• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.137-145
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• 2016

We are accustomed to using the word 'beautiful' when we see something, but we don't use the word 'sublime' very often. In fact, these two words have totally different meanings and we can say 'sublime' only for special objects. The notions and objects of sublime have been studied by numerous philosophers ranging from Longinus to Burke and Kant. According to their studies, we can feel sublimity from objects which give us fear, because the sublime is inherent in fear. Therefore, in this study, we considered the sublime in the gothic novel, A Rose for Emily, in which we can find solemn sublimity in Emily's iron gray hair, her black suit, and a red rose which stands for blood. In addition, we can feel sublimity in the image of Emily who is waiting for Homer and the image of Homer's dead body. These kinds of images instill us with fear, but also show us tragic sublimity. The sublime exists in all kinds of literature and, therefore, more studies and analyses of the sublime in literature will likely be conducted.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.141-156
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• 2011

This study purposes to explore the narrative of fictional events complicated by a specific narrator, taking notice of his/her role as an internal focalizer as well as an external participant. In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," the story of an eccentric spinster, Emily Grierson, is focalized and narrated by a townsperson, apparently an individual, but one who always speaks as 'we.' This tale-teller, as a first-hand witness of the events in the story, details the strange circumstances of Emily's life and her odd relationships with her father, her lover, the community, and even the horrible secret hidden to the climactic moment at the end. The narrative 'we' has surely watched Emily for many years with a considerable interest but also with a respectful distance. Being left unidentified on purpose, this narrative agent, in spite of his/her vagueness, definitely knows more than others do and acts undoubtedly as a pivotal role in this tale of grotesque love. Seamlessly juxtaposing the present and the past, the collective 'we' suggests an important subject that the distinction between the past and the present is blurred out for Emily, for whom the indiscernibleness of time flow proves to be her hamartia. The focalizer-narrator describes Miss Emily in the same manner as he/she describes the South whose old ways have passed on by time. Like the Old South, Emily is desperately trapped in the past, since she has not been able to adjust to the changes brought on by time. In the end, the tragic story of Emily Grierson which takes place in Jefferson plainly seems to serve as an introduction to mature Faulkner.