The Image of Fire in Faulkner’s Short Stories, Barn Burning and Shingles for the Lord :: Barn Burning Shingles

The Image of Fire in Faulkner’s Short Stories, Barn Burning and Shingles for the Lord The image of fire was very prominent in Faulkner’s short stories â€Å"Barn Burning† and â€Å"Shingles for the Lord.† Throughout the two stories, fire emerged as a destructive device. The production of fire directly or indirectly destroyed property and the image of the characters, Snopes and Pap. Fire symbolized the character’s deceitful ways and destruction of his identity in society. The fathers present in the two stories possessed deceitful natures. In the story â€Å"Barn Burning,† Snopes’ ill manner erupted into arson. He appeared as the defiant worker. After destroying the landowner’s expensive rug, he refused to pay the ten bushels of corn and burned the landowner’s barn (18-21). His resort to fire symbolized his derogatory ways. Fire was his most destructive tool to facilitate his revenge. In comparison, in â€Å"Shingles for the Lord,† Pap indirectly produced fire. In his misleading plot, he tried to outsmart a fellow worker by removing shingles off the church roof at night. However, the lantern he used for light created a fire in the church (39). His accidental manufacture of fire was a result of his deception toward his fellow worker. Fire was an ultimate consequence of his behavior. Each character used fire as a destructive weapon and ultimately destroyed himself. In â€Å"Barn Burning,† Snopes’ use of fire in the beginning of the story presented him as an outcast. At a trial for arson, the judge told Snopes, â€Å"I can’t find against you, Snopes, but I can give you advice. Leave this country and don’t come back to it† (5). Snopes’ use of arson destroyed his self-image in front of societal figures. He was banished due to his actions. In â€Å"Shingles for the Lord,† Pap’s destruction of the church by fire destroyed society’s perception of him. The use of fire labeled him as an arsonist, a reduced man, and an untrustworthy individual. The preacher, Whitfield, told Pap, â€Å"If there is any pursuit in which you can engage without carrying flood and fire and destruction and death behind you, do it. But not one hand shall you lay to this new house until you have proved to us that you are to be trusted again with the powers and capacities of a man† (41). Pap’s arson destroyed society’s respect for him and labeled him as an outsider among the people. Faulkner’s use of fire signified the father figure’s deceitful ways and the ultimate deconstruction of each father’s presence in society.

