Literary Analysis Made on One Friday Morning and A Rose for Emily - Essay Example

The main character is well observed to like her classmates and teachers, thus the mention of her being easygoing. As the story unfolds, the candidate for the art scholarship who had all the reasons to rejoice because of the preparations told to her by her teacher and the school principal was found broken-hearted because of the cancellation of the scholarship supposedly to be awarded to her. The reason for which, being her color. Being challenged by the principal who experienced racial discrimination herself, the main character stood tall and hopeful in facing her future.

On the contrary, the main character for A Rose for Emily is portrayed as a proud woman from a high and mighty Grierson family as seen in the eyes of the town’s folks. She was described to be a fallen monument at the beginning of the story as her death is revealed. But unlike Nancy Lee, her pride became a source of internal conflict. The demand for the payment of her taxes caused her to be even more aloof and stay home most of the time. The story is told by a first-person observer, narrating the events and speaking on behalf of herself and other observers.

One Friday Morning on the other hand is told by a third-person omniscient narrator who exposes the feelings and thoughts of his character. In effect, conflict is presented more vividly in the story in two aspects, the external and internal. Since the story is told by an all-knowing narrator, the internal conflict in the main character’s feelings and thoughts are expressed in contrast to that of the dramatic narrator where only the external conflicts are pictured in the story.

The two stories used the physical and chronological settings, containing the story in a specific time and place and not making it a universal setting that could speak for other places in the world or another time. Faulkner limited his time frame mentioning the year 1894 to the time of the main character’s death in the town, particularly in the house of the protagonist. The same style is used by Hughes where the setting is depicted in the art school in which time is near graduation day. The stories were also told in a similar fashion, in a narrative way where conversations were used to help the characters come more alive and active in the narration as the plot developed. There is a chronological statement of the events with the mention of past events as flashbacks, making an easily understood story.

The story of Nancy Lee presents irony in her circumstance where she planned to tell about equal rights in America during her speech, that she would thank the nation for the opportunity given her despite her color. The irony comes when she was told that the scholarship was given to another grantee because the committee learned that she is colored. This event is mentioned as a concluding act in the story while the irony in A Rose for Emily is mentioned at the beginning of the story when Emily was described as a fallen monument. Read More