Barn Burning, and A Rose for Emily Essay Example

slave. He works continuously from day to day, living with his family in small shacks.

Abner constantly displays his lack of decency and rude manners. He is considered a menace wherever he goes, and no one has any interest in getting to know such a foul and arrogant man. Even though they are at the extreme ends of the social spectrum, Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes have something in common-they are both outsiders in the communities they live in. Miss Emily is very anti-social. Similarly, Abner Snopes is an outcast in the societies he lives in. All the people he meets along the way see him as a low class outsider. His appearance is stiff, mechanical and flat.

He is a misanthrope, acting rudely and hatefully towards everyone. He is even harsh around his own family. He does not show affection for his wife or children at any time during his life. The people who witness such events want nothing to do with such a cold and heartless man. Not only do the other people avoid Abner; he avoids them. He is not interested in public affairs and makes no effort to be the least bit accepted by anyone. His harsh and intimidating personality creates a gap between him and society, leaving him outside the social circle just as Miss Emily is throughout her life.

Another quality Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes share are that are very independent. They do not let anyone else have control over their lives. Emily Grierson's hatred of control stems from when her father chose every move she could make. After her father's death, she desperately wants

to have control of her life. Her desire for control is apparent when the local government officials try to enforce rules on her. If she doesn't like the rules, she won't follow them. She refuses to pay her taxes and will not let anyone put her address on her door for the postal service.

However, the most significant time Emily is afraid of losing control is when she thinks Homer Barron, the man she wants to marry, is going to leave her. She kills Homer so that she always has the man she loves. Similarly, Abner Snopes's desire for control has dangerous outcomes. The most dramatic example of Abner's need for this type of independence is when he burns down barns of those he does not agree with. He burns others' property because he wants to show them that he is in control. He does this many times, moving to a new town to start over and always leaving a fiery trail behind him.

He is so used to this vicious circle that it has even become a ritual. Emily and Abner display their independent and dominating personalities in all of their actions. William Faulkner’s style of writing evokes sympathy for his characters, regardless of how horrible the actions they committed were. The point of view in which he wrote the story determines how the story was told. Emily's version of the events would be quite different from someone else's version. Any person in the town would tell the story from his own experiences with Emily and his own attitudes toward her.

By choosing a narrator who is not a part of

the town, Faulker is able to achieve several things. He characterizes the town in addition to developing Emily's character. The town itself becomes a character in the story. By using the objective narrator, Faulkner is able to maintain the suspense of the story. The reader doesn't learn the story all at once because the narrator did not learn it that way. Faulkner's narrator tells the story in a disjointed way, not in chronological order. He gives the reader clues, out of order. As the reader starts putting the clues ogether, a growing sense of horror develops. Finally, Faulkner's narrator, as an outsider, is nonjudgmental. This makes it possible to preserve the possibility that the reader can develop some sympathy for Emily, despite her terrible act. Although Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes appear to be dramatically different, they have similar personality traits. However, their characteristics are not very beneficial. They live alone and isolated throughout their lives. Emily has sustained contact with a total of three people in her entire life.

Also, everyone rejects Abner for his vile manner. Then, they both die unhappily. Miss Emily stays in her house and dies. Abner dies as he is attempting to set fire to Major de Spain's barn. His oldest son also dies at this time. Sarty, his youngest son, only ten years old, is left alone and runs away from the entire family. Emily and Abner are social opposites, but they have many comparable traits. No matter how people are viewed by anyone, high class or low, good reputation or bad, people can still be dramatically similar.