The Cask of Amontillado and A Rose for Emily

Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner are both prize-winning American authors and poets, who wrote some of the most memorable short stories, novels, and poems in the world. The two short stories that stand out the most to perhaps every student are titled The Cask of Amontillado by Poe and A Rose for Emily by Faulkner. Both of these stories include death, revenge, mystery, and murder. The Cask of Amontillado is about two men named Montreso and Fortunato. Montreso is seeking revenge on his friend, Fortunato. The only matter that is certain is that Montreso is angry with Fortunato, so angry that he seeks evil revenge. The story leads on allowing the reader to wonder will happen to Fortunato. Then there is the story, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner. He tells the story of an old woman who has died, named Emily. She was the talk of the town for many years, and the secrets of her life are revealed as her funeral allows the townspeople to enter her home. A few particular ways that Poe and Faulkner’s stories compare and contrast each other is by point of view and how each story is or is not told in chronological order. Each piece of literature effectively uses literary devices and conventions to illustrate the main points of the story and theme. They are alike in many ways, as they are different. Setting, point of view, characterization, climax, imagery, mood, and other effective literary devices are used throughout each story. Additionally, Poe and Faulkner were two men quite similar to one another, as in the two authors are known for being â€Å"dark† individuals with especially unique literary styles. While these stories contain specific differences in plot, such as holding onto the past and revenge, Poe and Faulkner’s works are as similar as the authors themselves. Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner The two authors are quite similar to one another, as they were both private men who expressed themselves in their writings. They are so much alike that their stories are quite similar. Both stories are considered to be â€Å"dark,† while Poe was always viewed as a dark and disturbed man. Faulkner wrote many different types of stories and not only dark stories like A Rose for Emily. Since they were such amazing writers, they were forced to be figures of the public eye while they fought for privacy. In 1827, Edgar Allan Poe enlisted in The United States Army using the name Edgar A.  Perry. After two years of service, he was discharged and went back to his hometown, Baltimore (Wilson, 2004). William Faulkner also tried to join the U. S. Army Air Force, but was turned down because of his short stature (Padgett, 2008). Death and Despair/Culture and Identity Poe and Faulkner’s stories coincide with one another because they are about death and despair. The underlying theme in The Cask of Amontillado is about death and despair. By the end of the story, the author has the reader pondering whether or not it would be justified to murder someone. In A Rose for Emily, the main theme is about culture and identity. The town of Jefferson is described as a small city that knows everyone’s business. Additionally, it is also about letting go of the past. The people of Jefferson keep worrying about the past and not the present, and so did Emily. She kept her dead lover’s body in an upstairs room in her house and did not want to let go of the past. Poe and Faulkner’s stories are somewhat alike, as the authors are alike. They took various literature classes before they became famous authors. Poe joined the Jefferson Literary Society and was quite successful (Wilson, 2004). On the other hand, Faulkner never graduated from high school, and quit school for good in 1915. Edgar Allan Poe suffered from a tragic, mysterious death that is still unknown to this day. William Faulkner died from a heart attack at the age of 64 and is buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Oxford (Padgett, 2008). The â€Å"Murderers† in The Cask of Amontillado and A Rose for Emily The authors of these stories create their main characters to be murderers. Therefore, both stories contain death. Montreso and Emily are the main characters of The Cask of Amontillado and A Rose for Emily, and both characters murder another character in the plot. There is one aspect of both stories that are related to one another, which is that both characters are not punished for their crimes. The only difference is that Fortunato’s body is never found in Montreso’s palazzo, and Emily’s lover, Homer, is found years after his death, and after Emily’s death. Montreso’s crime never comes to light, as he is writing about the murder 50 years after the fact. However, the townspeople of Jefferson end up discovering Emily’s crime. Even though the crime was eventually discovered, Emily was already gone and she could not be punished for murdering her lover. The reader may also believe that Poe and Faulkner’s stories are about revenge. While analyzing each story, one may discover that The Cask of Amontillado is about revenge and A Rose for Emily is more about holding on to the past. William Faulkner’s symbolism in A Rose for Emily is Homer’s body that was never put to rest. Emily was so focused on the past and what she had with Homer that she could not let him go. Therefore, she murdered him and kept him close to her. Both of the murderers, Montreso and Emily, are portrayed as crazy individuals to the reader who use creative, untraditional ways of murdering their victims. For example, Montreso kills his victim by chaining him to the wall of his palazzo and blocking him in by building another wall, as to bury him inside. Emily murders her love by purchasing arsenic and fooling Homer into consuming it. In some cases, it may even seem as though the authors portray their fictional characters to the people that they know in their lives. Homer and Fortunato Fortunato’s insult to Montreso was obviously extremely hurtful, which caused Montreso to seek a creative way to hurt his friend. The Cask of Amontillado is centered on revenge and death, as Montreso murders Fortunato. This also seems true with the plot arrangement for A Rose for Emily. However, it could be evident that Emily did not want to be embarrassed in front of the whole town. It is apparent that Homer and Emily slept together, which would be considered shameful for a single woman to sleep with a man at this time in America. Perhaps Emily did not want the townspeople to discover that Homer was not going to make her an honest woman and marry her; therefore she did the unthinkable. Characters Related to Authors Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner are known for incorporating their personal friendships, and even their own personalities, into their writings. One thing that I noticed in The Cask of Amontillado is that Montreso resembles Poe in appearance and mannerisms. The reader never sees what Montreso looks like; however one can imagine that he looks like Edgar Allan Poe, and he seems to act just like him as well. Additionally, the language that is used in both stories majorly reflects the time difference, as they were written many years ago. In Poe’s short story, Fortunato is murdered because of an insult he told Montreso. Poe’s personal and social life did not seem to fit Montreso’s, as he did not seem to have many friends. The reasons being are Poe’s famous poems about despair, loneliness, and heartache. Relationship with the Setting William Faulkner also incorporates his personal life into his writings. It is said that Faulkner wrote A Rose for Emily based off the personality of Emily Dickinson. Additionally, Edgar Allan Poe definitely seemed to have a fascination of death, as it is displayed in many of his writings including The Tell-Tale Heart. William Faulkner also seemed to have a fascination with death when he wrote A Rose for Emily as well as when he wrote his popular novel titled As I Lay Dying. In this novel, Faulkner uses the town of Jefferson for the setting, which is the same in A Rose for Emily. Perhaps Faulkner had a special relationship with the fictional city of Jefferson, Mississippi, which was really a made-up town much like the city he grew up in, Oxford, Mississippi (Padgett, 2008). Literary Devices and Conventions The overall comparison of the two stories and authors has been discussed and analyzed. Both authors effectively use literary devices and conventions to illustrate the theme including imagery, setting, symbolism, irony, plot, and point of view. What makes The Cask of Amontillado and A Rose for Emily so similar is the point of view and the similarity of the authors’ personalities. Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner were private men who expressed themselves through their writings, both were apparently fascinated with death, they enlisted in the Army, and they have used literary devices and conventions effectively to provoke anticipation and mystery throughout the story. Additionally, The Cask of Amontillado and A Rose for Emily are centered on death, revenge, and looking beyond the past. Both of the characters in each story, Montreso and Emily, are alike in that they do not receive punishments for their crimes. While Emily is portrayed as a crazy person to the townspeople, Montreso is also portrayed by the reader as a neurotic madman. Additionally, the characters in both stories are related to the authors who created them, as Faulkner reflected his personal life in his writings, while Poe used his imaginative mind many times. Poe and Faulkner use effective literary devices and conventions in each story, which is extremely important for any piece of literature to obtain. Literary devices comprise the story’s elements, which is how readers gain understanding of and appreciation for an author’s works (Braiman, 2007). The Cask of Amontillado and A Rose for Emily does an immaculate job at using effective literary devices and conventions throughout each piece of literature. Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner are somewhat alike in literary style as well as their personal lives, which allow the popular stories they have written to be alike in many different ways. These stories are alike, as they are different because of the two authors, death and despair, and how the characters relate to the authors. Poe and Faulkner’s literary techniques and stories are famous for a reason, which is because they are unique and imaginative.

