Aimee Tatrn's Blog

So I must first start off, I think this is the year that I enjoyed the most stories. The only book I did not enjoy totally was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and that was essentially because it was so episodic. But I do not need to say what I did not like… I will make a list of my favorites!!

1. The Catcher in the Rye- I actually really liked this book, although many people I have spoken to did not like it. I fully believe that it is not a matter of liking it or not; it is a matter of understanding it. I loved that Holden’s demise is brought on by a phony society because it just so realistic. Holden..that brings me to my next point. I LOVE HOLDEN CAULFIELD!!!! If he were real, I would marry him! Truthfully, I feel as though I am the female Holden. He is such an interesting character that you can’t help but love! If you do not, he will annoy the heck out of you!

2. Ethan Frome- Call me weird, but I loved how depressing Ethan Frome was. I just loved the setting of Starkfield and the whole situation they were in! Ethan was so seemingly devoted to Zeena yet so enamored with Mattie. Creepy, yes. Amusing, heck yes! Possibly my favorite part of that book was their suicide attempt. I mean seriously, sledding into a tree?!  That just made me laugh. Any book that makes me laugh at the ridiculous things that people do is worthy of being high on my list.

3. The Great Gatsby- For some reason, I just loved this book. Why? I have no idea. I think I really liked the idea of the American Dream gone wrong. I so wanted things to work out for Gatsby, but I also hated what would happen if he got his dream. Daisy is unworthy!  I am such a contradictory person so I think that is what I liked.

4. The Glass Menagerie- I really liked this play for its idea of disillusionment. Amanda is such a crazy person that you cannot help but be interested in how she treats her family. They are all so dysfunctional that it was amusing!! Plus, you have to love all the symbolism in the glass figurines!    And…..the movie is basically exactly the book. That is just exciting!!

5. Their Eyes Were Watching God- It was amazing, need I say more? With a character named Tea Cake, a book is bound to be good. And it is. There is no explanation as to why really. It just is! All of Janie’s relationships show that it just takes a few tries to get it all right. And then the “right one” gets rabies and tries to kill his love…The end!

Ok, so basically, I loved everything we read this year.  Most things I do not have a reason for liking; I just do! Everything was amazing though, so thank you Mrs. Thomson for making this such a great year!!

So, what do I carry? Hmm.. Chapstick! But that is not important to be so it does not count. Neither does my phone, cough drops, my tumorous school bag (it’s shrinking in size!), my camera, my wallet or anything else I carry at any point. Outside is not what truly matters; it is what lives inside, lurking beneath the skin. And no, I do not mean organs. Although I carry those too.

I carry my shoes on a chain around my neck. Although it may seem rather superficial, my necklace I have with the little Converse on them is very important to me. It is more than metal; it is a friendship.  I received it from one of my very best friends (you know who you are) when she came back from Hawaii. It is symbol of our friendship that I can bring with my anywhere.

I carry the regret of wasted time. Through my life, I have wasted time on people that I should not have, and I deeply regret it. Nothing is worse than wasted time because you only get one life. I regret wasting time on things I should not have allowed myself to be bothered by, rather than living life to the fullest.

I carry memories with me. I have memories of my mom and I making an adventure of out life. I have memories of my dad, most them with me being on my own. I have memories of my stepmother, and her being more of a friend that an authority figure. I have  memories of my stepfamily. Most of the time we were partying for random occasions, like planting flowers on graves.  I carry memories of my family and the crazy times we have had. I remember times when my two families combined, and my stepcousin thought my real cousin was hot. Yes, that actually happened, after my stepcousin taunting me for my cousin calling me Aimers. I carry all these memories, some heavy and some light.

I carry twice my weight in stress. I stress over everything. I constantly worry about school and college everyday. I stress about pleasing my mother.  I stress over my father’s impression of me, as he does not seem to think highly of anyone that does not play volleyball.  I worry about my  stepniece and how she is going to turn out. I freak out when people drive too fast because I am terrified they are going to hit something. I have been known to stress out over being the first person in a pew at church! So yeah, I carry some nerves with me.

