A Rose For Emily

“ A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner is great novella, characterized by a mystery that slowly unfolds piece by piece. Faulkner uses first person multiple narration to set up the story as pieces of puzzle as he tries to tell the story of the eccentric Miss Emily. The story is set in a small town that is close enough where people know each other by name, and the subject of their gossip is Miss Emily. Each townsperson only knows a snippet about the events in her life, so with more of these tales we are able to characterize her. With that the story takes a kind of creepy, yet sad motif. From what enfolds, the audience finds out that Miss Emily was a loner, who mostly kept to herself. She shuts herself up in the house after her father dies, and refuses to let go of his corpse, adding again to this creepy motif. The only time after her father’s death that Miss Emily comes out of her house is when she meets her lover Homer Barron, who disappears just when it seems that she might finally get married and be happy. She then begins her descent into lifelessness, just as her home does, as it decays and emits a pungent smell, which fills the town. With this the story descends into a sad motif, as the audience is left pitying the poor heartbroken Miss Emily. Yet the mystery does not end there, as it seems Miss Emily has been hiding a big secret from the town. I definitely would recommend this story for those who enjoy putting together mysteries, as well as those who love eerie stories.

Bartleby Has Rejected Your Friend Request

A person’s Facebook page can tell an outsider at least a hundred things about them, and give them a little peek inside who they are as a person. Bartleby’s page is no different, yet it has few words and only gives readers a small look into who he really is. Those curious enough to want to know more have to put together the puzzle of the page. It is mostly blank with only a few slots filled out, with only one sentence sticking out “I’d prefer not too”. His profile contains a single picture of him at his desk at work, blankly staring in the dark. In his info tab, he lists his workplace on Wall Street, as well as his former job at the post office and under contact information, he writes “I would prefer nobody contact me”. He lists his interests as hanging out in the office, reading, staring blankly into the night, and enjoying silence. As for music, he does have a few songs listed, but all of them are what might be considered elevator music, showing his enslavement to the office. Bartleby’s status states “I’d rather not have a status”, conveying his indifference with social activities. His wall is pretty blank with only a few invitations by his friends to go out on the town with them, which go unanswered. He does not accept new friend requests, choosing instead to ignore them. The select few that are his friends are those who have prodded him consistently to accept their requests. Bartleby’s blank page really emphasizes his lack of social skills, as well as the mystery surrounding his character, as he does not reveal anything to the public, we have to look deeper to find him.