Gothic Characteristics in A Rose for Emily.doc

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1、 课程论文课程名称： 英美文学选读 学生姓名： 李冰沁 学 号：20083229 学 院： 外国语学院 专业年级： 08级英语1班 题 目： Gothic Characteristics in A Rose for Emily 联系方式： 15575178889 2010 年 6月Gothic Characteristics in A Rose for EmilyAbstract: A Rose for Emily is a five-part short story written by William Faulkner. This essay makes an analysis of th

2、e Gothic elements in “A Rose for Emily” with some background supports.A Gothic romance is “a story of terror and suspense, usually set in a gloomy old castle or monastery” with “a comparably sinister, grotesque, or claustrophobic atmosphere”Key words: Gothic; rose; love; deathThis semester we are re

3、commended a short fiction “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner who was a Nobel Prize-winning American author and one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. His reputation is based on his novels, novellas and short stories. A Rose for Emily is a five-part short story narrated

4、by the townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi. It is a story of an eccentric spinster, Emily Grierson. An unnamed narrator details the strange circumstances of Emilys life and her odd relationships with her father, her lover, and the town of Jefferson, and the horrible secret she hides. 1. A brief in

5、troduction to Gothic romance in this fiction A Gothic romance is “a story of terror and suspense, usually set in a gloomy old castle or monastery” with “a comparably sinister, grotesque, or claustrophobic atmosphere”.The American Gothic movement sprang from the Romantic movement. The Romantic writer

6、s focused on individuals, trusting yourself, and believed that mankind was noble and ideal.Southern Gothic genre, which combines some Gothic sensibilities (such as the Grotesque) with the setting and style of the Southern United States . Examples include William Faulkner, Eudora Welty.A Rose for Emi

7、ly written by William Faulkner illustrates several Southern Gothic traditions.The setting of Emilys old Southern home reminiscent of the South post civil war is a key element of Southern Gothic literature. Everything was changing, new technology and mechanization came to peoples life. Its a remarkab

8、le for gothic stories happen. 2. Gothic Characteristics and their supportsFaulkners story is not a classical Gothic romance with medieval background but shifted to the setting of late 1800s, the equivalent of the Gothic castle being Miss Emilys old house, the Gothic character residing in the castle

9、being Miss Emily, the intruder and victim of the castle being Homer Barron.When the story tells us about Emily went to buy arsenic, her cold, haughty black eyes give us a deep and terrible impression. The drug seller didnt ask something more or ensue the security, just let go. The author told us tow

10、nspeople once thought that maybe Emily would kill herself. As a matter of fact, it becomes the foreshadowing. From the very beginning of the second paragraph, the Gothic theme is established to introduce the “castle”“a big, squarish frame house that had once being white, decorated with cupolas and s

11、pires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies”, almost a mystery for the townspeople in Jefferson for at least ten years. This reminder of the gloomy medieval castle on a lonely faraway hill is followed by the portrait of the high-bred lord Emily Grierson: “a small, fa

12、t woman in black She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in her fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a hump of dough ”At the end of the story, “A Rose for Emily” gives the reader a feeling of da

13、rk and cold and hopelessly thrilling with the final emergence of the “long strand of iron-gray hair”, suggesting the fact that Miss Emily killed her lover Homer Barron and had shared bed with his dead body. The missing spot in the narrative course is exposed at the very end: Emily killed Homer Barro

14、n! Therefore Homer descends to be the victimized and Emily ascends as the victimized within this relationship, which resembles the reverse of the fate .3. How it build the storys atmosphereAt the beginning of the story, the author builds a common and peaceful atmosphere when describing the small sou

15、thern town, and we can also feel townspeoples grief for Emilys death because they saw her as a monument, a monument of the past. Thus when we come the end of the story, the secret people found on Emilys bed really shock us at first. The reader may feel it as a horror fiction, which is dark and cold

16、and hopelessly. But after deep thinking, youll find it actually fair and reasonable. Just as Faulkner said“Emilys a tragedy. Her tragedy was, she was an only child, an only daughter.”And on the other hand, apart from these gothic plots, many small elements and details also help to create a special g

17、othic atmosphere. The “old big, squarish frame house that had once been white decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of die seventies” , the old dusty house furnishings in it create a desolate atmosphere. And we cant forget Emilys old servant, a Negro

18、. “ Daily, monthly, yearly we watched the Negro grow grayer and more stooped, going in and out with the market basket. ” “He talked to no one, probably not even to her, for his voice had grown harsh and rusty, as if from disuse.” He seldom talked to anyone, his strange and unsocial manner help to bu

19、ild this gothic romance story. How Emily lived with such a slave for these decades is a mystery.Faulkner described every scene carefully, made it mysterious and exciting to read and creating the tension between the narrative reality and the readers expectation. He really leaves the reader much to think.References:1 Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily”2 Baldick, Chris. “Gothic novel”3 肖明翰. 英美文学中的哥特传统4 Wikipedia