Something I always carry is a book. It is my means of escape from all the other things I carry. After all, I can only hold so much at one time!!

Courage is one thing that is subjective; each person will have their own ideas about this commonly used feeling. To some, courage may be telling their parents things that they will find displeasing, like damaging the car.  To others, courage is putting their life on the life for a cause, or maybe no cause. For me, courage is doing what you believe in and what is right. In today’s society, that is one of the hardest things to do. It seems as though everyone is judging your every move, waiting for the “good girl” to mess up. In that way, I cannot associate with what the narrator Tim O’Brien. While I make my decisions for myself (wow, that sounds selfish), he makes his decisions to please others..but only out of fear.

O’Brien says that he was a coward so he went to war. At first sight, this thinking seems highly flawed. Upon closer examination, however, I feel he is actually being somewhat rational.  Because he is more concerned about pleasing others, he is more concerned with pleasing the others in his life. He is just that type of person for whatever reason. With each story, the narrator gives a little bit of himself to his readers.  Because he is a man that is afraid to harm others, as shown by his reaction to the man that he kills, O’Brien is feels that disappointing his family, friends and country is the ultimate sin. He wishes that he were a coward so that he would do what is best for him, rather than what he is pressured to do. When he sees all those people on the American shore, he is reminded of all those who he will let down; that burden is too great. Escaping takes courage, something that Tim does not have if it means dishonoring those important to him. His gut feeling is to run, but his gut loses out to his mind. What he thinks is right for him loses out to what is pressured to do. But is fleeing really the right thing to do?

There is a deeper explanation as to why Tim O’Brien feels as though he is a coward for going to war. If he escapes to Canada, life will be highly uncertain. He will have to start his life over, as he can never really go back to America during Vietnam. He will have to entirely reinvent himself, leaving his family behind.  Without his family, he will have no incentives to make the “right” decisions. Canada is the land of uncertainty; it is a place where O’Brien is too cowardly to go. He is not brave enough to leave it all behind to escape war, hence the reason he believes he is a coward. Vietnam, however, is a little more certain. Vietnam means war. War means fighting and death, and dead is as certain as one can get. O’Brien does not know if he will die or the details of war, but he knows enough to know that going to Vietnam means going to war. He does not have to voluntarily change himself to adapt himself to a life without a family. In Vietnam, the men he is stationed with become his family; that is certain. O’Brien fears the uncertain life associated with Canada because it involves leaving behind his family. He feels the best option is going to Vietnam, a more certain fate, to honor his family.

Consigning oneself to the horror of war would normally be thought of as courageous. On the surface, it actually is. It seems to be the easy way out to flee the country to avoid going to war. Like I said, that is on the surface. If you delve a little deeper into the mind of the narrator Tim O’Brien, it becomes obvious that war is the easy way out. Whether he comes back dead or alive, he will not disgrace his family. Being a man that does not like to harm others, he does not want to dishonor his family. He has to kill in war, but he does not know the men he kills. It does not make it easier, but it at least allows him to uphold his cowardice. After all, killing is the ultimate show of cowardice. Deal with the problem, not dispose of it in such a brutal way.

May I first start off this blog saying that I am in love with The Catcher in the Rye!! Why I love it so much, I cannot even begin to describe, nor will I attempt to. A great portion of my love from this book comes from Holden. As annoying as he may be, he does not seem so annoying when you really take into account that he is a teenager. I am a firm believer that everyone as a bit of Holden in them, be it a little or a lot. We are all misanthropic or hypocritical at times; we all complain. Some of us see the faults of society, and others just play right into them. Keeping that in mind, Holden is a typical teenager, free of an unfounded mental illness.

