William Faulkner Stories

I find the readings of “A Rose for Emily” and “That Will be Fine” by William Faulkner that we did in class to be very interesting stories to contrast and compare, especially via the portrayal of the main characters and the narration.

Emily the “fallen monument” in, “A Rose for Emily” is a very intriguing and mysterious character that I can’t seem to get enough of. The vague gossip like narration of her and her life makes me want to meet Emily and have a conversation with her and learn more about all of the sufferings in her life that drove her to “insanity.” Obviously the town feels the same way as well or they would not spend so much time gossiping and creating this story of her life. I also, I guess in a sick way, find it honorable and endearing in the way that she kept her lover Homer Barron locked up in a room in her house in order to keep him close to her and never have to be apart from him. An act like that is not something to be done by the faint of heart. As much as I wish that I could have gotten to know Emily through her own mind and story, I think the mystery is what keeps the story interesting.

On the other hand, I think that the fact that, “That Will be Fine” is told through the eyes of the main character is part of what aggravates me about this story. No matter how much people may argue that because Georgie is a young naïve child who doesn’t know any better and therefore tells the entire truth of the story, I think that his telling of the story is actually more skewed than that of the town gossip in, “A Rose for Emily.” The gossip narration in, “A Rose for Emily” keeps the story true to itself in that it is focused on unearthing the mystery of Emily. Georgie, who is completely oblivious to what is going on around him in the actual story because he is so blinded by money doesn’t capture the meat of the background and dirt in, “That Will be Fine.” I think that Georgie’s narration takes away from the story because he is not actually interested in what is going on.

I think Faulkner does a much better job of capturing the thoughts and heart of his readers in creating a story like, “A Rose for Emily” that is told through the eyes of gossiping town. I think that a narration like this also makes the story more fun and interactive because the reader feels like they are part of the snooping that is going on amongst the town folk and as a result it almost makes the reader feel naughty or guilty!