Gothic Literature Research Paper

Gothic literature, writing that employs dark and picturesque scenery, startling, and melodramatic narrative devices, and an overall atmosphere of exoticism, mystery, and dread, was an extremely popular genre and still is today. It was so popular that authors like Flannery O’Conner and William Faulkner tried to imitate Gothic literature in his stories. Faulkner’s short-story, “A Rose for Emily” is disputable when it comes to fitting in with Gothic literature, but here’s why it clearly does. The story has a strong desolate location, comparable to classic stories like “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe, who is one of the most famous authors of Gothic literature. In both stories, the houses are old, dusty, and dark. As seen on page 819 of “A Rose for Emily” the story says, “It smelled of dust and disuse- a close, dank smell.” Emily’s house was also dark, as seen on page 819, “They were admitted by the old Negro into a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow.” In “A Rose for Emily,” the main character is also mentally crazy. From a young age until his death, Emily’s father shielding her from socializing and dating. This seems to have developed some mental disorder within her. Because her father was the only one who loved her, she wanted to keep him, dead or alive. We see the same thing happen with her ex-sweetheart,
Some people might also say the language is not hard to understand as it is in classic Gothic literature. But, the spooky and traumatic elements of the story outweigh the time period of the story. “A Rose for Emily” is also not written in chronological order. Faulkner does this to make the end even more shocking for the reader. After finishing the story, the clues finally come together and create such a genius story full of suspense and terror, just as Gothic literature should