Paper Topic:
`A Rose For Emily` BY William Faulkner
The Past-Present Contrast in William Faulkner 's A Rose for Emily William Faulkner is well known for his use of imagery and symbolism in portraying the depth of his tales . Another literary device that he used in many of his works is contrast . Examining contrasts provides the readers clues to the meaning or messages the author wants to convey Contrasts of character are perhaps the most common . In such contrasts however , there is a resulting contrast in terms of action . Because action mirrors an ethical or a moral state , the contrasting actions
suggest a contrast in ideological perspectives and thus toward the theme
In the short story A Rose for Emily , Faulkner contrasts present time and past time . In the story , Faulkner depicts the present through the narrator and represents it in Homer Barron , in the new Board of Aldermen , and in the next generation with its more modern ideas ' On the other hand , Faulkner represents the past in Emily herself , in the old Negro servant , in the Board of Aldermen , and in Colonel Sartoris
Faulkner 's concept of the present is not a sharply defined point between past and future . His idea of the present is irrational it is an incomprehensible and monstrous event , which comes upon us and disappears . For Faulkner , there is nothing beyond this present , since the future does not exist . Faulkner 's concept of the present is also characterized by suspension , which indicates a kind of arrested motion in time . One can observe from the works of the author that there is never any progression , nothing which can come from the future . For Faulkner , the present does not contain in itself the future events one expects . In contrast , the author suggests that , to be present is to appear without reason and to be suspended
Moreover , Faulkner 's characters ' past is not ed according to chronology but follows certain impulses and emotions . Many fragments of thought and act revolve around some central themes thus the absurdity of chronology and the assertion of the clock . The of the past In Faulkner 's works is the of the heart . One must not believe that the present event , after it has gone , becomes the most immediate of memories . The shift of time can submerge it at the bottom of memory or leave it on the surface . Only its own intrinsic value and its relevance to our lives can determine its level . For Faulkner , the past is never lost it is always there , nearly as an obsession
In A Rose for Emily , Faulkner depicts the world as a confusion between the past and the present . Here , the author creates an atmosphere of distortion , one that is unreal . Emily 's world is the result of the suspension of a natural time . Emily is portrayed as a fallen monument . This is because she has shown herself susceptible to death (and decay ) after all . In the mention of death , one is conditioned for the more specific concern with it later...
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