Assignment:
Read the following stories:
a) A secret sorrow
b) A sorrowful woman
c) A rose for Emily
1. Outline the plot for "A Secret Sorrow" and a "Sorrowful Woman."
2. In 250 words, write out Faye's character, what her personality is. How do you know?
3. In 250 words, write out the mother's character in "Sorrowful Woman." How do you know?
4. Answer the study questions for "A Secret Sorrow" and "A Sorrowful Woman".
Questions:
a) FIRST RESPONSE. How did you respond to the excerpt from A Secret Sorrow and to “A Sorrowful Woman”? Do you like one more than the other? Is one of the women — Faye or Godwin’s unnamed wife — more likable than the other?
b) Describe what you found appealing in each story. Can you point to passages in both that strike you as especially well written or interesting? Was there anything in either story that did not appeal to you? Why?
c) How do the two women’s attitudes toward family life differ? How does that difference constitute the problem in each story?
d) How would you describe the theme — the central point and meaning — in each story?
e) To what extent might “A Sorrowful Woman” be regarded as an unromantic sequel to A Secret Sorrow?
f) Can both stories be read a second or third time and still be interesting? Why or why not?
g) Explain how you think a romance formula writer would end “A Sorrowful Woman,” or write the ending yourself.
h) Contrast what marriage means in the two stories.
5. Outline the plot in "A Rose for Emily."
6. Describe the character of Emily. Who tells us about her character? Should we trust this narrator?
7. In the same post, answer the study questions for "A Rose for Emily".
Questions:
a) FIRST RESPONSE. How might this story be rewritten as a piece of formula ?ction? You could write it as a romance, detective, or horror story — whatever strikes your fancy. Does Faulkner’s version have elements of formulaic ?ction?
b) What is the effect of the ?nal paragraph of the story? How does it contribute to your understanding of Emily? Why is it important that we get this information last rather than at the beginning of the story?
c) Contrast the order of events as they happen in the story with the order in which they are told. How does this plotting create interest and suspense?
d) Faulkner uses a number of gothic elements in this plot: the imposing decrepit house, the decayed corpse, and the mysterious secret horrors connected with Emily’s life. How do these elements forward the plot and establish the atmosphere?
e) In what sense does the narrator’s telling of the story serve as “A Rose for Emily”? Why do you think the narrator uses we rather than I?
f) Explain how Emily’s reasons for murdering Homer are related to her personal history and to the ways she handled previous con?icts.
g) Discuss how Faulkner’s treatment of the North and South contributes to the meaning of the story.
Using examples from the stories to support your thinking.