Introduction
William Faulkner is regarded as one of the leading authors of 20th century American literature (Lombardi). Listed among his many works are the book “As I Lay Dying” and the short story “A Rose for Emily,” both of which depict several similar features that are typical of the author’s style.
The first similarity
The first similarity is the usage of stories with complicated plots, most of which are frequently about the quest for meaning in life (Lombardi). Faulkner has a penchant for keeping back vital information or making reference to persons or happenings that readers only discover nearing the end (Liukkonen). Faulkner also delights in using language that is frequently tortured, compelled and even without logical connection (Lombardi). As I Lay Dying is the story is about the burial of Addie Bundren {according to her dying wish} in Jefferson, but the complex journey of the burial party to that place involves many bizarre happenings as they fight fire and flood (Liukkonen) besides combating the demons within themselves that makes the reader wonder if Addie’s death wish will be fulfilled. In “A Rose for Emily,” the reader is left wondering about the exact nature of the mysterious deeds Emily has committed before her death in Section 4, deeds that are seemingly associated with murder.
The second similarity
The second similarity is the usage of a number of characters in the stories, each with a different response to the situation, frequently articulated as an interior monologue. In “A Rose for Emily”, in addition to Emily and her father Mr. Grierson, there are many characters such as Homer Barron, the Negro servant and the considerable number of unnamed Jefferson townspeople. As I Lay Dying contains many characters such as the Bundren family {Addie, Anse, Darl, Jewel, Cash, Vardaman and Dewey Dell}, the Tulls {Vernon and Cora}, Lafe, Whitfield, Peabody, Samson, Amstid, Gillespie, Moseley and MacGowan.
The third similarity
The third similarity is the usage of Southern United States as a background. Although he was born in 1897 when the American Civil War {1861 to 1865} had already ended, Faulkner belonged to a Southern family. Due to this, the tales of Southern United States were deeply rooted in him and form the basis for his writings (Lombardi). In both As I Lay Dying and “A Rose for Emily” the background is Jefferson {Mississippi}. In the former, the story also involves many other places of the South during the party’s travel to Jefferson. In the latter, the entire story is based in Jefferson.
The fourth similarity
The fourth similarity is the presence of the typical Southern discriminatory attitude during the pre-Civil War years when a few rich people enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in contrast to the majority who were less privileged. In Faulkner’s real life, the typical haughty attitude, mannerisms and outlook of the rich Southerners are well exemplified by his great-grandfather William Falkner (Williamson, 49), whose independent, willful and egoistic nature alienated him from the less privileged (Williamson, 60). In a departure from the practice of other Southern writers who extolled their birthplace, “Faulkner demurred by the great consensus on the unflawed South,” preferring to make his writing “exhaustive critiques of Southern society” (Williamson, 374), with the aim not to “damn the South, but to save it” (Williamson, 375). In “A Rose for Emily”, the proud Southerner Mr. Grierson firmly believes no man is worthy to marry his daughter, due to which he does not permit Emily to date anyone. Emily too inherits her father’s snobbish attitude and stays aloof from the Jefferson townspeople, thereby alienating herself from them. She is willful and arrogant. For example, she refuses to pay taxes to the sheriff, haughtily stating that her lofty family status exempts her from paying taxes {“Her voice was dry and cold. ‘I have no taxes in Jefferson. Perhaps you can get access to the city records’” (“Collection Stories of William Faulkner: A Rose for Emily”, 119). In another example, when Emily visits the druggist to purchase arsenic and is asked by him {as per the law} the reason she needs it for, she does not reply but just stares at him coldly, forcing him to look away hurriedly, go inside, wrap the arsenic and depute his Negro delivery boy to hand over the package to Emily {“The Negro delivery boy brought her the package [when] the druggist didn’t come back” (“Collection Stories of William Faulkner: A Rose for Emily”, 124)}. On their part, the Jefferson townspeople believe the Grierson family is the nearest thing to true aristocracy due to which they are constantly in awe of them and accord them total respect. The Bundren family in As I Lay Dying is a poor Southern family. Unlike Emily, Dewey Dell is unable to buy a drug at a drug store without a prescription. Moseley, the druggist in Mottson, refuses to sell her the abortion drug, brusquely advising her to get married instead. When Dewey tries to buy the drug at a Jefferson drug store, MacGowan the salesman tricks her into buying a fake abortion drug, that too only after forcing her to have sex with him. The alienation of the Bundren family from the more affluent Southern families is apparent when their mission is looked upon with doubt and contempt, first by the Samson family, then by the townspeople of Mottson who are horrified by the stench of the dead body, and finally by Gillespie.
