Essay Poe

Comparison and Contrast Essay:

“The Fall of the House of Usher” By Edgar Allen Poe

&

“A Rose for Emily” By William Faulkner

The short stories “The Fall of the House of the Usher” and “A Rose for Emily” have more ‘things’ in common than we can think of. Sure the short stories differ in way more than one way, like the authors. As point of departure, the authors are not the same, and neither of them were necessary in the same literature branch. Poe was a poet, a respected magazine and short stories writer, critic genius who died young of tuberculosis. On other hand we have William Faulkner a southern novelist novel prize winner who, in theory, created the imaginary country of “Yoknapatawpha”.  But overcoming this differences they have strong similarities in the style they wrote, gothic style. Other strong similarity, or should be said, thing in common is the point of view the story is told, first person.

To begin with the similarity, at some point of the story, we can perceive the pity the narrator lets us feel. An example of this pity is when the town wanted Emily to kill herself and get over with her life. The whole town where this woman lived and at some point helped, well her father, wish her to poison herself.  Now we can see this kind of feeling toward the character of Rodrick (the last male of the Usher family) is very ill; we can see then how the readers can perceive very vividly the narrator feels about his mental health state. Another very well defined similarity is how the writers project how a wealthy person is not necessary happy by having ‘everything’.  Both primary characters narrate the story of both Rodrick and Emily’s path to insanity. Other very marked similarity is the state of the house both characters grow up, this described in bright transparency the events are seasoned with a spice of evil and fear.

As for the differences, we can start saying that the stories are narrated oppositely. Poe’s short story begins with the narrator arriving to his long boyhood friend Rodrick Usher’s house. At the opening we can imagine this visitor riding at the back of his horse on an unusual day to an unusual house. From there the whole story is narrated on the present.  We walk the path of how the narrator discover the horrors his ‘buddy’ Rodrick is capable off. Putting your sister to “rest in peace” while she still alive is not a person with a healthy mind do.

To contrast this story Faulkner relates us is a retro perspective. Faulkner introduces us the characters starting at Miss Emily’s funeral. He, the narrator, relate us the life and triggers of Miss Emily Grierson, a seventeen years old woman. Miss Emily father’s death was her trigger to her actions, she just wanted to have that father figure to let her know she was not alone, and that she was loved. Unfortunately, the man she thought it was her Prince Charming did not seem to love her back and to make her life more miserable he was a color person, on her town the union of them was almost a sin. This drive Emily to the line, her whole life was like that. Losing the possible marriage candidates she liked, it was like a course she had, her father curse her by leaving her alone when he was alive and then completely alone once he died. Making her similar to Rodrick, he was cursed too, his family former decisions were affecting them.

We can conclude that Emily and Rodrick were shockingly similar they share scary gothic style. Both authors were able to relate us two different, but very look alike stories. Is freaky how two authors from different times and places “connected” somehow to give the word two ‘spooky’ yet lovely pieces of literature art.  But as much as they seem to be alike, they are completely unique and diverse.