Interpretation of Fiction
January 31, 2012
“Until Death Do Us Part” Through both “The Fall of the House of Usher” written by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, we see common themes of a gothic genre filled with rhetorical twists and turns. The dynamics in each work are elaborately depicted through the eyes of two narrators who are watching these pieces unfold. Many similar themes experienced in both Poe and Faulkner’s work deal with the ideology of death and preservation in regard to the one’s loved and lovers. Roderick Usher is the main character in “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Emily Grierson is the main character in “A Rose for Emily”. In a thorough examination of both short stories, it is …show more content…

With the question of sanity or lack thereof at hand, we see that Roderick thinks nothing of the situation while the narrator is troubled. Unquestionably, the breach of sanity experienced in Roderick Usher is also universally prevalent in Emily Rose, the main character in “A Rose for Emily”. Throughout the story, Emily battles with a life of seclusion and a yearning for love from a companion. Her surrounding counterparts are a controlling father and a Negro servant. Insanity is revealed in many instances of the story. One of the most profound and apparent signs of insanity begins with the relationship between her and her dad. “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away” (Faulkner 411). This is a brief summation of the unhealthy relationship shared between Emily and her father. She was unable to participate in relationships with other men because the other men were never suitable to his standards. Upon the death of her father, Emily fell into a deep sadness where she quit doing things such a teaching. Years would go by until a Yankee foreman by the name of Homer Barron would come along. Homer was a charismatic individual who showed Emily attention which she perceived as love. They begin seeing each other for a period of time until Homer work in the town is complete. When Emily begins to sense that he does not love her, she visits a local store in town to purchase arsenic. This she would use to poison and