The fifth similarity
The fifth similarity involves using illicit/unusual sex as a theme. Addie Bundren has an illicit sexual affair with local minister Brother Whitfield {“a godly man if ever one breathed God’s breath” (As I Lay Dying, 165)}, which results in the birth of her son Jewel. Dewey Dell first has an illicit sexual affair with a local farm laborer named Lafe (As I Lay Dying, 24) which causes her to become pregnant. Later, in Jefferson, she is forced to have sex with MacGowan. In “A Rose for Emily”, Emily has illicit sex with Homer Barron, then kills him with arsenic poison and lives with his corpse. When she dies, the Jefferson townspeople enter the Grierson house and find “a single long stand of iron-gray hair” (“Collection Stories of William Faulkner: A Rose for Emily”, 128) belonging to her, and see the mark of her head on the pillow next to Homer’s corpse, concluding that she had sex with the dead body until her own death.
The sixth similarity
The sixth similarity is the usage of symbolism. In “A Rose for Emily”, the Griersons and their house represent the ‘Old South.’ The Grierson house is stubborn and unbending, similar to the nature of Emily, both disintegrating symbols of the deteriorating Southern tradition. The second symbolism involves Homer Barron. Barron, a Northern Yankee, symbolizes the “next generation with its more modern ideas” (“Collection Stories of William Faulkner: A Rose for Emily”, 118), meaning that while the Southerners were stiff and traditional, the Northerners were more malleable and capable of adapting to change. The third symbolism involves Emily’s old Negro servant. Like many other authors, Faulkner uses Negroes {and their black skin} to represent death. The Negro is present as a silent witness at the deaths of Mr. Grierson, Homer and Emily, making a silent exit in Section 5 after letting the women from Jefferson enter the Grierson house {“The Negro met the first of the ladies at the front door and let them in (“Collection Stories of William Faulkner: A Rose for Emily”, 127)}. In As I Lay Dying, animals are seen as symbols of Addie. Vardaman declares that a fish symbolizes Addie {“My mother is a fish” (As I Lay Dying, 82)} because just a fish totally changes physically upon death, so too death has completely transformed his mother’s physical state. Darl thinks that his horse symbolizes their mother {“Jewel’s mother is a horse” (As I Lay Dying, 193)}. The second symbolism involves Addie’s coffin. It symbolizes the great disturbance that Addie’s death has caused in her family. Although Cash prepares the coffin with great skill, a series of ludicrous follies follow such as when Addie is placed upside down in the coffin, and later when Vardaman drills holes in his dead mother’s face {they hide this by making “a veil out of a mosquito bar so the auger holes in her face wouldn’t show” (As I Lay Dying, 86)}. The third symbolism involves tools. Tools, such as the carpentry tools used by Cash and the farm tools used by Anse, symbolize morally satisfactory livelihood and stability that are endangered by the dangerous travels of the Bundrens.
Conclusion
In conclusion, William Faulkner, who has been honored with the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949 (Liukkonen), has enthralled the world with his short stories and books. His unmistakably unique writing style that has gained him such fame is very apparent in As I Lay Dying and “A Rose for Emily”, both of which contain several similar typical features that point to their creation by the master author.
References used
- Faulkner, William. “As I Lay Dying.” USA: Vintage. 1991.
- Faulkner, William. “Collected Stories of William Faulkner.” USA: Vintage. 1995.
- Liukkonen, Petri. “William (Cuthbert) Faulkner (1897 – 1962) – Original Surname until 1924: Falkner.” Kirjasto.sci.fi. 2008.
- Lombardi, Esther. “William Faulkner: A Critical Study.” About.com. 2009.
- Williamson, Joel. “William Faulkner & Southern History.” USA: Oxford University Press. 1993.