ENG3407 D618, Gothic Literature and Visual Culture FA2016

The Outsider, unlike many of our other stories, was in a way sadder than what I had expected. To see the main character had been isolated (possibly from his horrible disfigurement) was very pitiful. I feel as though he had no chance to be anything else than what he was. Other characters that we have seen in the gothic at least had a happy beginning or a happy ending but the narrator had neither. He was sad and isolated the entire story and that was how he remained. He never had the chance for a proper living. I think this story shows a lot about loneliness and how it is one of the worst things a human can endure. Without other human contact, an isolated individual becomes inhuman in a way, which is the most horrifying thing to a fellow human. The story seemed slightly predictable in a way, however. Once the narrator caught glimpses of other people, who proceeded to run away from, it felt in a way obvious that he was the thing the people were afraid of. It’s like how in Frankenstein The creature was isolated before anyone even got to know how he was, they just feared what he looked like. This story also shows people truly how important appearances are to people. If the narrator and the creature looked like less harmful beings they could have been accepted by society. But because they are designed and described as grotesque beings they never had a chance to live normal lives. This goes to show that appearances are more important to us than we realize.

A Rose for Emily is an extremely Gothic piece of work. we see a lot of themes that one can consider Gothic. Such as keeping a body of a dead or a cadaver on a bed and a form on  pillow next to it has a spot where it looks like a head rested next to the body; which brings in the thought of necrophilia. Maybe she just lied next to the dead body or maybe she tried to have sex with the cadaver. Another theme we see in the story is the theme of alienation from society and this shown as over time as Miss Emily becomes more and more distant from the people around her and these people start to question if she is fine or maybe she is insane. her only companion being a “negro” that she would send to get food, etc. also the theme of homosexuality is used in here as we see Miss Emily seems to grow sentiments for Homer Barron; a man known to remark that he liked men, even drank with younger men in a club and was known to not be a marrying man. Another theme is suicide, for as we see in the story Miss Emily goes to a druggist and demands poison and the reader(like me) starts to wonder, even the other characters(like the narrator) start to wonder, is she going to kill herself? or maybe its even implied that she planned to kill someone else in her home(like Homer Barron; who was last seen entering the house). it was a great read and i would absolutely recommend.

After having read ‘A Rose for Emily’, I felt like this story wasn’t as gothic as the yellow wallpaper, but it sure gave me the chills. The yellow wallpaper atleast gave the reader a feel of suspense and anxiety. With all the presidential elections going on, I felt like this story reminded me a lot about the political views seen nowadays with the whole taxation enforcement trying to be put on Emily. The only gothic feel in the story was towards the end. Emily seemed to have felt a bit overwhelmed maybe. She was probably anxious and self-concious about what would happen to her now so called lover. She was probably jealous at the thought of losing him was driving her to hide him from society which was probably why she bought this powerful poison. Nothing was heard for years and when the townspeople came into this home for her funeral, they were shocked to find out that she had murdered Homer and that he was stretched on the bed along with wedding items in the room and a strand of Emily’s gray hair. This scenery was very creepy to imagine it in my head just because I would’ve bever thought Emily seemed so wicked. This was freaky because it wasn’t until the townspeople opened the door to this top floor that they found this dead body decaying.

The yellow wallpaper was an interesting text. The story was filled with suspense and lots anxiety. The narrator wasn’t at peace and meanwhile her husband, John seemed to find her acting ‘normal’, she was alone thoughout her tribulations of fear and discomfort. She was either becoming dilusional when she mentioned her sister and law and husband were caught staring at this wall with amazement as if they’d be hypnotized by the wall. She felt like no one could understand the desesperation of leaving the room. She saw figures behind this wall and most-likely, because she was driven by fear and anxiety, she was hallucinating the whole thing in her mind. The narrator mentioned that her husband and her brother were both physicians, but they restricted her from writing or using her mental strenght because they feared that it would only do her bad than good. Atleast, the husband for sure restricted her. It was brought to my attention that he wouldn’t interract with her like a husband, but rather as a dad that would restrict her from doing anything she would want to do. Towards the end of the text, her husband fainted after encountering her removing the wallpaper and I guess he fainted because he couldn’t believe she would have done such thing even though she told him from the start that she couldn’t stand this hideous wallpaper.