Holden is really just a normal teenage boy that is angry at the world. It is very easy to forget how young he actually is because of the mature things he does, like drinking.  Truthfully, that is what makes him a very realistic portrayal of a teenager. Teenagers are on the verge of adulthood (scary thought) and attempting to do the things that adults do.  So drinking and involving himself with the prostitute are all efforts to be grown up.  True to his contradictory self, though, he dislikes adults because they are all phony. Being an adult will make him a phony, but Holden, for the most part, knows he cannot be an innocent child. Holden is stuck between a rock and a hard place, the basic premise of the teenage years.  He cannot go back to being a child, but his experiences with the prostitute and relationships show that he is not yet ready for adulthood.  He dislike people a little more than most teenagers, but that is a direct result of his ability to see the phoniness of the people surrounding him. Alas, Holden is stuck at the awkward age of sixteen, a time where he can neither be an adult or a child. Everyone will agree that their teenage years were tumultuous; Holden is not different. We are just able to read his thoughts, rather than thinking our own.

So being a normal teenager, Holden is obviously going to be angry at the world. I am pretty sure most teenagers have been at some point; it is a sort of necessity for that time period. He, therefore, is not having a mental breakdown. If he is actually depressed, he has a very good reason to be. His life’s goal is to be a catcher in the rye, protecting the innocent. He comes to realize that children will inevitably lose their innocence because of the phony adult world. Worse yet, Holden cannot stop it. His dream can never come true, giving him a definite reason to be depressed. Of course he is going to be angry at the world! Holden would not be normal if he did not! As abnormal as he may seem at first glance, he is just a normal teenager.

If Holden is a typical teenager, then he obviously is not a totally fictional character. If Holden is essentially real, what is to say that the society he is describing is real too?  For all we know, Holden can see a deep truth that most of us are oblivious to.  We could all be the phonies that Holden so fears. He sees what society does to people and does his best to avoid it. Maybe society has already turned us into phonies. I do not doubt that at all. We are stuck in the terrifying teenage years, soon to become adults. We may very well turn into phonies in a few years. If no one realizes what we are all becoming, it is understandable why Holden is institutionalized. No one sees what Holden sees, so people think he is merely a paranoid kid. Well, society, you are wrong (big shocker there).

I truly believe that Holden is a typical teenager that is discontent with the world he is living in. And well, if you saw the faults in society that he did, wouldn’t you too?! It is for that reason that I do not find Holden annoying. He is just like the rest of us, probably a little above us. He knows how phony the world truly is but cannot do anything about the predicament in which he finds himself. Time is going to turn him into what he hates the most.  If only Holden were real, he could probably make a difference in the world if people would hear him out. Holden, I will listen.

Before the beginning of this school year, my three favorite poets were Edgar Allan Poe, e. e. cummings, and Sylvia Plath.  Now, in May, that opinion still stands, even after being introduced to many new writers. Wow, I must be a depressing or crazed person.. For whatever reason, their poems (and whatever else they write) really speak to me. Although I must say, I felt a strong connection with Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art.” Despite that, the poem that really spoke to me was “Lady Lazarus.” Why exactly, I cannot fully explain because I do not even really know why it is so close to my heart. But it is. So, I warn you, this blog may contain some sensitive material because it is such a touchy subject. Bear with me please!

One aspect of the poem that really intrigues me is Plath’s boldness with the subject matter. While most people hide the topic of suicide in a dark corner, Plath brings it to the forefront. The first line of the poem expresses this audacity and sets the tone for the rest of the poem.  She comes out and says “I have done it again” in reference to her suicide attempts (Plath). It may be morbid, but Plath is not trying to hide her feelings and actions.  I find that admirable in a person, bizarre as it may be. The poem may be about a very touchy subject, but Plath deals with it in an insensitive manner. Despite this, I do not get the opinion that she treats the topic disrespectfully.  Plath merely states her mental state as it is in reality.

Another facet of the poem that I enjoy is the large Nazi metaphor. She draws a parallel between people striving for life and others searching for death.  She objectifies her body parts to show how she is really just a thing, a soul borrowing a body for awhile.  Just as she does in “Daddy,” she compares herself to a Jew. She is stuck in a place she does not wish to be, held against her will in a less-than-desirable state. “Herr Doktor” is in reference to the man that tries to keep her alive against her will.  Plath does not appreciate being forced to keep living, just like a Jew being forced into a concentration camp.

