Literary Analysis of “A Rose for Emily” and“Recitatif”

Macey Hand
Professor Amy Wilson
Reading and Research Writing
25 September 2020
Literary Analysis of “A Rose for Emily” and“Recitatif”
In stories, authors use different language skills and cognitive skills to make their narration enjoyable. Some of these skills are intended to make the reader use their creative thinking skills to evaluate the outcome or relate two events that happened at separate times. The setting, tone, and characters revealed in stories play an essential part in the flow of narration. The use of memory in narration is vital to fill the existing gaps and for events to be remembered and communicated effectively.
Memory works in the story “A Rose for Emily” when it explains the beautiful tale of Emily during her funeral. Memory helps Faulkner describe how successful Emily was by saying, “the woman was the best-combined gardener and cook not seen in the last ten years” (Faulkner 1). Here, the author helps the reader to evaluate a sombre theme during Emily’s funeral, which is that people always remember acts that their loved one once did regardless of the time that had passed. The author also highlights the idea of people talking about the success of their loved ones during funerals by involving memory in storytelling. In one of the scenes in the story, the author says, “Alive, Emily was a tradition, a duty, and care,” which uses memory to call attention to how people like to remember others when their gone, even if it is embellishment (Faulkner, 1).
Additionally, the author uses memory to explain the chronology of events as they unfold. He arranges the narrative to occur sequentially to enable the reader to understand the organization of the story. Memory works in this story about Emily because the author wants readers to connect what he is already explaining. For instance, he uses connecting words like “after that,” “when she finished,” and additionally.” Such terms enable the reader to connect the sentences and the events in the story, helping the reader connect two different occasions. Faulkner also makes memory work in this story when he vividly explains the stories to bring the picture into our minds or thoughts as we recall the events of the story. He describes how characters performed individual acts, which create imaginary events in the reader’s mind. For example, he says, “she did not sit but stood at the door and looked at them quietly” (Faulkner 2).
In“Recitatif Morrison uses memory to bring imaginary events in the reader’s mind. Twyla says, “I stood up first and spilled the jelly beans over the floor. Bozo’s smile disappeared while we scrambled to get the candy up off the floor and put it back to the grass” (Morrison 4). Here, the author wants the reader to imagine what was happening from spilling the beans on the floor. Additionally, when the author says that Bozo’s smile disappeared, he uses memory to describe a change of events or moods in his narration. Another instance where the author uses memory is when he narrates, “I put my hands in the apron pockets and leaned on the wall” (Morrison 6). He intends to make the reader visua...