Comparison of William Faulkners and Theodor Roethkes - Literature review Example

Conflicts in William Faulkner’s, ‘A Rose of Emily,’ Theodor Roethke’s ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ and Robert Frost’s, ‘The Road not Taken’ Literature in every language constitutes a number of aesthetic experiences to its readers through the effective use of various literary elements. Theme, characterization, conflicts, and symbolism are measured as the noteworthy literary elements in diverse literary genres. Internal struggle or conflict is a commonly found element in the characters of a literary piece and most often it becomes the topic of discussion.. Through this reflective paper, the researcher attempts to analyze different literary works, such as, William Faulkner’s, ‘A Rose of Emily,’ Theodor Roethke’s ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ and Robert Frost’s, ‘The Road not Taken’ and tries to explore the inner struggles and conflicts which facilitates the readers to have a clear picture of the afflictions undertaken by them. An analysis of these literary works will enable the reader to feel the specialties in the presentation of story, characterization and the development of plot. The writers of these literary works create the characters, events, and situations by making use of effective literary elements. While reading through Faulkner’s ‘Rose of Emily,’ one can find out the inner layers of Emily’s inner conflicts and her confrontation with personal as well as social life. When attempting a comparative study of the literary works of William Faulkner, Robert Frost and Theodor Roethke, one can see that internal struggle/conflict provides serious aesthetic experience to the readers and the same wield its prime influence all through these works. This inner conflict or struggle isolates them either from the family of from the entire society with which they live in. The poem ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ discusses some serious conflicts between an alcoholic father and his son. Both father and son suffered with inner conflicts. The father loves his son and his mind is filled with the complexes of his social and economic status. In case of the boy, he suffers with the conflict that his affection towards father and the mischievousness of his father’s behavior. The boy sings; “You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt.” (Roethke, lines13-16) The boy fears his father’s beating and he feels anxiety and fear. Even the boy suffers with fear and annoyance. He feels a deep sleep in his father’s hand with the feelings of secure. Critics comment that abusing of childhood is the major theme of the poem "My Papas Waltz". Waltzing is a kind of traditional dance form which is difficult to perform. The alcoholic father and his inner conflicts show some resemblances to the inner conflicts of Emily, the central character of Faulkner’s, ‘A Rose of Emily.’ Both of them represent the conflicts of American middle class families. The effort of the father to become an ideal father fails pathetically, because of social and cultural hindrances. Basically, the reactions of the father symbolize the conflict between the preserver and the preserved. When analyzing the poem “My Papas Waltz", one can see the theme of inner struggle portrays through the expressions and wild movements of the drunken father. The end of the poem the inner struggle of the father paved the way for reconciliation and meditation. ‘The Road Not Taken’ is considered as a widely readable poem by the eminent American poet Robert Frost. His poetry enclosed with an autobiographical touch, and in his entire poem one can see that he presents his own life and he gives importance to his own feelings and inner conflicts. . After a deep silence/meditation, Robert Frost reached to the final solution in the poem ‘The Road not taken’ The poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ is one of Frost’s major poems which deal with his own life. This poem is all about his inner conflicts and confused status of his mind in selecting the profession. Frost’s poem is noted for its own inner meaning. The poem is noteworthy in several ways as it has a beauty of picturisation, indication and reminiscence. He portrays the two roads which symbolize the two professions, namely, the profession of a teacher and the profession of a poet. It was a time he loves the nature without any dislikes. Various elements in the nature, like mountains, trees, rivers became an appetite for him at that period. The poet stands near the woods when the two roads diverged and tensed with the inner conflict of selecting the road. Frost uses the wood, a symbol of poet’s life, and the two roads are two professions; so the wood and roads have enough relevance in the life of the poet too. The conflict/ internal struggle of the poet’s idea about two roads have some visible reasons. Like the two poems the story, “A Rose of Emily” written by William Faulkner also contains the elements of conflict in a greater amount. Throughout the story one can see different situations which reveal different conflicts .The main conflict is portrayed through the central character Emily by which the story is titled. She undergoes both inner and outer conflicts. As in any other character the inner conflict in Emily is centered on her morals, dreams, ambitions, and her concept about right and wrong. A close reading will make it clear that the inner conflict in Emily is more prominent than her conflict with the community that she belongs to. As Emily’s father was a person who followed strict ideals she did not have adequate freedom to enjoy a healthy social life and as a result of it she became an outcast in her own community. She felt a kind of isolation within her society and gradually she made herself over dependent on her father. She too, like any other woman, is depicted as inferior to the male folk but at the same time she has to keep the expected standard of morality and goodness. As Robert W. Hamblin and Charles A. Peek (1999) rightly comments in their book titled, “A William Faulkner