What I find especially interesting throughout this poem is the sense of control. Even though the poem is about such an emotional topic, the voice in the poem has a very restrained tone. Rather than coming out and saying she just wants to die, she puts it eloquently. The poem is bold, but readers do not feel as though Plath is ranting or throwing a tantrum about living. She just continues to live unwillingly. She does not get incredibly graphic or emotional about her various suicide attempts. Very plainly she states that “the second time I meant/ to last it out and not come back at all” (Plath).  Instead of adding frivolous words and emotions, she remains very calm and distant from the situation at hand. It just shows that her feelings are planned out, and she is not an overly impulsive woman looking for attention from suicide attempts.  That coolness makes Plath seem much more trustworthy and likable, even though she is suicidal. Plath is attempting to have a sense of control over her life by controlling when it will end. Her doctor, however, intervenes with her plans. Her language is restrained because she is searching for control within her life. The language is so controlled, making Plath seem a little more “normal.”

I feel like no amount of explaining will ever be able to fully exemplify why I love this poem so much. Its a combination of the language and the topic that just makes me want to smile. Yes, I did say smile. The topic may be morbid, but it intrigues me for some strange reason.  I do not get the sense that Sylvia Plath is completely completely crazy from this poem. It is too controlled and composed for it to be by an insane woman. She certainly was right in the head, as she did eventually succeed with her suicide.  Lady Lazarus was brought down by a mere oven.

Not to be cliche, but abnormal is a term that differs from person to person.  While abnormal to some may be purple hair or piercings, abnormal to me is a totally different thing. For me, abnormal is not an external quality. Another trite comment (sorry!) but it really is what is inside that matters. Abnormal cannot be defined by mental state but by deeper qualities.  In today’s world, an abnormal person is one that is truly selfless.  As far as Of Mice and Men is concerned, I believe there is only one abnormal character.  Contrary to what people may think, I do not believe it is Lennie.  Confused why? Let me explain…

Lennie is a completely normal human being, aside from having some sort of mental handicap. In a sense though, don’t we all? Lennie’s main concern in life is the rabbits he hopes to have when he George get their own farm. The rabbits are basically for his own enjoyment.  Lennie will tend to them because it is what he wishes to do.  Essentially, the dream is for himself. In a non-malicious way, he is very self-centered.  The quality that causes him to focus on himself and his dreams is a mere tactic for survival.  In most cases, those that focus on others all the time cannot watch out for themselves most often.  Readers see how devoted to himself and his dreams Lennie is with the incident with the girl in Weed.  Not being mentally capable to resist his urges, Lennie touches the girl’s red dress.  True to his nature, he does not think of any consequences that may result from touching her dress without her permission.  Lennie touches it for his own pleasure, a selfish quality.   Everything that Lennie does is to satisfy his own desires, not those of anyone else.  Now do not get me wrong for a second, Lennie does care about George.  Lennie does all that he does for George with the hope of getting his rabbits some day.  He is not a self-centered person in a negative way; it is just how all the men have to be on the farm.

George, the seemingly more normal of the two, is the abnormal one in my mind.  George is a selfless person that willingly takes care of Lennie.   The men on the farm are utterly surprised that George and Lennie travel together and “kinda look after each other” (Steinbeck 35).  To make it even more astounding, Lennie is mentally challenged.  Most men find companionship from Lennie, but I do not think that any of them would be willing to take Lennie around, knowing full well that they are going to be chased off nearly every farm.  Candy is the exception to that rule, as he plans to go with Lennie and George to own their own land.  One of the main reasons for that, though, is the American Dream they all have of owning their own piece of property.  Lennie and George are just kind people that can help fulfill that dream.  The entire novel is filled with examples of George being selfless because of Lennie.  He allows Lennie to keep the dream, never telling him that it will probably never come true. In that one simple way, he is the best friend Lennie can ever have. He constantly repeats the plan, even though Lennie knows it by heart.  At least for me, I cannot stand when I must repeat things, so George really cares for Lennie.  The greatest act of selflessness on George’s part is shooting Lennie. Even though he is reluctant to shoot his best friend, George goes through with it.  He knows that Lennie cannot survive in the world because in his mind exists this utopian world. George spares Lennie from the lynching mob by shooting him in a painless manner. It is truly selfless because George knows how much Lennie means to him yet still is able to remove him from his life forever.  He thinks of what is best for Lennie, not himself.  It is that true selflessness that makes George an abnormal character to me.