Poems to Read on Thanksgiving Day

The story of the first Thanksgiving is a familiar one to all Americans. After a year filled with suffering and death, in the fall of 1621, the pilgrims at Plymouth had a feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest. This feast is surrounded by legends of the local Native Americans joining in the celebration and groaning tables of turkey, corn and some form of cranberry dish. These foods are the bedrock of the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It was not an official holiday until President Abraham Lincoln declared it so in 1863, although it was unofficially celebrated before that time by many Americans. Thanksgiving is a time for families gathered together to reflect on all the good things of their lives and an appropriate moment to read eloquent poems to mark the holiday and its meaning. The New-England Boys Song About Thanksgiving Day (1844) by Lydia Maria Child This poem, more commonly known as Over the River and Through the Wood, depicts a typical holiday journey through New England snows in the 19th century. In 1897 it was made into the song that is more familiar than the poem to Americans. It very simply tells the story of a sleigh ride through the snow, the dapple-gray horse pulling the sleigh, the howling of the wind and the snow all around, and at last arriving at grandmothers house, where the air is filled with the smell of pumpkin pie. It is the maker of the images of a typical Thanksgiving. The most famous words are the first stanza:​ Over the river, and through the wood,To grandfathers house we go;The horse knows the way,To carry the sleigh,Through the white and drifted snow. The Pumpkin (1850) by John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier uses grandiose language in The Pumpkin to describe, in the end, his nostalgia for Thanksgivings of old and bounteous love for pumpkin pie, the enduring symbol of those holidays. The poem begins with strong imagery of pumpkins growing in a field and ends as an emotional ode to his now elderly mother, enhanced by similes. And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express,Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less,That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below,And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow,And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset skyGolden-tinted and fair as thy own Pumpkin pie! No. 814 by Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson lived her life almost entirely isolated from the rest of the world, rarely leaving her home in Amherst, Massachusetts, or receiving visitors, except for her family. Her poems were not known to the public in her lifetime. The first volume of her work was published in 1890, four years after her death. So its impossible to know when a particular poem was written. This poem about Thanksgiving, in characteristic Dickinson style, is obtuse in its meaning, but it implies that this holiday is as much about memories of previous ones as about the day at hand: One day is there of the seriesTermed Thanksgiving DayCelebrated part at tablePart in memory— Fire Dreams (1918) by Carl Sandburg Fire Dreams was published in Carl Sandburgs volume of poetry, Cornhuskers, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1919. He is known for his Walt Whitman-like style and use of free verse. Sandburg writes here in the language of the people, directly and with relatively little embellishment, except for a limited use of metaphor, giving this poem a modern feel. He reminds the reader of the first Thanksgiving, conjures up the season and gives his thanks to God. Heres the first stanza: I remember here by the fire,In the flickering reds and saffrons,They came in a ramshackle tub,Pilgrims in tall hats,Pilgrims of iron jaws,Drifting by weeks on beaten seas,And the random chapters sayThey were glad and sang to God. Thanksgiving Time (1921) by Langston Hughes Langston Hughes, famous as a seminal and hugely important influence on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, wrote poetry, plays, novels and short stories that shed a light on the black experience in America. This ode to Thanksgiving invokes traditional images of the time of year and the food that is always part of the story. The language is simple, and this would be a good poem to read at a Thanksgiving with children gathered round the table. Heres the first stanza: When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down,When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round,When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground,Its Thanksgiving Time!