Cupola (A Rose for Emily/Section 1/Paragraph 2/Sentence 1)
noun
Pronunciation: cu (Q)- po(Poh) -la (Lah)
-A rounded roof or part of a roof
-A small structure that is built on top of a roof.
Context: “It was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies…”
Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cupola
Example of a Cupola
Image Source: http://www.custombarnbuilding.com/project-gallery/components/cupolas/
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner tells the story of Miss Emily, before and after her death. At first I was confused how the story was being told because 1) I was reading in a noisy environment and 2) It sounded to me that they were going straight into her past life without a clear transition. But that’s just me. Anyways, this story is divided into 5 sections in which the first takes place in Miss Emily’s funeral. I liked the imagery of the house because it makes us feel as readers, like we’re in there. Moving on forward, Miss Emily was known as the person who never went outside. She was pretty much a hermit. The reason being is that her father died and she probably doesn’t have anything to look up to anymore thus making her lock herself at home. However, Miss Emily didn’t want to accept that and went on with life with the thought of her father still being alive. Although she knew he was dead, she didn’t want to accept it which makes us think that she is “coo-coo” . This idea foreshadows later on because it was said that she suffered from an illness. Further in the story, she meets the soon to be popular, Homer Barron in which is the start of some form of love. However, she is later seen buying arsenic. Now this part showed some interest to me because it had a mystery feel to it. “Why is she buying poison?” ” What is she thinking?” “Who or what is she planning to use it on?” And the big question, “Is she going to kill herself?” Eventually, Homer and Miss Emily go off without word and it was assumed that they got hitched. Skipping the aging section of Miss Emily, after her death, Homer was found decayed on the bed of Miss Emily’s home with a lock of her gray hair thus ending the story.
To me, the story was pretty interesting. It kept me thinking even with background noise. As I mentioned earlier, questions came up especially during the poison purchase. “Why is she buying poison?” ” What is she thinking?” “Who or what is she planning to use it on?” I think now my questions have been answered and I think that she used the poison to kill Homer Barron. I can relate this story to “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell because the outcomes of each story were very similar or assumingly very similar (If she really did kill Homer). One thing I forgot to mention was that Homer brought nothing but trouble to Miss Emily because he was a reason why people looked down on her. So like “Jury of Her Peers”, the Homer/Emily relationship wasn’t too healthy leading to one spouse killing another.
After reading “A Rose for Emily” and others’ commentary on it on that New York Times blog, on Genius.com, and on our site, it’s time to write a focused blog post in which you analyze a passage or series of passages from the short story.
In particular, think about power in the story. Choose (and include in your post) a passage or a few related passages that highlight some aspect of the power dynamics at play in the story. Who has power, who doesn’t, how do they interact, how to they negotiate their positions of powerfulness or lack of power?
Other factors to consider: how does narration style, point of view, setting, characterization or other elements of fiction play a role in the power dynamic you’re analyzing?
Much of what was raised in our online discussion touched on power, but in very different ways. If there is a different topic that you would like to address, either see how it intersects with this topic of power, or raise it in our discussion either on the site or in Wednesday’s class
Forestall (Verb)
Forestall – To Stop (something) from happening to cause (something) to happen at a later time.
– To act before (someone else) in order to prevent something.
Source; Merriam – Webster’s dictionary.
Passage: “It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of “killed.” He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.”
Explanation: While reading the passage without the knowledge of the word forestall made the news of the death of Brently Mallard seem unimportant. In the story The Story of An Hour the protagonist by the name of Mrs. Mallard hears the tragic news of her husband’s death and faces many realizations of how her life has been caged due to her marriage. While the story progressed Mrs. Mallard dies from the overwhelming “joy” of seeing her husband alive after accepting the fact that he had died. In the beginning of the story we see the friend of Josephine’s husband Richards which was the first to hear the news. In that section of the story the author states “He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.” Upon discovering the true definition of forestall it was clear how close Richards re4lationship to the family was It showed that he wanted the best for Mrs. Mallard and to be the first to bring the horrific news. It also shows that he did not trust that anyone else would take up the responsibility of passing the news in the most appropriate way possible to the family so he made sure he took the jab upon himself.
A rose for Emily is a story about a woman with a mental illness. She obviously had trouble coping with reality, and couldn’t come to terms with the issues she was presented with. The story gives us a few examples of this.
When she was presented with her tax notices, and even called upon by the sheriff’s office, she paid no heed. Even when they came to her house and explained how there was no reason for her not to pay taxes, her reality held strong and what she believed in was simply the truth. When her father passed she refused to accept it, saying he was still alive. Only after three days did she finally give in and allow for his burial.
Then Homer Barron came along. She finally had someone in her life again, and now her father wouldn’t be diving him away as he had done to suitors in the past. She probably saw this as her last chance not to be alone, and must have been heartbroken when she found out he was “not a marrying man”. But, she would not accept it. She took matters into her own hands and ensured that her reality prevailed.
Bier noun
A Rose for Emily, Part 5 Paragraph 2
“they held the funeral on the second day, with the town coming to look at Miss Emily beneath a mass of bought flowers, with the crayon face of her father musing profoundly above the bier and the ladies sibilant and macabre; and the very old men…”
Reading the story, I figured the word bier meant mantle, this certainly paints a different picture.