This is only my interpretation of normal and abnormal based upon my dismal view of the world. I believe that everyone is essentially all about themselves, whether or not they mean it in a negative way. So to me, George is an abnormal person because of his compassion for Lennie. Lennie is normal because although he does care for George, he is not selfless when it comes to him.  All Lennie thinks of are his rabbits. Truthfully, because he is such a sweetheart, I am alright with him being normal. But what really is normal??

Okay, so here goes.. I change my mind on the last blog.. Writers are born.. I am obviously not a poet.  Yeah, I know it is hypocritical to be sitting at a computer ranting about technology but deal with it please.

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by technology, the inanimate companion of the masses, hard, cold metal with no human response.

what allowed the glittering microchips that cause friends to leave friends, relationships ended and shattered by means of thin wires and radio waves.

what allowed lives to be destroyed by momentary lapses of judgment over the world wide web, innocent people turned into scandals, lives ruined over mistakes, freedom to do anything

what allowed faces to be taken out of friendships, just a name, never speaking aloud, speaking only through twenty-six square letters, never touching, never hearing, never seeing.

what allowed language to be obliterated and demolished and destroyed, ruined and pulverized by shortened words, no grammar, no punctuation,  no spelling, no care.

what allowed emotions to be turned into a flat screen, a two dimensional representation of feeling, simplified, made immature, turning powerful, life-changing emotions into a quick, meaningless i <3 u

what allowed a  machine to respond back i <3 u 2 because there is no one on the other side, a conspiracy that people can communicate without touching, hearing, seeing.

what allowed children, teenagers, women, men to be unable to speak to other children, teenagers, women, men in person, finding nothing to speak of if a screen is not placed in front of them.

what allowed a dependence on technology, machines, people becoming robots, enslaved to technology, bound to metal and plastic, shackled to the internet, consumed by facebook

what allowed no original thought, all found on the internet, no thinking for self, stealing ideas to achieve only what is required, a generation of slackers, tied to technology

what allowed sitting, staring, watching, waiting, downloaded, replying, sitting, commenting, tweeting, posting, blogging, emailing, sitting, sitting, growing old staring at a screen, waiting for the next response from a person they have never seen, sitting

what allowed a cellphone to be a drug, something a person cannot live without, breathe without, function without, the air to a teenager, without it, they perish

what allowed being informed to become unnecessary, all answers can be found on the internet, an endless mass of unhelpful advice teaching children immoral values

what allowed people to become robots, slaves to the mouse or phone in their hand, a lifeline to society, a set of floaties to a kid in the pool, a life boat to save the drowning

what allowed society to fail when the power goes out, a mob of mindless beings without their link to the world, zombies searching for an internet connection

what allowed personal relationships be taken out of business, taxes done online, bills paid online, boyfriends found online, girlfriends found online, pets found online, nothing found online

what allowed life to be taking out of living, beings existing solely to text, tweet, email, soulless bodies without any purpose other than to give internet, phone and electric companies money

what allowed people to stop acting like people, sloths on a recliner, consuming gallons of sugary pop and mountains of greasy potato chips, reading their “friends’” rants about their parents strict rules, a means for complaining

what allowed children to go behind their parents’ back without their parents knowing what is going on, a mouse oblivious to the fact it is being stalked by a house cat

what allowed society to shut down completely when the electricity is gone, an excuse for a free day if the computer is not working, a get-out-of-jail free card

what allowed the great brains of society be turned to mush by Candy Mountain, a communal watering hole for those that enjoy stupidity

what allowed society to turn into an impersonal machine, a corpse floating in the water of the world, dead to those without an internet connection.

