Analysis Of Southern Gothic Literature

Analysis of Southern Gothic Literature

Southern Gothic literature, which is a sub-genre of the Gothic writing style, is unique to the American South. Southern Gothic literature has many of the same aspects as Gothic literature; it focuses on topics such as death, madness, and the super natural as well has having many mystical, bizarre, violent, and grotesque aspects. These tools are used "to explore social issues and reveal the cultural character of the American South (Wikipedia)."

The authors of Southern Gothic writing use damaged characters to enhance their stories, and to show deeper highlights of unpleasant southern characteristics. These characters are usually set apart from their societies due to their mental, physical, and or social disabilities. However not all the aspects of the characters are bad "it is more often the case that a mixture of good and bad is found in most of the characters (McFLY)" The authors of these stories do give the main character some good qualities; this is so the reader will fill sympathy and understanding for the character. Two authors who exhibit the Southern Gothic writing style are William Faulkner, who wrote "A Rose for Emily", and Flannery O'Conner, the author of "Good Country People" and "A Good Man is Hard to Find".

William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is an example of Southern Gothic literature. It contains many aspects of Southern Gothic writing, such as an old dark mansion, death, mystery, bizarre events, and the crazy Miss. Emily. The story takes place in a small town in Jefferson Mississippi. The narrator tells us the story of Miss. Emily Grierson, from the town's point of view. "'A Rose for Emily' is the remarkable story of Emily Grierson, an aging spinster in Jefferson, whose death and funeral drew the attention of the entire town (Faulkner n.p.)." The first sign that this story is going to be Southern Gothic is when Faulkner describes her funeral. According to the narrator, when Miss. Emily died, everyone attended her funeral; "the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house (Perrine's 281)." The narrator then goes on to tell the story of Miss. Emily.

Miss. Emily lived in a once beautiful, white, seventies style home, but as the years went by her home became "an eyesore among eyesores (Perrine's 281)." This may be a reflection of how the town saw Miss. Emily herself, once beautiful and now an eyesore to the entire community.

After Miss. Emily's father had died, Colonel Sartoris told her that she would not have to pay taxes on her house, due to the fact that her "father had loaned money to the town, which the town, [. . . ], preferred this way of repaying (Perrine's 282)." So for many years, Miss. Emily went on with out paying taxes. When the next generation came into office, a tax notification was sent to Miss. Emily, who sent it back to them with no other comments. The "Board of Aldermen" was sent to her house; they "knocked at the door through which no visitor had passed (Perrine's 282)" through for eight to ten years. When they were let in, by "the old Negro", they house smelled of dust and disuse (Perrine's 282)." When Miss. Emily entered the dimly light living room "she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water (Perrine's 282-283)." The spokesman asked why Miss. Emily had not paid her taxes, to which she replied "I have no taxes in Jefferson. [...] See Colonel Sartoris (Perrine's 283)." What Miss. Emily did not know was that Colonel Sartoris had been dead for almost ten years now.

On one occasion, a neighborhood woman went to the mayor to complain of a smell coming from Miss. Emily's house. The mayor thought nothing of it until two more complaints were received the next day. Finally the Board of Aldermen sent four men out to her house the next night, after midnight, and sprinkled lime all around Miss. Emily's house and outbuildings; "After a week or two the smell went away (Perrine's 284)."

After that incident, the people began to feel sorry for her. They believed that "the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were (Perrine's 284)." No man was good enough for her by her father and by the time she was thirty she was still unwed. After her father died, the people finally had a reason to fell bad for her. She was alone in the world with only her house left; this left her humanized.

The day after her father's death, the women of the town went to give their condolences to Miss. Emily. To their surprise, Miss. Emily was "dressed as usual" and had "no trace of grief on her face (Perrine's 285)." Emily told the women that her father was not dead. Finally after three days of trying to hold on to her father, "she broke down, and they buried her father quickly (Perrine's 285)." The town's people tired to justify Miss. Emily's actions, by saying that she had nothing left, and was clinging to the one thing that had robbed her for so long they convinced themselves that she was not crazy.

The summer after her father died, the town hired contractors to pave the sidewalks. The foreman, Homer Barron, and Miss. Emily became quite fond of one another. On Sunday afternoons they could bee seen driving in his buggy together. Soon the people began to whisper about Emily and Homer. Emily held her head high; she would not be seen as anything other than respectful. The town's people believed that Miss. Emily should have kinfolk come to stay with her for a while.

While Emily's two cousins were visiting her, she went and bought rat poison. When she got to the drug store, she would not tell the druggist why she wanted arsenic, but when she got home, under the skull and bones on the box the druggist had written "For rats." Everyone believed that she was going to kill herself. But then, Miss. Emily was seen in buying a silver toilet set for men, with H.B. on each piece, and then she bought a complete men's outfit. Everyone said "They are married," referring to Miss. Emily and Homer Barron.

When the streets were done, Homer left. Three days after Emily's cousins had left, Homer was back in town; he was seen going in to Miss. Emily's house through the Kitchen door at dusk. No one say Homer or Emily for some time. When she was next seen, she had grown fat, and her hair was turning gray.

Year after year, the people watched as the Negro man grew older and older. The only sign of Miss Emily was when she was seen

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