2008
“Miss Emily, had been a tradition, a duty, a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town”
Emily Grierson is the protagonist of our story, a stubborn woman filled with determination but also stuck in some old habits which are fed by the shadow of his dominant father. She is not only the main character of the story but also like the main event and the schedule of the town. She is like a symbol that reminds the “good old days” for her environment which is a southern town that gradually forgets its stubborn and determined character with the new generation, “a rising generation with modern ideas”.
Emily’s life is narrated in a nonlinear way which makes it easier for us to know her personality and understand her standing point among the neighbors. In the first paragraph of the first part we read that she is dead. In the second paragraph which is about the tax incident, we learn what principles or attitudes she and the Colonel from the old generation have. Then the story goes on with the new generation’s point of view. In the whole story, we see a nonlinear narration which tells about her love with Homer Barron in her thirties, her death and its mysterious heritage in her seventies, her father’s death and many other events that gives us information about her character and the environment’s standing point.
“Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it…”
Narrator of the story has a very large influence. Faulkner doesn’t give a clue about narrator’s identity, whether it is a male or a female, an old or a new generation, an officer or a villager etc. But the way he narrates incidents can be traced through digging the sentences. His repeatedly usage of “we” is the one that worth attention. Furthermore he sounds like a follower of a new generation but also a member of the new generation in some paragraphs. Maybe we can say that he is the mixed soul of the town who both carries the old and new generations’ aspects and habits. His way of telling the story doesn’t sound like he is the biggest of fan Emily Grierson but on the other hand you can clearly feel that he respects her character and overcomings very much. This non-white, non-black but a close gray style of the narrator gives reader a proper chance to examine the character in a clear glance.
In addition there is another thing to mention which is the contribution of the environment in the story. Although Emily Grierson doesn’t seem very much effected from her environment’s judgments or opinions, they all carry important roles for readers to understand the angles they have against the incidents Emily faces. They gossip about her relationship with her father, question her “sweetheart” Homer Barron and “noblesse oblige” principles. Following the unwritten old rules and traditions, like Colonel Sartoris and Judge Stevens do, they show respect and sensibility towards her. This may be because she is one of the leading old generation residents. She is like the symbolical representation of the determined southern character which is gradually disappearing, as a disrespectful and graceless new generation is taking its seat.
“Miss Emily, had been a tradition, a duty, a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town”
Emily Grierson is the protagonist of our story, a stubborn woman filled with determination but also stuck in some old habits which are fed by the shadow of his dominant father. She is not only the main character of the story but also like the main event and the schedule of the town. She is like a symbol that reminds the “good old days” for her environment which is a southern town that gradually forgets its stubborn and determined character with the new generation, “a rising generation with modern ideas”.
Emily’s life is narrated in a nonlinear way which makes it easier for us to know her personality and understand her standing point among the neighbors. In the first paragraph of the first part we read that she is dead. In the second paragraph which is about the tax incident, we learn what principles or attitudes she and the Colonel from the old generation have. Then the story goes on with the new generation’s point of view. In the whole story, we see a nonlinear narration which tells about her love with Homer Barron in her thirties, her death and its mysterious heritage in her seventies, her father’s death and many other events that gives us information about her character and the environment’s standing point.
“Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it…”
Narrator of the story has a very large influence. Faulkner doesn’t give a clue about narrator’s identity, whether it is a male or a female, an old or a new generation, an officer or a villager etc. But the way he narrates incidents can be traced through digging the sentences. His repeatedly usage of “we” is the one that worth attention. Furthermore he sounds like a follower of a new generation but also a member of the new generation in some paragraphs. Maybe we can say that he is the mixed soul of the town who both carries the old and new generations’ aspects and habits. His way of telling the story doesn’t sound like he is the biggest of fan Emily Grierson but on the other hand you can clearly feel that he respects her character and overcomings very much. This non-white, non-black but a close gray style of the narrator gives reader a proper chance to examine the character in a clear glance.
In addition there is another thing to mention which is the contribution of the environment in the story. Although Emily Grierson doesn’t seem very much effected from her environment’s judgments or opinions, they all carry important roles for readers to understand the angles they have against the incidents Emily faces. They gossip about her relationship with her father, question her “sweetheart” Homer Barron and “noblesse oblige” principles. Following the unwritten old rules and traditions, like Colonel Sartoris and Judge Stevens do, they show respect and sensibility towards her. This may be because she is one of the leading old generation residents. She is like the symbolical representation of the determined southern character which is gradually disappearing, as a disrespectful and graceless new generation is taking its seat.
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