Jack Kerouac has made generations of people question whether writers are born or made.  It is another one of those questions in the world that just cannot be answered, just like “The Lady or the Tiger.”  It is all up to the person for the interpretation.  Well, what happens when you get an indecisive person is, well, indecision. I just cannot decide. I see both sides of the argument, but I am leaning towards born.  Or am I leaning toward made? Ah!  Let me write it out to figure it out!!!

So the idea of writers being born is a totally valid statement.  As we pointed out in class, no one else but Shakespeare could have written Romeo and Juliet. Kerouac makes a valid point by saying that certain books were bound to come out of certain people. Much as others may try, they cannot duplicate the style and story of the famous writers.  Sure, most people can write, but not everyone is famous for writing.  The question then comes up, why are some famous and others not?  Surely, it is all publicity. Being famous does not make someone a good writer; in fact, publicity often kills a writer’s ability.  Some writers are definitely born to write.

For some others, writing is a learned behavior. Great writers can be made; they do not have to be birthed with a pencil and notebook in hand. I think the best example of writers being made is our class of English Honors 11. As compared with our ninth grade year, our writing has improved greatly.  That just goes to prove that writers can be made.  We were made into better writers. Maybe, just maybe, we are all born writers. But if we all are, that makes being born a writer much less special, so a born writer is not really any different from anyone else.

I think I have made up my mind as to whether writers are born or made. They are both. If a writer is not born a writer, they can be turned into a writer with proper instruction.   So as far as Kerouac being born or made, I will be honest. I have no idea!!! I do not know enough of his background figure out how much instruction he may have had. Overall, I believe he is a good writer. He may be born or he could have been made into a great writer. Either way, he can write, write well. I think that the question we should be asking is not if they are born or made, but what makes an exceptional writer?

I have discovered why J. Alfred Prufrock is alone; his last name is Prufrock. Not to be shallow or anything but…  Overall, I really enjoyed this poem.  It was so random and bizarre that it was comical.  I mean, there was a line where he asks himself, “Do I dare eat a peach?”   Well, Prufrock, I don’t know! Are you hungry??  When I first read the poem, I felt really bad for Prufrock. He is just a miserable guy that is rejected by multiple women. (The poor guy does not even know if he wants a peach!)  But as I reread this poem, I feel as though Prufrock is a miserable guy that likes to complain about his life. I do sympathize with him, but I feel he should be doing things to solve his problems.Throughout the entire poem, I feel that Prufrock is a man with a low self-esteem that enjoys talking about how low his self-esteem is. He keeps asking the question, “do I dare,” further stressing his obvious insecurity.  If he has to ask himself that, he has no confidence in himself.

So here is a little bit of life lesson with Aimee time! Drum roll please.

If you are not confident in yourself, find whatever will make you confident. For Prufrock, if a woman is what he needs to feel confident, then fake confidence to find a girl! Anyone can fake anything!!  All it takes is a little duct tape and intelligence!  Prufrock, if you are self-conscious, do whatever it takes to make yourself feel more confident. There may be a learning curve, but it can be done, no matter how low a person starts off.

If woman are looking for the perfect man, show them the benefits of the common man. Woman may be searching for the perfect man, but they themselves are not the perfect women.  No one wants someone to put them down for not being good enough.  You do not need to be perfect to find a woman. Truthfully, being perfect will make you less attractive to women.  In order to please a woman’s desire for the perfect man and the imperfect man, be both. Flaunt the attributes that you have to show the women how amazing you can be. But also do not be afraid to hide your faults. A woman will take comfort in knowing that the person she is with is just like her: human.

