Southern Gothic Romanticism: "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" and "A Rose for Emily"

Gina Poe
S. Hasty
Honors Sophomore English/ Block 4
14th November, 2014

Southern Gothic Romanticism is a sub-genre to Gothic Romanticism, which is yet another sub-genre of the even more vague genre Gothic Horror. In the contrary to Gothic horror, Gothic Romanticism combines fiction, horror, and Romanticism. Southern Gothic Romanticism is simply a form of Gothic romanticism that takes place in the American south- displaying distinct southern features. The southern features in which help to classify a piece as Southern Gothic Romanticism are having something bizarre or often falling apart in the town, house or farm, having a grotesque character, (A grotesque is a character that portrays both empathy and disgust.) and includes freakishness, imprisonment, violence, and/or a sense of place. Through Southern Gothic Romanticism, we can better understand southern culture and the writing styles inspired by it.

"A Rose For Emily",  a tale of a very mysterious old lady by William Faulker, is a perfect display of Southern Gothic Romanticism. Miss Emily Grierson was a woman whom, after many heart-breaking happenings- such as the loss of her father and the inferred loss of her summer lover Homer Baron- isolated herself in her home and refused to pay taxes. The tax collectors struggled with her for many years until one day she died. After her death, her home was searched, and the searchers found a very disturbing scene in her spare bedroom.  Emily's old town people were shocked by the extremity of what lied in the bed and all around the room. The room, decorated with monogrammed plates, veils, and black ties, held the corpse of her missing lover, Homer Baron. One can tell that she poisoned the man with the harsh poison Emily bought at the store. Perhaps the man would not marry Emily and that upset her, so she dealt with it how she felt was appropriate. However, after this bizarre revelation, one couldn't blame the man.

This story represents Southern Gothic Romanticism so well for many reasons. One of the most important things a story of this genre must contain is a bizarre happening in the house, farm, or town. The creepy scene in Emily's bedroom is most certainly a bizarre happening in the house. Also, the character Emily is a good example of a grotesque. A grotesque is a character whom is supposed to induce the contradicting feelings of both empathy and disgust. While the actions of Miss Emily Rose are quite appalling, the reader still manages to have a respected amount of empathy for her. Emily endured pain her whole life- losing her father, and being lonely for a large majority of her life. The reasons for feeling empathy for the character help to make Emily more human- more relatable to the normal person. While murder (and not even to mention keeping the corpse in your house while it decays) is quite frankly an offense only even thought of by the mentally disturbed, the empathetic feeling to the reader allows for rationalization of her disturbance. There is not a genre that fits this piece better than Southern Gothic Romanticism.

Another good display of Southern Gothic Romanticism is "A Life You Save May Be Your Own" by Flannery O'Connor. This story is about a man, Mr. Shiflet, who helps an old woman fix up her house in return for the right to stay at her home. He fixes her roof, her shed, and an old car that was the woman's late husband's car. Mr. Shiflet ends up teaching the woman's deaf daughter to say the word "bird". When the woman sees him teaching her daughter the word, she convinces him to marry her. The man finds it only respectable to wait until he has money to pay to take the girl out after their marriage, so he is hesitant to get married to her. The woman is so desperate to marry her daughter out to he she thinks is a wonderful man, she offers to pay for her daughter and Mr. Shiflet to spend a weekend together. The man agrees to these terms, and marries her daughter. Despite the old woman's tears and the man's dissatisfaction of the marriage, Mr. Shiflet leaves with his newly married wife. During their long drive, Mr. Shiflet decides to stop at a diner and order the girl some food. The girl is very tired and instead of leaving the diner with her, he leaves her sleeping at the counter- and doesn't come back for her. It is to be implied that Mr. Shiflet just used the woman and her daughter for the money he got.

While reading this story, there are many aspects of Southern Gothic Romanticism which one can see. In the woman's house and property there were many structural things often falling apart- one of the huge signs of Southern Gothic Romanticism. Also, the reader is led to think Mr. Shiflet is a good man through his hard work and orally expressed morals. However, after leaving the girl at the diner, we see a whole other side of him that fills our minds with disgust. This element of the man allows for us to define Mr. Shiftlet as a grotesque - the most distinct Southern Gothic Romantic feature. Most obviously taking place in the south, this story fits Southern Gothic Romanticism well.

Choose Your Own Short Story: Socratic Questioning

Gina Poe
S. Hasty
Honors Sophomore English/ Block 4
3 November 2014
"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe

Close-Ended Question:

What was the black cat's name?

The black cat's name was Pluto.

Open-Ended Question:

What clues does the narrator give wile telling the story to imply the second black cat could be a supernatural version of the late black cat Pluto?

The narrator has many hints implying the second black cat could be a supernatural version of his old cat Pluto. It is stressed in the story that the cat was just like Pluto, missing eye and all, except for the patch of white fur planted on his chest, "... and closely resembling him (Pluto) in every aspect but one. Pluto had not a white hair upon any portion of his body; but this cat had a large, although indefinite splotch of white, covering nearly the whole region of the breast." (Poe, 8) The cat also mystically went missing after the narrator murdered his wife, despite the narrator's efforts to look for him. A normal cat wouldn't have known the importance of getting away from the dangerous man. The cat was the forerunner of the narrator's eternal doom, seeking revenge for the cat's old bodily form being murdered. The cat grew an attachment to the narrator's wife, and annoyed the narrator how he knew would work- causing him to lash out, separating himself from the one person who loved him.

World Connection Question:

Is it common for people to lash their anger out on their pets?

It is very common for people to lash out on their pets. Sitting in the high school cafeteria, it is not abnormal to hear disturbed children bragging about how their cat made them mad, so they felt it was only appropriate to set them on fire, while they laughed as the poor cat burned to helpless dust. Outside of the wonderful high school of Lebanon, Missouri, animal abuse is still a problem. The Humane Society of the United States reports rescuing thousands of animals from miserable situations.
"Animal Cruelty Facts and Statistics : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS.  02 Nov. 2014. Web.

Universal Theme/ Core Question:

How does alcohol or drug abuse effect the lives of people and those around them?

Alcohol and drug abuse can be very damaging to someone and their relationships. When intoxicated, a person can do things they would never do while sober. Many of the things alcohol or drugs bring into their minds are physically, mentally, and emotionally damaging things to others- causing pain within themselves. Substance abusers can often lash out at people around them while under intoxication. This causes separation from those who love the substance abusers. This was highlighted in the story "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. Pluto, the childhood pet whom he loved most, often hid from the narrator from fear of being hurt by his frequent drunkenness. Within their mind alone, they can feel insane guilt for things they do while intoxicated. Guilt can sometimes drive a person insane.

Literary Analysis Question:

By telling the story in first person, how does it make the reader feel about the narrator?

In the beginning of the story, the narrator explains the story as being unbelievable and "mere household events". This causes the reader to not expect anything to be a big deal, making the murdering of cats much more bizarre. Throughout the story, there are many emotional appeals one can have by connecting the cats within the story to cats of their own. By telling the story in first person, the author has created a strong sense of hatred to himself or the narrator. While reading the horrific events, one can't help but wonder about the sanity of the narrator, and self-proclaimed cat murderer. Causing readers to question your mentality, is a strong literary element.