Southern Bells It’s been said that growing up in the south is like a type of religion. People grow up learning certain meanings and stick to those strong values. Phoenix Jackson from the story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and Miss Emily Grierson from the story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner both southern women, both hold strong values, and are similar in many ways. Looking more into how the author used literary devices to convey his message throughout the stories which made connections between the stories. The story of “A Rose for Emily” is told in flashbacks. It describes a woman named Miss Emily Grierson who is basically the talk of the town. After the death of her father she becomes a static character. She’s seen as a static character because throughout the story her traits don’t change. She refused that her father died and became mad. She isolated herself from the rest of the town causing them to wonder if she’ll ever leave home again. Like the story “A Worn Path” Phoenix too had her own issues which people have seen as mad. She believes that her grandson is still alive. Although the difference between the two would be the type of character they are. Phoenix would be considered as a dynamic character keeping the story interesting along her journey into town. In a review of the reading “A Worn Path” Elaine Orr described Phoenix Jackson as a “charity case”. She describes others views that the story is nothing but Phoenix Jackson’s journey to get her grandson
In the book Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, he uses specific literary devices and techniques that cause this collection of poems to become one cohesive novel to portray the story of a boy struggling with the death of his brother and gun violence in his community. This story changed the way I view living in an inner city community and how that can affect a child’s development and mental state while living in that environment. Reynolds uses imagery to develop a deeper understanding of the death of a child, dramatically displays a child being shot and how our main character views this tragedy, “Her mouth open. Bubble gum and blood” (133). This disturbing piece of imagery establishes our main character’s inner conflict, indicating that Will (main
In this story, the journey that Old Phoenix makes to the town of Natchez is symbolism for her life. The many struggles she has faced along the way but prevails reflect that of what events she has lived through. Claxton argues, “Phoenix’s ‘chains’ on her journey are her race, age, and poverty, but they prove to be barriers she can overcome” (Claxton 79). In the beginning, Phoenix is left to the elements with no choice but to endure what might happen, much like that of being enslaved. Later in the story she meets the hunter that feels the need to express his superiority over her which symbolizes that even after the abolishment of slavery, she was never fully accepted by society.
The short stories, "A Good man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Conner and "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner are rather horrifying; one tale is about a grandmother and her family brutally murdered by a coldhearted killer, and the other tale is about a lady who murders her lover and then sleeps beside his rotting body. Not only have O'Conner and Faulkner created similar plots in their respective stories, both authors criticize the Southern corruption through the distortion of the characters' world view of reality. The use of irony in the character's social statuses and their miserable lives illustrate the authors' criticism of the Southern social structure. The stories include insights into the families of the old south, and the older class system of
Phoenix Jackson is a woman who will not give up, despite the odds. Which leads to her being successful and reaching her purpose, in the
Every person encounters various roadblocks throughout life. Some of these impediments could be brought by societal mindsets, others from mental and physical aspects of life. You can only move on to achieve your goals by overcoming these blockages. In this short story, ‘A Worn Path’ by Eudora Welty, the many obstacles that Phoenix Jackson, the main character, represent the hurdles that she must overcome to reach her destination. Even before describing the journey that Phoenix set out upon, Phoenix herself is a deterrent.
In the short story, “A Worn Path”, Eudora Welty uses symbolism to tell the story of Phoenix Jackson’s determination and resilience in life. Welty’s story depicts the journey of a black woman as she walks a path she has walked numerous times in her life. During Phoenix’s trek she is faced with several experiences that could have warranted her to abandon her mission. The first experience, in my opinion, was during the first portion of her trip; to which she states, “something always take a hold of me on this hill- pleads I should stay” (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012, p. 388).
In William Faulkner’s short story, A Rose for Emily, Emily Grierson, a prominent member of her small town, dies alone in her home. Upon her death, curious townsfolk entered her home trying to learn her secrets. It was thought she was crazy. Emily Grierson was not crazy; she was isolated by her father, which led to her odd social tendencies and unique interactions with others. A Rose for Emily is a short story based in a small town.
In William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” the historical context is important to understand. In order to fully comprehend the short story there must be some sort of understanding about the time period in which the story took place. This short story took place in the 18th/19th century during and after the Civil War in the South. In “A Rose for Emily” the historical context shows the social, economic, and the cultural environment of the background. Miss Emily was born during the Civil War.
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” critiques the American South Describing Emily’s vibrant life full of hope and buoyancy, later shrouded into the profound mystery, Faulkner emphasizes her denial to accept the concept of death. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” takes place in the South during the transitional time period from the racial discrimination to the core political change of racial equality. Starting from the description of her death, “A Rose for Emily” tells the story about the lady who is the last in her generation (Emily Grierson). Being strong, proud and a traditional lady of southern aristocracy, Emily turns into an evil, unpredictable and mysterious old lady after the death of her father. Even though “A Rose for Emily”
Phoenix’s endurance on the journey is portrayed by this change, which helps to reveal the
Similarly, the protagonist in “A Rose for Emily” is Emily Grierson. The house that she lives in drives her mind to inhabit it in dusty and dark. Miss Emily is a mysterious character. The impression that Miss Emily gives us about her is that she is a “necrophiliac”. Necrophilia means a sexual attraction to dead bodies.
“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.
In “A Rose for Emily,” the protagonist, Emily displays the obsession through her isolation. Equally important, the theme of obsession works as a preeminent role through the protagonist. Emily was never allowed to be autonomous growing up, and she goes beyond the lines on maintaining a strong intimacy through her isolating lifestyle. In essence, Emily develops a mental illness from severe isolation due to the actions of her father.
In the story “A Worn Path” Phoenix Jackson was an old African American women. She takes a small journey that can be an allegory of someone's whole life. The journey had hard and easy parts, beauty, danger, and confusion. But her quest was to get the medicine for her sick grandson who laid at home waiting for her return. Phoenix was a delusional yet heroic, caring grandmother who would stop at nothing to get what she needed.
The story "A Rose for Emily¨, tells the years of Emily´s life after her father's death and the towns reaction and thoughts based on her actions and events in her life. After her father's death she isolated herself from the whole town and rejected every man in the town.