a rose for emily.ppt

ThemeThethemeofastoryiswhatevergeneralideaorinsighttheentirestoryreveals.Athemeneednotbeamoraloramessage;itmaybewhatthehappeningsaddupto,whatthestoryisabout.Thethemeinfictionisitsgeneralizedviewoflifeandhumannature.Subjectsortopics:“lossofinnocence”,“loyaltyandconspiracy（背叛）”,“revenge”,“lifeanddeath”,“racialdiscrimination”“women’sselfidentity”Onereasonforthedifficultyofabstractingthethemefromastoryisthatthethemeisfused（熔化）intotheotherelementsofthestory,andtheseelementsmustbecarefullyexaminedinrelationtooneanotheraswellastotheworkasawhole.Thus,thethemeemergesfromtheinterplayofthevariouselementsofaworkandbecomesvalidwhenitsdetailsofcharacter,plot,pointofview,andotherelementsaretakenintoaccount.Whydoweneedtofindthetheme?Tryingtosumupthepointofastoryinourownwordsismerelyonewaytomakeourselvesbetterawareofwhateverwemayhaveunderstoodvaguelyandtentatively.Whydoweneedtofindthetheme?Byexaminingthethemeofaliterarywork,wetrytofindawriter’smeaningfulandchallenginginsight（领悟）intohumanexistenceandhumancharacter,whichwillhelpusreflectcriticallyaboutourownbeliefsandvaluesandenlargeourvisionoflife.ARoseForEmilyWilliamFaulknerWilliamFaulknerwasborninNewAlbany,Mississippi,onSeptember25,1897.Faulknerbelongedtoaonce-wealthyfamilyofformerplantationowners.Bothparentscamefromwealthyfamiliesreducedtogenteel(上流社会的)povertybytheCivilWar.HisinventionofthemythicalYoknapatawphaCounty,Mississippi,gavehimanalmostendlesssourceofcolorfulcharactersandstories.HisgreatestnovelsandshortstoriesaresetinYoknapatawpha.ARoseforEmilyhappensinJefferson,atowninthiscounty.BecauseFaulknercamefromafamilywithanaristocratic（贵族的）bearing（举止风度）andassociatedwithothersimilarfamilies,hewasfamiliarwiththearrogance（傲慢）ofcharactersliketheGriersons.Someofthesepeoplecontinuedtobehaveasiftheywerestillprivilegedplantationownersalthoughtheirwealthwasgone.However,Faulknerspentmuchofhistimeobservingordinarytownspeopleaswell,andthisiswhyhewasabletocapturethevoiceofthecommonpeopleofJeffersoninthecharacterofthenarrator.Faulknerusedpiecesofhisownlifeandfamilyhistoryinhisfiction.Hisgreat-grandfather,WilliamClarkFalkner(Faulkneraddedthe“u”tothespellingofhisnamewhenhejoinedtheRCAFsothatitwouldappear“moreBritish”)—whowasalsoknownastheOldColonel—servedastheinspirationforColonelSartoris.ColonelSartoris,whoplaysasmallbutimportantrolein“ARoseforEmily,”isalsoamajorcharacterinthenovelFlagsintheDust.FaulknerbasedpartofthecharacterofEmilyonacousin,MaryLouiseNeilson,whohadmarriedaYankeestreetpavernamedJackBarron.HewontwoPulitzerPrizes,aNationalBookAward,andtheNobelPrizeforLiterature.FaulknerdiedonJuly6,1962,thesamedayhisgreat-grandfather,theOldColonel,hadbeenbornon137yearsearlier.CriticalOverviewFaulknerisnowregardedbymostcriticsasoneofthegreatestAmericanwritersofthetwentiethcentury.AsisoftenthecasewithmanychallengingAmericanauthors,FaulknerwasidentifiedasauniqueAmericanvoiceinEuropelongbeforehegainedrespectathome.Infact,aslateas1950,afterhewontheNobelPrizeforLiterature,theNewYorkTimes(quotedinRobertPennWarren’sintroductiontoFaulkner:ACollectionofCriticalEssays)publishedaneditorialclaimingthathisworkwas“toooftenvicious(cruel),depraved(immoral),decadent（颓废的）,[and]corrupt（腐败的）.”“Americansmostfervently（热诚地，热烈的）hope,”TheTimescontinued,thatneithertheawardgivenbySwedennorthe“enormousvogueofFaulkner’sworks”amongforeignersmeantthattheyassociatedAmericanlifewithhisfiction.SouthernGothicGothicnovelorGothicromance,astoryofterrorandsuspense,usuallysetinagloomyoldcastleormonastery(修道院)(hence‘Gothic’,atermappliedtomedievalarchitectureandthusassociatedinthe18thcenturywithsuperstition).Inanextendedsense,manynovelsthatdonothaveamedievalizedsetting,butwhichshareacomparablysinister(threatening),grotesque(strange),ormysteriousatmospherehavebeenclassedasGothic.HaddonHall,Bakewell,Derbyshire,England(2002)ThehallthatinspiredthecreationofthornfieldhallWutheringHeightsSouthernGothicisasubgenreoftheGothicstyle,uniquetoAmecicanliterature.Likeitsparentgenre,itreliesonsupernatural,ironic,orunusualeventstoguidetheplot.Unlikeitspredecessor,itusesthesetoolsnotforthesakeofsuspense(悬念）,buttoexploresocialissuesandrevealtheculturalcharacteroftheAmericanSouth.TheSouthernGothicauthorusuallytakesclassicGothicarchetypes（原型，典型）,suchasthedamselindistress（落难的少女）ortheheroicknight（有英雄气概的骑士）,thenportraystheminamoremodernandrealisticspinster(老处女),orawhite-suited,fan-brandishing（挥舞扇子的）lawyerwithulterior（秘而不宣的）motive（动机）.AndthereareseveralimportantAmericantalesandnovelswithstrongGothicelementsinthissense,fromPoetoFaulknerandbeyond.CharlotteBrontë'sJaneEyre(1847)EmilyBrontë'sWutheringHeightsFaulkner’smostfamous,mostpopular,andmostanthologizedshortstory,“ARoseforEmily”evokesthetermsSoutherngothicandgrotesque,twotypesofliteratureinwhichthegeneraltoneisoneofgloom,terror,andunderstatedviolence.ThestoryisFaulkner’sbestexampleoftheseformsbecauseitcontainsunimaginablydarkimages:adecaying（腐朽的）mansion（宅第）,acorpse,amurder,amysteriousservantwhodisappears,and,mosthorribleofall,necrophilia(恋尸癖)–aneroticorsexualattractiontocorpses.CulturalContextTheOldSo