Literary Symbolism In A Rose For Emily And James Joyce's Araby

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Two stories, William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” and James Joyce’s “Araby” each have their own style that is demonstrated to the reader. Whether it is through plot, point of view, motif, symbolism, theme, character, or setting, Each literary element has a role in the story. But to mention which literary term that would be the most compelling, character strikingly fits the concept. There are two characters, Emily of “A Rose for Emily,” and the narrator of “Araby”. Each character manifests their love for another individual in the story. How each character exhibits affection towards their counterparts are very contrasting, for better or for worse. It will also be essential in demonstrating the similarities of their approach as well. In explaining…show more content…
Miss Emily wanted Homer Barron all for herself. It was often seen that Barron lacked affection towards her, because of his interest in men. He was considered a non marrying man, but this wasn’t enough for Miss Emily. The textual clues indicates, “Miss Emily had been to the jeweler’s and ordered a man’s toilet seat in silver, with the letters H.B. on each piece, men’s clothing, even a nightshirt. The contextual clues reveal that maybe Miss Emily used the arsenic on Homer Barron. To hide herself from the authorities, she would, “for six months not appear on the streets, she had grown fat and her hair was turning gray, that was the last we saw of Homer Barron” (162). Essentially, this is foretelling sign something is up. Finally, we see the textual proof of this matter. Miss Emily had passed away, and residents took it upon themselves to search the home. It was forty years since they had seen this particular room. “the man’s toilet things backed with tarnished silver, among them lay a collar and tie. . .the man himself lay in the bed, what was left of him rotted beneath what was left of his nightshirt”(164). Homer Barron was not seen for years, the keyword nightshirt, the man’s toilet things, pinpoint that Homer Barron was the man lying in the bed, not to mention that Miss Emily ended up with what she wanted, a man to hold until death. The Araby character’s nature was always at an awkward stage. The contextual clues suggest he is a teenager, probably going through a hormonal stage in his life. Basically the narrator has given up, The textual evidence states, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (221). Clearly the narrator has come up short, his worst fear realized, as rejection is revealed through textual and contextual

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