Fix my rough draft to final draft

COM1102

Professor Susan Lovelace

05/19/2018

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner Vs. A Rose for Emily by Chubbuck Production Company, 1983 DVD.

A Rose for Emily is a 1930 fictional novel by William Faulkner that was set up in Mississippi at Jefferson. Emily is the protagonist while her life being surrounded by tragedies even though is she is renowned for her beauty. The story is an exemplary example of a Southern Gothic. The title is a literal allegorical as she stands out to endure suffering and later dies. The short story reveals the challenges and the kind of lifestyle that dominated the society (Baym). In the Short Story, A Rose for Emily reveals the unique features employed by the Southern Gothic literature that became popular in the 20th century. It is imperative to acknowledge that the Southern Gothic literature is a product of Gothic literature. The Southern Gothic literature mainly focused on exploring the antisocial human behaviors that were against the social conduct. The authors believed that the society was designed to be propelled through the social order that only existed as an illusion. Thus, the disturbing realities of the society were being exposed through literature. Chubbuck goes forward and adopts the short story into a film running for 28 minutes. Thus, this essay compares the short story and the film in regards to the life in the South and Emily's character.

Faulkner’s short story and Chubbuck film display some elements of the Southern Gothic literature than encompasses grotesquerie, decay, and putrefaction. Chubbuck and Faulkner employ impressive features to disclose the disparity among the members of the society as the community undergoes social change. The Southern Gothic reveals elements of transformation and appropriation. The damsel damages Emily psychologically resulting to her mental instability; however, she is the ultimate heroine in the story. Emily suffers, and her suffering is an indication of the actual situation in the south following the American Civil War. The aristocrats suffer as a result of the increasing social immorality in a society dominated by inequalities. Though a fictional story told by a fictitious character, the actual situation is that the Southern Gothic tale reflects some real activities that existed in the south. Despite the extended period of suffering, Emily remains optimistic that there will be light at the end of the tunnel following the arrival of the Baron. Emily had high expectations that the Baron would change her fortune. Just like other Southern Gothic literature works, change versus tradition is eminent in the story and film.

In both the film and the short story, the main character is a mysterious woman who is confused on what to choose between the modernity and traditions. She does not embrace modernity and defies the odds by rejecting the installation of the code that would facilitate efficient delivery of mails. She resists to changes taking in the place. Her unique lifestyle makes her a living monument of the past south. She fails to come to terms with the death of the Baron and stays with his body until when she dies, and both bodies are recovered. That kind of unique behaviours symbolize the actual elements of the South gothic authors. Most residents of Jefferson fail to understand her character and moniker her as being anti-social and do not know her true identity. Her inability to abide by the social codes makes her so ignorant about the changes in the society to the extent that she breaches the laws such as declining to pay the taxes. She is regarded as Jefferson's monument and does not appease the town as evidenced by Abbot when he claims, “alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Abbot 79).

One of the differences between the film and the short story is that the former does not pay much attention to the personal relationships but invests more in the South's traditions elements that set the societal norms. For instance, upon the death of Emily's father, Colonel Sartoris demands that she does not pay taxes any due to the among the Griersons had given to the town. "Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily’s father had loaned money to the town. … Only a man of Colonel Sartoris’ generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it” (Stobaugh 398). That claim is a reflection of lack of reflection during the time; however, over time, changes have taken place, but Emily had to believe in Colonel's words that could enable her to forego paying the taxes since she only inherited the house from the father. However, while this scene, which shows the changes that have occurred in the city through Emily's denial to pay the taxes and she further refers the Board of Aldermen to the city records for verification of fact. In the film, there is no elaborate scene regarding the taxes and the board does not even visit her.

The film and the story give different versions of the manner in which Emily met Homer. In the film, Chubbuck indicates that Emily met Homer who was a foreman in the construction firm invited into the town to pave the sidewalks and the two began a relationship that excited the people in the town since it was an anomaly for a woman to be in a single in her thirties. However, in the story, a different account of the town people is given since their relationship is not approved. This is evident where the narrator claims the relation caught the public attention to the extent that Emily was summoned by the church elders with the pastor’s wife writing to since it was not acceptable to spend much time with an individual of opposite sex if there were no marriage plans. However the film was adapted from the story 50 years after the writing of the short story; thus, in the film, there are no scenes from the society that pressure Emily to marry Homer. More so, the film does not discuss the morality of spending time with members of opposite sex. While the short story focuses on sexuality and morality, the film pays little attention to them due to the transformation that had occurred between 1930 and 1983.

Although Homer died many years before Emily, the death of Emily is a significant feature in both the story and the film. In both, she is referred to as an old monument since she represented the old generation, which was resistant to change. The approach to her burial is represented differently in both media. In the film, it is indicated that her burial was attended by all her cousins from Alabama along with all the residents of the town. Her cousins held a brief ceremony in her house and "they buried her in the old city cemetery, even then abandoned, among the rows of both union and Confederate dead who fell at the older Battle of Jefferson" (Chubbuck). As a symbol of the traditional, she deserved to be buried among the fought to protect the union since they shared a common belief. However, in the story, it is indicated that Emily’s burial was dominated by aged Confederate soldiers who gave their testimony about their relationship with Emily. The old Confederate soldiers have lost a sense of time progression. Through the celebration of the life of Emily, they appear to be celebrating the end of the Southern gothic literature elements in both the film and the story.

In conclusion, the story, A Rose for Emily that was written in 1930 and adopted into a film in 1983 bearing the same name show the great values of the Gothic South. Although they were produced in a different era, both share some similarities and differences. The differences between both arts are as a result of being produced in different time frames. Thus, the changes in the film that differ with the short story reflect the societal changes that have taken place between 1930 and 1983. Nonetheless, the protagonist, Emily, is well presented in both media as she represents the values and norms of the Southern, which she preserved by rejecting the changes in the society.

Works Cited

Abbott, Dorothy. Mississippi Writers: An Anthology. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991. Print.

Chubbuck, Lyndon, director. A Rose for Emily. Chubbuck Production Company, 1983.

Stobaugh, James P. American Literature: Cultural Influences of Early to Contemporary Voices. High School Level Student. Green Forest, Ark: Master Books, 2012. Print.