While reading A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, it wasn’t your usual Gothic Story.  It began by explaining who was Emily in the present time, then gave a flash back about Emily’s life and what she went through. A few pages in, there was a problem between Emily and the townspeople, on how Colonel Sartoris had stop Emily from paying taxes since her father loaned money to the town. Also, after two years of her fathers death, the man that she expect to married, left her. Maybe the reason why he left Emily is because he couldn’t see himself marrying her, and that possibly he is homosexual. The Gothic books we read is consist of a wife and husband showing physical and emotional connection. I feel that Emily wanted that but the abandonment from her first love really took a toll on her life. This short story is similar to The yellow wall paper, because there is that feeling of abandonment throughout the story, which ends up a female feeling unwanted. Furthermore, what I found it strange is the powerful odor that was roaming around Emily house, It seems like it was the smell of rotted flesh of her fathers. Yet, it turned out to be nothing. The summer after her fathers death, she meet Homer Barron, who was a foreman from the north, had spent some time with her. Unfortunately, had killed Barron, and strength him out on the second floor. wearing a wedding suit. Which was really creepy, I still don’t understand the head laying on the second pillow with a gray hair.

-Idaliz

I think the story, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is very sad and can be scary as well. During the readings, we can see various gothic moments in the story. Emily had a very sad life since she was very young because her father was very controlling and he intentionally prevented Emily’s chances to find a husband in order to keep her under his control. It was very sad that Emily waited her whole life to get married and when she finally met somebody (Homer), he made her wait and wait. One example of a gothic moment is when Emily poisoned Homer. His body discomposed in an attic bedroom, which is very scary. Another gothic element in the story is the way Faulkner described the transformation of Emily after her father died. He said, “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue.” This shows that Emily was really affected after her father died, just as we would be if one of our family member dies. We can relate to this because it is not easy to face a death of somebody we love.

Briana Estrada 11/10/16
In this short story, the story starts with the funeral for Emily Gierson whose life we learn about. Emily was once a regular woman but her personal life has been corrupted because of the pain of her father’s death which made her mental state of health tarnish. Her love Homer essentially became some sort of hope of happiness, but after the poisoning of him and stealing his corpse, Emily became in a way a dark gothic villain. It is interesting how we are now seeing women characters who can become as dangerous or even more than the male gothic characters in these texts, because they carry the worst aspects of the social issues and oppression that happened during these times.

“A rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is a short story of the many downfalls of a suppressed and isolated woman who once seemed normal but can’t seem to cope with the negative events in her life like her father’s death, and the gay revelation of her lover. I think that this story is another quite unique kind of gothic works because just like the yellow wallpaper we are focusing on a female protagonist now and main character which is dealing with the pain of life.

“A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner is a story I have read before. When I first read it it gave me a strange feeling mostly because I did not understand what was going on (I couldn’t keep interest in the book so I just read without thinking about it). But reading it again I was able to enjoy it more than before, it is a good story for Gothic Literature.

I read the book and saw a lot of symbolism which to me added more insight and meaning to the story. The house can be symbolized as Emily’s physical and mental health because they are both decaying. And the house was  made in 1870 also symbolizing how she is trying to hold on to a vanished past.

The story mentions death from the beginning to the end. It seemed like an important topic for the story because it always set the tone and had you thinking about what is going on in that house. The first death you hear about is Emily’s father and then Homer’s. The neighborhood either got used to the smell of death from her house or the lime they spread around the home got rid of it. Either way, the smell of decaying bodies seemed to be strong and nobody bother her about it. The story after Emily dies makes things go weird. They break down the sealed room that has not been entered in forty years to find Homer Barron’s body stretched in the bed which seems to imply necrophilia. The story had me weirded out but in a good way.

The story “A Rose for Emily” takes place in the 1800s, when segeragation, and racism is still very much alive, well the same can still be said for today as much we dont want to admit it. The characther of focus was a woman y the name of Emily. She is a old woman about her 70s. She is liked by most people except the folks who collect taxes. The reason why Emily did not pay her taxes as there was a act edicted an act saying “no negro women should appear on the streets without an apron-remitted her taxes, and a tale was invented saying that her family loined money to the town, and thus do not have to pay any taxes. There was contention as because this was never written on the books the story cannot be confirmed, nor denied. Emily for about 30 years have not left her home. The interior was described as dusty, dimly lit, with cracked leather furniture, futhering the fact that she did not have any visitors in 10 years. She eventually died, and the town held a funeral for her. My overall feelings on this story is, well I really dont have none, as while I was reading this I expected this massive conflict, but really the story was very mondane to me. Maybe im selling this story short, but thats how I feel on it.