A Rose for Emily by William Faulker and A & P by John Updike analysed - Essay Example

Literary Analysis Essay Human beings live life through making choices or following fate, a view that had been captured byliterary works through the ages. The main objective of the paper is to explore the capacity of human beings to make choices or to follow fate. On a personal view, life is a process of making choices. Even the fact that an individual would put every life decision on fate is a choice in itself. For that matter, in the query regarding the human beings’ ability to make choices or to be controlled by fate, the main answer is that there is an interaction between making choices and having faith on fate. The two literary works analyzed depicted and captured how human beings live life. A Rose for Emily by William Faulker and A & P by John Updike are the main focus of the paper. These short stories exemplify the effects of the different events, cultural and social factors on the behavior, outlook, and the manner each of the characters lives life. A Rose for Emily In the short story by William Faulkner entitled A Rose for Emily, life was given a different light. The author focused on the dark elements that often occur in life thus the story leaned on the mysterious and macabre genre. Included in the elements of the plot are multiple deaths, tragedies of love, and strict family rules. Emily is the focus of the story. She is a character who is a member of a family with strict traditions and mysterious habits. These traditions and habits became the main reason why Emily and her family stood out of the community. They are very different, they attracted attention because they do not connect and mingle with other people, which is considered as a normal thing to do as a member of a community. For that matter, people around them either treat them with alienation or with antagonism. The main character Emily can be considered to have the fate of being born in a family of eccentric views and attitudes in terms of social interaction and relationships. As a person who only depends on whatever the fate brings, Emily can be presumed to just stay inside the house all her life, even after the death of her father. But as the story progressed, it is safe to say that this is not the case. When her father died she continued to stay inside the house but this changed Homer Barron came into town. He is a charming guy involved in the construction and modernization of road in town. He represents a modern world where he came from. This can be concluded in the manner he carries himself. He is confident in interacting with the people in the community. Even Emily had not been safe from his charms. Her life and even her outlook in life changed when she met Homer. It had been fate that made Emily a part of an eccentric family. It was also fate who brought her Homer Barron. He changed her life to the point that she became a different person when he was around. She became more open and a part of the community. She was able to consciously change her ways when she was with Homer. Based on the said decision, Emily can be considered as a person who can make her own decisions. She is also a type of person who is not afraid to be criticized based on the decisions that she is making and the attitudes and behaviors that she is showing. Another action that affirmed Emily’s capability to make her own decisions was the fact that she wanted to keep her love with her forever, by keeping Homer’s body in the bedroom even after he died. Although this is weird and can even be considered as a twisted action, she had not been afraid to show expressions of her love for the man. People can judge such actions as insane but Emily stood by her own views. Regardless of the society’s negative reactions, she showed that she cannot be swayed. Until her last day, she lived with the choices and decisions she made. Based on the short story, different factors can affect the life of every person. Factors such as tradition, religion, genetic make-up and socioeconomic status can affect the manner by which person makes decisions or leave life for fate to decide. For Emily, her family tradition can be considered as one of the most influential factor in the manner by which she led her life. This is also related to the genetic make-up of the family since behavior of a person can significantly be affected by the physiological and psychological composition. Another is the socioeconomic status which is also one of the evident factors that affected Emily’s existence. If her family had been poorer or of lower socioeconomic structure, it can be predicted, that nobody would even care about her. The fact that she is from a historically respected family meant that the family was more protected from alienation, as compared to the scenario if her family has lower socioeconomic status wherein more criticism can be expected. A & P A & P by John Updike is another short story that presented a particular slice of life that asks a question on the capability of human beings to make their own decisions in life or if they just leave everything to fate. A & P is a store that represented a particular scenario in the characters’ everyday life. There are numerous characters in the story, each representing different levels of decision making capabilities based on the behavior that they have shown. In addition to the characters, the place where the story happened is a representation of the context of the behaviors of each character in the short story and the decisions they are making. In the story, different types of people on the basis of the capability to make decisions were represented. The three girls, although considered minors, can be judged based on their actions. Fate did not force them to be in the said situation wherein they look indecent in a relatively traditional and very public place. They carried themselves poorly which had been a choice and a conscious decision on their part, the reason why though was not included in the plot. Based on the behaviors of the three girls, the other characters in the story’s reaction revealed their characters and attitudes towards life and towards other people in the society. Lengel, Strokesie and the other people in the A & P represented different reactions of people in the said situation. Other people in the vicinity showed shock and even disapproval toward the girls’ display of behavior. Lengel did not approve the girls’ behavior because it is based on the rules of the establishment. Although another side of him became disrespectful towards the girls. The said negative act became the reason of Sammy’s unexpected reaction in the situation. Sammy, the narrator and the main character in the short story made a life-changing decision at an instant upon observing Lengel’s behavior. Because of the way his superior treated the three girls, his real character had been observed. Sammy’s decision to take the girls’ side and quit his job regardless of the fact that the girls did not even ask for his help or did not even know what he did says a lot about his character. He is a kind of person who need not be observed to do good deeds. He is also a kind of person who can firmly make decisions and live with it. Although having a his job at A & P can be considered as part of his fate, due to the fact that the owner knows his family, his actions revealed his capacity to stand up for what he believes in and make decisions on his own. By choosing to make a stand for the three girls, he put his own fate on his own hands. He consciously put his livelihood to be able to teach others the lesson of respect. In the said scenario, Sammy’s choices had been affected by his character, his tradition and his beliefs. It can then be considered that the capacity to make important life choices and decisions can be inspired by one’s own beliefs and tradition. Conclusion Based on the two short stories, it can be considered that life is a synergy of fate and choices. Fate is what life is giving us while choices are what we are giving life. For that matter, people who just depend on fate is not really living because they are not contributing anything to their life or to the lives of other people. In addition, fate then can be considered as human beings’ context in making decisions and choices in life. Our choices are mainly the reactions to what life is giving us in the first place. For that matter, it can be considered that it is a great feat for a person to just leave everything to fate because that can be equivalent to not living a life at all. To put it into perspective, it is then a conscious and active choice to leave everything to fate because it is more natural for human beings to react to stimuli and make decisions on how to react according to their own up-bringing, behavior, personality, tradition and social context. Works Cited: Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. In Forum issue April 30, 1931. Updike, John. A & P. In Pigeon Feathers. 1961. Read More