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ARoseforEmilyI.BackgroundInformationAbouttheAuthor•WilliamFaulkner•(Sep25th,1897–Jul6th,1962)wasanAmericanwriterofnovels,shortstories,poetryandoccasionalscreenplays.WhenwetalkaboutWilliamFaulkner’slife,themostimportantfactisthathewasbornandbredintheAmericanSouthandlivedtherealmostallhislife.•ThemajorityofhisworksarebasedinhisnativestateofMississippi.FaulknerisconsideredoneofthemostimportantwritersoftheSouthernliteratureoftheUnitedStates,alongwithMarkTwain,FlanneryO’Connor,EudoraWelty,ThomasWolfe,andTennesseeWilliams.Thoughhisworkwaspublishedasearlyas1919,andlargelyduringthe1920sand1930s,Faulknerwasrelativelyunknownuntilreceivingthe1950NobelPrizeinLiterature.•TheyoungerFaulknerwasgreatlyinfluencedbythehistoryofhisfamilyandtheregioninwhichhelived.Mississippimarkedhissenseofhumor,hissenseofthetragicpositionofBlackandWhiteAmericans,hischaracterizationofSoutherncharacters,andhistimelessthemes.Theboygrewuplisteningtoallsortsofstoriesabouthisgreat-grandfatherandotherpeopleinhishometown.ThestoriestheNegronannytoldhimandthegossipheheardfromthetownspeoplerestingandchattingonthesmalldowntownsquareprovidedFaulknerwithanoraltraditionofstorytellingasanimportantpartofhiseducation.•DuringWWIFaulknerservedwiththeRoyalCanadianAirForce.Afterthearmistice(休战)in1918hereturnedtoOxford,asmalltowninMississippi,andforsometimeheledalifeinaratherlistlessway.HeattendedtheUniversityofMississippibutlefttheuniversitywithinayear;hetriedhishandatpoetrybutwithoutsuccess;hewentnorthtotheculturalmetropolitancityofNewYork,butwasdrivenbackhomesoonbyloneliness.Hebecameapostmaster,butinlessthanthreeyearsheresignedfromthispost.•Allthistime,hehadbeenreading,firstwhateverinterestedhim,andlater,thegreatpoetsandnovelists.InNewYork,FaulknermetSherwoodAnderson,afamouswriter,andthenwhenhetraveledtoNewOrleansin1925hegainedentryintothisartisticcenterthroughAnderson.InspiredbyAnderson,Faulknerbegantowritenovels.•Faulknerwrote19novelsandnearlyahundredshortstories.Thesettingof15novelsandthemajorityoftheshortfictionistheAmericanSouth.InthemtheauthortellsstoriesaboutpeoplefromasmallregioninMississippi,afictionalplacetheauthorcallsYoknapatawphaCountry.Heevendrewamapoftheplaceandgavespecificdetailsaboutthepopulationthere.HismajorworksincludenovelsTheSoundandTheFury(1929),AsILayDying(1930),LightinAugust(1932),andAbsalom,Absalom!(1936).•BecausethesettingofmostofhisworksistheAmericanSouth,heisregardedasaregionalwriter.Buttheword“regional”ismisleadingbecauseFaulknerdealswithsomeofthemajoruniversalthemesinliteraturesoprofoundlythatheisreadandrecognizednationallyandinternationally.•Asfaraswritingtechniquesareconcerned,Faulknerisamongthegreatestexperimentalistsofthe20thcenturynovel.Hiseffectiveuseofthestreamofconsciousness,multiplepointsofview,symbolismandimagery,placehimamongtherankofthegreatestmodernwritersalongwithJamesJoyceandVirginiaWoolf.In1950hereceivedtheNoblePrizeforLiterature.AboutARoseforEmily•ItisashortstorybyAmericanauthorWilliamFaulknerfirstpublishedintheApril30,1931issueofForum.ThisstorytakesplaceinFaulkner’sfictionalcity,Jefferson,MississippiinthefictionalcountyofYoknapatawphaCounty.ItwasFaulkner’sfirstshortstorypublishedinanationalmagazine.•Althoughitisoneofhismostfrequentlyanthologized(收入选集的)shortstoriesandiswidelyusedintheAmericanclassroom,Chinesestudentsmayfinditdifficulttounderstandandappreciate.SomeofthemmaythinkitisabizarrestoryaboutanoldeccentricladyinanAmericanSoutherntown.It’struethatthesettingofthestoryistheAmericanSouth.Yet,thethemeofthestoryisuniversal,transcendingtheboundariesoftimeandspace,likemanyotherworksofliterature,thisshortstorytellsaboutlove,death,honor,pride,change,andloss.•In“ARoseforEmily”wecanseehowtheauthortellsagoodstoryskillfully,howhecreatesanatmosphereneededforthestorytelling,howhekeepsthesuspenseandunfoldstheconflictbitbybit,andhowhedigsdeepintothesocialworldofhischaracter.•Thisstoryisarichandmodern20thcenturyliterarytext.ThosewhoarenotsofamiliarwithmodernAmericanliteraturemayencountersomeobstaclesinreadingthisstory:vaguereferences,ambiguities,symbolism,experimentalpointofview,jumbledtimesequences,avoidanceofcleartransitions,withholdingofvitalinformation,etc.Byexploitingthose“tricks”,Faulknerhopestoinviteusreaderstoparticipateintheprocessofseekingthetruthsofreadingthestory.It’slikeworkingatapuzzle:whenwestarttofigureitout,itwillbecomemoreandmoreinteresting.•Task1:Howdoyouunderstandthetitle?•Task2:Makeasummaryofthechronologyofeventsintheshortstory.•Task3:What’sthemainideaofeachsection?•Task4:Howmanycharactersinthestory?Whataretheircharacteristicsrespectively?TASKII.TextAnalysis1.Title•Faulknerexplainedthereasonforhischoiceofthetitleas:[Thetitle]wasanallegorical(比喻的，寓意的)title;themeaningwas,herewasawomanwhohashadatragedy,anirrevocable(不可改变的)tragedyandnothingcouldbedoneaboutit,andIpitiedherandthiswasasalute...toawomanyouwouldhandarose.•Themeaningofthetitleisambiguous,capableofvariousinterpretations.Aroseisacliché(陈词滥调),symbolizingloveandapledge(保证)offaithfulness.Fromthestory,wecanseeMissEmilywasdeniedlove.So,inthissense,thetitl