encyclopedia” “Along with biology and sexuality, Faulkner shows the conflict within a society that simultaneously viewed women as inferior human beings and the standard bearers for all that is moral and good.” Because of her unusual reliance on father she could not adapt to the situation when she lost him in death and caused for the sprouting of many inner conflicts. She could not take in the fact that she had lost her father long after his death and she actually lived in the past. Though she tried her best to come out of her confinement which she herself created the effort was futile. She faced the conflict concerned with the present and the past generation. Her refusal to pay tax for the property showed that she was not ready to part with her past traditions and laws. These facts provide amble evidence for her conflict with the community. Emily’s inner conflict is much greater in the story and it stems from her inability to let go of her past. Emilys refusal to pay taxes and the murdering of Homer Barron are examples of her inner conflicts. Regarding the theme of conflict in the literary works, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, the poem "My Papas Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the density of crisis becomes different in the inner conflicts of Emily. Fear and anxiety of the boy in ‘My Papa’s Waltz’ and the problem of choice in the poem “The Road Not Taken” share the serious attention of both the readers and critics. The conflict between modern city life which demands capitalism and material profits and the ordinary life of middle class people is a common literary element. Comparing the other two genres of literature conflicts in the poem “The Road Not Taken” portrays the inner conflicts of the poet himself. But Frost’s poem never discusses any kind of social evils or severe ideological problems. Here the reader can see the inner conflict of the poet who suffered with the selection of profession in his life. Evaluation of the two roads lead the speaker into the world of meditation and the speaker finds one road is less traveled and other one is heavily used. The conflict in Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken is common and people often confront the problem of decision making in their life. Frost admits the reality that it is impossible to select two roads at a time. The inner conflicts of the speaker are revealed through his feelings of regression, confusion, anxiety and reconciliation. Poet’s inner conflicts reveal the truth that what he/she chooses now will influence other choices of his/her life. The poem ends with a regretting tone and poet admits the fact that there is no chance of a coming back and also that it is impracticable to travel down the other road he could not use. Yet, the poet feels proud of the selection he made and he realizes that the decision was an appropriate one. The speaker’s inner conflict is clearly revealed through the following lines: “I doubted if I should ever come back” and “Oh, I kept the first for another day!.” (Robert, n.d., Line 13 and 11). The Road Not Taken Analysis. The sleeping status of the boy in Theodor Roethke’s poem and the comfortable state of the speaker in the poem “The Road Not Taken” also give convincing example for the reader. The two roads which symbolize two professions in poets life in the poem” The Road Not Taken” gives similar situations of conflict or inner struggle. The elements of meditation are also a significant theme in the works of Robert Frost, Theodore Roethke and William Faulkner. Frost concludes his poem with a kind of reconciliation and with a state of meditation. The meditation is about his past life and experiences. Here the speaker reconciled with a strong belief about his own selection. Through meditation, Frost shows his willingness to suggest a way to overcome procrastination in human life. Like Robert Frost, Theodore Roethke also ends his poem with a tone of meditation. After a violent encounter, the boy falls asleep in the hands of his father. Even the father has lot of inner conflicts in his mind. He loves his beloved son. His love towards his son tends to give protection and comfort to his son. The last movements of father and boy provide considerable examples of aesthetic experiences to the readers. Conclusion All the above discussed literary works exhibit inner struggle/conflict as the major element and in this respect all the works have uniformity though the situations are different. Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” presents poet’s inner conflicts concerned with the selection of a profession and his approach to the modern city life. Frost’s use of symbolism works out positively in bringing out the inner conflicts of the poet. The dilemma of the poet creeps into the minds of the readers as well. Theodore Roethke Another poem “My Papa’s Waltz” depicts the conflict between a drunken father and his son, that is, the preserver and the preserved. It brings out the conflict between an irresponsible father and his helpless son and then the subject shifts to meditation. The story, A Rise for Emily also discusses the theme of conflict through the character of Emily. The conflict that Emily confronts with is that of man verses society. She finds that her society is not always with her that is why she feels a kind of loneliness and ultimately it leads to the creation of an inner conflict within her. The analysis also helps one to learn the fact that the story is a meditation on the nature of time. Finally, all the three works deal with a common factor, that is, inner struggle/conflict and the authors do it sincerely. References Burke, J (2009). “My papa’s waltz,” by Theodore Roethke. The English Companion Ning. Retrieved December, 2009, from http://englishcompanion.ning.com/group/poetryroundtable/forum/topics/my-papas-waltz-by-theodore Robert, F. (n.d.). The road not taken analysis. Elite Skills Classics. Retrieved August 9, 2009, from http://www.eliteskills.com/c/13153 Hamblin, W. Robert, Peek, A. Charles (1999) “A William Faulkner encyclopedia,” Greenwood Publishing Group Read More