If women keep coming and going, let them. It is obvious they are not the right woman for you. If she is concerned only with your appearance, that is not a  woman you want to be with. Physical appearance should not be the defining factor in a relationship. If it is, get out now. Prufrock, you have what it takes to get the woman of your dreams, so go out and get her!  Do not worry about the ones that do not work out, they are insignificant.  And you must not forget, men “come and go” as often as women do.  Do not fear leaving a woman if they will leave you.  Show the upper hand in the relationship! You can do it!

So essentially, Prufrock has no serious character flaws that make him unable to find a respectable woman. He just has not found her yet. I think that is my problem with Prufrock. I understand that he is lonely and insecure. But he does not have the serious character flaw that he makes himself out to have. Prufrock, in all honesty, just complains to make himself seem less than he is. If he tells himself he has a flaw, it is easier for him to understand why he is alone.  The women in Prufrock’s life have the problems, not Prufrock!!!

After reading The Sound and the Fury for my research project, I thought I had enough Faulkner to last my life.  I am sorry, but no punctuation (including apostrophes) makes a novel very difficult to get through. The story was not bad, but I had a hard time getting through it because of the language. There is only so much the human mind can handle when reading something.  So when I found out we would be reading a little more Faulkner, I was not exactly the most excited person in the world. I vowed to keep an open mind when reading, and I am glad that I did. I actually really enjoyed “A Rose For Emily.”  Sure, it was creepy..really creepy.  But once you got past the abnormal necrophilia idea, it is a very good story. The story is most definitely about decay (hello, its Faulkner!) but the story also has a slight focus on time, the thing that has wrought the decay on his beloved South.

Quite obviously, this story is about the decay of the Emily, symbolizing the decay of the South. Faulkner loved the South and all it stood for, but he slowly watched it fall into disrepair.  The townspeople simply watch as Emily isolates herself in her death trap of a house.  When Emily buys the arsenic, most of the people in the town believe that Emily is going to kill herself.  They come to the consensus that “it would be the best thing” for her to do to herself (section 4).  It is obvious that the townspeople do not really believe in Emily and just want to leave her to her own devices. They simply permit her abnormal behavior and pass it off as Emily just being Emily. All of society is in on the idea of letting Emily do as she will.  They do not force her to pay taxes; they just give her the warnings that all people refusing to pay would receive. Honestly, they all see the decay of Emily, but they make no effort to try to prevent Emily from further deterioration.  Obviously the idea of Southern hospitality has died. The townspeople watch Emily decay, just as the rest of America watches the South decay.

There may not be a true cause of the deterioration, but time is certainly one aspect that contributes to the overall decay of Emily.  It is time that has taken her father away from her, and time that robs Emily of her life. Throughout the story, there are hints that decay is occurring, but readers do not get the whole scheme of it all until the end. That is the way Faulkner deals with time in the story.  Readers (at least me) started the story believing that she was old the entire time, then are told that she is in her thirties at one point.  Suddenly, Emily is back to being seventy-something.  Obviously, time does not work like that, but decay does.  At random intervals, Faulkner gives a detail of Emily’s decay, like the arsenic or the taxes.  Readers know that time is passing and Emily is deteriorating, but see little physical evidence of it. Because no one in the town makes any sort of attempt to help Emily, she decays with time.  Time is the ultimate enemy in the story, because time is necessary for decay to occur.  An illness took away time that Emily has and makes her appear like a young girl with short hair.  Just as the night is darkest before the dawn, Emily has a period of external youth before she turns into a being that causes the decay of Homer.  Time is what allows the decay to happen, and it is the bigger force working against the South.

Decay, literal and metaphorical, is so prominent in the story that it is astounding to believe the town and its people were not always so low.  The reason for that is time.  Time is one idea that Faulkner likes to attribute to decay, as shown in The Sound and the Fury. Quentin, a Compson brother, blames time for his sister’s loss of innocence. Time is what causes her to grow up and lose her virginity. Being a chivalrous man, a characteristic of the South, he believes his sister has become a fallen woman.  So, basically, Faulkner is blaming time for the deterioration of his beloved South.