Teresa Lopez Ramos

Eng 2001

December 14, 2020

            At the beginning of the semester, we have learned what is, Gothic. We have defined it as writing, film, art, music, or other cultural object that creates an atmosphere of transgressive and excessive emotions and actions. Relating to nightmares, mysteries, terror, decay, death, and madness. Examples of Gothic writing or in this case Gothic literature is of the two stories that I have grown fond of “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner and “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, which have two prominent characters that demonstrate not only the definition of what is Gothic in literature but also their emotions that are portrayed, but an example of extreme fear, cruelty, passion, violence, lust, degradation, dread, suspense, and shock in their stories. However, both “A Rose for Emily” and “The Lottery,” Tessie Hutchinson and Emily Grierson are faced to react to the questions when it comes to the dangers of blindly following traditions in their stories. 

“A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner  a story begins with Emily Grierson’s funeral. Which is attended by many of the people of the town who really know nothing about her, other than Emily’s family house is the last of a once, elegant, and upscale neighborhood. In present day, board members of the town tries to get Emily to pay the taxes (that her father had made agreement to the town)  that hasn’t been paid since the death of her father. It’s her emotion’s that has made her unable to communicate about the death of her father, still in shock and unable to give up her father’s body but also it has made the town ridicule her for being unmarried at the age thirty. Homer Barron enters the picture as a potentially romantic relationship for Emily – that the town begins to gossip about. Though the relationship grows – the town’s people begin to fear that she will try to kill herself after being seen to have bought arsenic. However, years have passed by and Emily grows old and Homer is not seen again; after unsealing an upstairs room many enter to see Homer Barron’s body completely decomposed and a long strand of Emily’s gray hair on the pillow.  

 In the story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson; small town villagers are gathered in the square on 27th, a beautiful day for the event, taking place is know as “The Lottery”. Mr. Summers arrived with an important black box that has not been used for many years that will be filled of slips of papers. As Mr. Summers began to mix up the slips of paper in the black box  Tessie Hutchinson is described to be flustered because she had forgotten an important day to this village. As “The Lottery” is happening the Hutchison family is reported “got it” – Tessie argues that it wasn’t fair because her husband didn’t have enough time to select a paper. Mr. Summers asked whether or not there are any household member of the Hutchison family, and Bill Hutchison say no because his married daughter draws with her husband. Mr. Summers continues to question how many children does Bill have, and he answers with three. Again, Tessie protests that the lottery isn’t fair. Once, the Hutchison draws their slips of papers and opens them, they find that Tessie had drawn the paper with the black dot. The villages grab their stones and throw them at Tessie (who is standing in the middle of the crowd) who again not only protesting that “The Lottery” isn’t fair, but also pleading for her life.  

As stated before in these stories there are two prominent characters that share the same emotions when it comes extreme fear, violence, degradation, and shock; when death becomes an important and dangerous factor when following and dismantling traditions. Tessie Hutchison, am important character from Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” a wife and a mother of three who draws a second black dot and is stoned to death by those in the community in the village. Tessie Hutchison is interpreted as a rebel and nothing more than a helpless victim of “The Lottery”. As the rest of the villagers comes bright and early to participate in this annual event, Tessie comes late and saying “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now would you, Joe?”(Jackson 2)  â€“ showing not only a protest, but a disrespect to this formal and serious event. However, once Tessie is chosen as the lottery winner, she is denied sympathy or compassion not of the town but also from her husband and children, “Be a good sport, Tessie,” Mrs. Delacroix called, and Mrs. Graves said “All of us took the same chance.” “Shut up Tessie,” Bill Hutchinson said” (Jackson 4). Ostracized and forced to face her death alone;Tessie Hutchison is the only person to openly criticize the lottery. Her death is not a punishment of a crime, but rather a ritualized killing; “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right, Mrs. Hutchison screamed” – this makes the reader questions whether or not this tradition leading to unnecessary violence is worth it. 

            A Rose for Emily – written by William Faulkner writes about Emily Grierson, a southern bell, who is the last surviving member of an aristocratic family. A mysterious and muted with eccentric, unbalanced, tragic, bizarre behavior. “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town.”(Faulkner 1930). A remnant of the traditional southern social stratification  that no longer exist in the wake of the Civil War. Her high class status has made her in the eyes of the people of Jefferson – resentful and respected. This is because of this that has made Emily demand not only special treatment, but a social barrier between herself and the people of Jefferson. Emily doesn’t not allow herself to become more modern by clinging to the past and her traditional values. Examples, of not paying the tax and refusing to plant a mailbox outside her house, the people of Jefferson are traditional already enable her behavior. The narrator mentions another important family member of the Grierson clan, Old Lady Wyatt. “That was when people had begun to feel really sorry for her. People in our town, remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt had gone completely crazy at last, believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were.” (Faulkner 3) It indicates that this rich and successful family has mental instability, Emily had a sheltered childhood and was unable to process the death of her own father; an effect of her poor emotional development. At the end of the story, she decides to poison Homer an act to keep the only man she opened up to; makes him stay. The position of his body was “in the attitude of an embrace” suggests her emotions of loneliness, desperation, and her inability of fantasy and reality. Emily Grierson is much of a complex character to cast a judgment against, her complexity of the traditions of the Old South creates her own tragedies. 

 The Lottery is described as an event taken place annually, however before the reader gets a full picture of what the lottery is; there is an assumption of a quaint and hopeful event. As families gather around the host (Mr.Summers) and a black box that even the author herself express that the villagers don’t even know much about The Lottery’s origin, but nevertheless they try to preserve this tradition. It also the blind acceptance to the tradition to allow murder to be a part of the towns history, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.” (Jackson 1) A revealing demonstration on how firmly the villagers are and always will be entrenched to the lottery’s traditions. Even though the villager’s don’t have a good reason for wanting to keep the black box  when it’s not included in the origin story of this towns lottery. Their strident belief that this box can and must not change is a suggestion of fear itself towards societal change. Allegory; a story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden message (morally or politically). “A Rose for Emily” – more specifically its representation of the death of the Old South and its tradition; more specifically Emily and her father. Emily, an aged southern bell is unable to integrate to the now modernized Jefferson, decides to isolated to keep her own traditions alive. Homer Barron, loud and youthful is her representation of what she detest a more modern South. Once Emily poisons Homer and his corpse; this create a symbolic desire to maintain the fading traditions of the Old South. 

One character desires to change traditions and the other wants to maintain traditions. The reader is able to understand that both traditions and change have their consequences especially in these stories. However, death is the only danger to blindly following traditions.