Virulent
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
page 5 of 7, line 37
to speak in a strong manner; to be harsh
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virulent
as if that quality of her father which had thwarted her woman’s life so many times had been too virulent (harsh) and too furious to die
Example
The child’s father spoke in a virulent manner to prevent the child from misbehaving.
In response to Streitfild’s blog, I must say that I completely agree with his actions and statements. In the story A Rose for Emily we see a woman by the name of Emily Grierson that was raised by her father’s views and teachings which she harshly displayed with great pride in her later years. Even though these lessons caused dramatic set backs in her love life, she refused to change. The story took place in the late 1800’s; a time when freedom was not widely known by the African ethnicity. This now brings up a controversial topic that is still troblesome until this day. The word nigger and it’s use in this text. The word nigger today is deeply frowned upon by countless people in many ways and for diverse reasons. In David Streitfeld’s blog he discussed the use of the word rigger in replacement for the word nigger. Rigger is used to define a person or a company that is highly experienced with lifting or arranging large or very heavy objects. The use of this word makes sense because it basically describes the job description, for the most part, of the African ethnicity of that time in history. The reason it can not be used is simply because it banishes the history of the word all together. This now brings up some interesting thoughts; how do we shield future generations from the use of such a word or should they be shielded at all. Looking at society today we can clearly see how this word is rooted deeply in the entertainment world of music, movies and games to the education of students learning about American History. The thought of shielding this word resembles someone running away from their shadow; you simply can not get away. In my view, changing the word nigger in this text may only create questions and curiousity about the word which defeats the purpose of the intial change. In today’s society the only thing more affective than changing the word nigger to rigger is purely, maturity. This may be more easily said than done, especially towards a younger generation of readers. This is where the maturity of our society, as a whole, has to play it’s roll. This is done by setting an example for future generations which includes unity and understanding for one another that is not only spoken but practiced world wide by each individual.
I found both stories, “A Rose for Emily” and “A Jury of Her Peers” to have more similarities than differences. Both the mood and time period seem to be about the same. Both narrators seem to be somewhat sympathetic to the women and their plights. They paint Emily and Mrs. wright to be delicate, and fragile round characters that suffer despite the crime they have committed. As a reader I couldn’t help but feel sad for both women. Mrs. Wright’s crime seems somewhat more predictable in her actions after suffering years of abuse from her husband. Emily, on the other hand, seems to have suffered from insanity which my evoked sympathy while reading the story, as mental illness is a disease. Her crime was suspected towards the end of the story, but still shocking to see the climax and the falling action. Both settings seem similar. Mrs. Wright’s abuse was acknowledged and overlooked, as was more the case then than it would be today. Homer Barton’s treatment of his workers, and his disrespectful and derogatory use of the n word, was commonly used to refer to African Americans in that time period which is now far and beyond socially acceptable in today’s society.
The one difference that I did think about was the different outcomes that both these women had, though both killed the men that they once loved. For Emily; her ending was final and filled with sadness. She died having never truly lived, or receiving the love that she wanted so badly from Homer.
Mrs. Wright, on the other hand, may have had a different ending. If the sheriff and young Henderson could not find substantial motive and proof, it is quite possible that she may go free, and go on to live the life that she couldn’t while married to an abusive husband. She may yet find love, peace, and redemption.
As far as the power dynamics in the story. It comes across that the men in Emily’s life seem to hold power over her. Her life’s happiness and her choices have revolved around both her father and Homer Barron.
“None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such”.
She waited to get married, and was her father’s companion. Perhaps, he meant for her not to get married and leave his side. Why had she not protested when she had more suitors? Homer was her last attempt to have the life in which her father had interfered. When it was apparent that he would not marry her, she took power back, one can say. She poisoned him, and held him captive in her house, and held his body there. She held him to her in the way that her father had held her to him. Maybe that one act was the one thing that she had taken control of, horrendous and crazy as it was, she grabbed power and control in whatever way she thought how.
When she purchased that arsenic, she showed her resolve and fierceness, she didn’t get nervous or cower before that pharmacist.
“Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye, until he looked away and went ingot the arsenic and wrapped it up”.
In that moment she got what she wanted and went on to do what she had decided. That is having power.
My name is Christina Ming. I am a nursing student at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, NY. My husband Richard also graduated as associate degree in Telecommunication from NYCCT in 1995. The NYCCT is good place to attend the nursing course in New York City. I feel very comfortable to attend the classes at NYCCT because the professors and students are very friendly and very understandable to each others. It is a multicultural place to study and meet various ethnic in one place. I was born and raised in Myanmar which is a country close to Thailand. English is my second language and it takes a long trip for me to be able to read and write English, but I am trying my best to learn and study my courses to graduate my degree.
When I was in my native country Myanmar, I used to assist and volunteer at my uncle’s clinic on my free time. At that time, I was very interesting in healthcare related field. But my dream and opportunity never come true to attend the college because of financial and other situations have prevented me. Now I have the opportunity to learn and study what I was interested in. Thanks to the American education system which gives individual to choice what they are interesting in college. I have fulfilled my dream to become a nurse in the healthcare field.
I worked as full time nurse at one of the Brooklyn hospital, NY and attending as part time student to complete my Bachelor degree In Nursing. I understand it is not an easy task but I am satisfied with what I want to do and to accomplish my ambitious. I always like to care people when they are ill or physically or mentally disable and help them to be able to function themselves and I enjoy learning from them that I don’t know.
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