Faulkner and Olsen Analysis Characters in Faulkner and Olsen

Complex characters tend to be challenging to write, especially in the case of those whose circumstances and actions make them slightly unappealing. William Faulkner and Tillie Olsen, however, show that with brief stories about their characters' pasts, endearment is not so difficult to elicit after all. In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Emily Grierson's character is shown through the eyes of a collective narrator. In Olsen's "I Stand Here Ironing," the narrator looks back on the rearing of a troubled child (also the name of Emily). Both authors retell the stories that bring a sort of reader empathy toward the characters, especially after looking back on the past lifestyles both characters faced.

Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

"A Rose for Emily" is a short story told in five different sections, each reverting to a particular time period as narrated by a collective voice of the neighborhood. At the opening, Emily Grierson is newly dead, and men and women clamor to attend the funeral -- men because they seemed obligated to, and the women because they had not seen Emily in many years. While born an aristocrat and an upstanding citizen of the town of Jefferson, the death of her father leaves Emily destitute. At thirty years old, Emily's one promising husbandly prospect is found later to be "interested in men." Rather than relinquish...

Later on, she continues to act in a manner that indicates some mental illness. At some point, people only whisper about her hermit-like behavior.
Yet throughout this story, the reader cannot help but feel empathy for the deranged and perverse Miss Emily. Even the townsfolk could not help but pity the girl, especially when she is "left alone, and a pauper," which in turn gives her a more "humanized" form. Of course, after her father dies, it becomes clear that Emily is a person to be pitied. At a certain instance, Faulkner writes Emily's denial over her father's death, and that she continues this charade for three days. At the end of the third day, Emily "[breaks] down, and they buried her father quickly," showing once more the humanization of Emily's character. Throughout…