Emily' and 'Barn Burning', he structures the plots of these two stories differently. However, both of the stories note the effect of a father¡¦s teaching, and in both the protagonists Miss Emily and Sarty make their own decisions about their lives. The stories present major idea through symbolism that includes strong metaphorical meaning. Both stories affect my thinking of life.

The author, William Faulkner, has a collection of books, short stories, and poems under his name. Through his vast collection of works, Faulkner attempts to discuss and bring awareness to numerous aspects of life. More often than not, his works were created to reflect aspects of life found within the south. Family dynamics, race, gender, social class, war, incest, racism, suicide, necrophilia, and mental illness are just some of the aspects that Faulkner explored. In “A Rose for Emily” the aspects of necrophilia and mental illness along with the societal biases that were observed in a small-town setting are seen to be a part of this captivating story. These aspects ultimately intertwine with the idea of insanity that characterizes “A Rose

Humanity has a funny way of contradicting itself. We often want to believe that we live

A suspenseful tale of tradition versus change is told with the help of literary elements in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. Foreshadowing and symbolism develop Emily’s tragic fate in a way the reader is exposed to how deeply death and sociatal change have effected Miss Emily. Faulkner displays how effective these elements are for a short story to truly have an impact on the

The short story "A Rose for Emily" is one that tells about a woman who lives a life of secrets, love, and neglect. Living in selective isolation, her mental health closely resembles that of a 21st Century murderer. Emily has the characteristics of a person with a behavioral personality disorder, or schizophrenia by choosing self-isolation, premeditating murder and keeping a trophy.

The taste of poison on his lips. The agony of knowledge that should have never been shared. Jhumpa Lahiri’s “A Temporary Matter” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” both speak to the universal human theme, love, by exploring how we often hurt most those we love most. In order to keep her love forever, Miss Emily poisons her lover. In realization of the end of their marriage, Shukumar retributes his wife’s disclosure of her new, individual apartment with a description of their unborn son, something Shoba never wanted to know. In both short stories, the characters love, or loved, each other, yet something corrupts their love and their relationship, be it the psychological and sociological repercussions of an overprotective and domineering father, or the traumatic experience of a stillborn child. The relationships seem doomed and destined to failure when the characters ultimately hurt those they loved. Through the relationships of Shukumar and Shoba and Miss Emily and Homer, Lahiri and Faulkner explore the danger of harming those we hold dearest.