Edgar Alla Poe .VS. William Faulkner
There so many writes in the world, but only a handful of them manage to be successful and original. Two of them succeed when the Gothic category was beginning. Edgar Alla Poe was considered part of the American Romantic Movement but was recognized for his mystery themes. William Faulkner, in the other hand, wasn't known for a category (romantic, mystery, etc.) in specific, he was known for his type (poems, novels, short stories, etc.) of writing.
Both of them like to be reflexive about the dark and dreary, but Poe is more specific about the details and aspects of his writing. For example, Faulkner uses symbolism with deep meanings in order to understand the reading while Allan Poe describes the characters explicit, physical manner. Faulkner's characters are psychological sensitive (the concept of changes torment Emily), the fact she keeps saying she had no taxes to pay because Colonel Santoris excused her family -which she ignored is dead-, she is sleeping for years with a dead man and refuses to give her old man's body to be buried. Poe's characters are physically affected; Madeline and Roderick Usher suffer actually diseases instead of emotional reactions.
Even when the story A Rose for Emily is situated in a community (a functional society), and the story The Fall of the House of Usher takes place in a isolated location, both are separated from people. Emily enters to the house to never go out again, and the Usher's family house is already forgotten by the society. Something that is very different between these two authors are the way they tell/narrate the story and how it ends. Faulkner's goes straight to the point while Poe makes you imagine and feel the mystery until the end. In a A Rose for Emily you know when and how the body was found and why she was acting like that; in The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe lets you know what's going on trough flashbacks and dialogues.
As for the endings; Edgar Allan Poe is such a traditionalist, he likes the chaos and leaving the door open for the reader to make out their own conclusions and deep thinking. Like when Madeline suddenly appears behind the door out of the nothing leading you to questions like: "how did she escape?" or "why exactly the house started to fall apart?". In contrast with William Faulkner which likes to offer the reader a satisfactory ending that sums up everything that once was had loose ends. Even when finding the body of Homer Barron in Emily's bed was quite a surprise it concludes her mysterious, nature behavior.
However we try yo keep finding common things between these two authors, all I can say is the most remarkable thing or only thing they have alike: the characteristic of the Gothic theme (decay, darkness, mystery . . . ). While Faulkner has in some point normal view, a connection between the character and the reader and an explanation for the behavior of the character, Allan Poe never explains (or tries to show a focus on the Usher's trying to be better persons), the setting is not realistic nor the characters can be related. In conclusion, I may say, Faulkner may be a fellow Gothic writer of Poe; but his last one has prove to be unique in all his writing techniques.
Always Yours - Lizangelyn :)
