Ambiguity In English Literature

During the Early Modernism literary period, optimism was at a low point. This was partially due to World War One coming to an end and the Great Depression severely hurting people’s lives during that time period. Authors during this time period wrote immensely in their stories about how events affected people in negative ways. Using moral ambiguities, writers were able to express the wide range of personality traits that people had. The characters that will be described in this essay include Julian, from the short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, Harold Krebs, from “Soldier’s Home”, and Emily, from “A Rose for Emily”. The ambiguities described in these stories, which includes thoughtfulness and obliviousness, self-sufficiency and

Emily lived in a town in which she was looked up to. But after her father died, she felt lonely for some time. She then finds someone she loves very much. However, he did not love her back because he was gay. His name is Homer Barron. The townsfolk were talking about what was going on with Emily and what they believe will happen in the future. They predicted that “ ‘...she will marry him.’ Then we said, ‘she will persuade him yet,’ ” (Faulkner 7). The townsfolk talking about the relationship that is taking place between Emily and Homer shows how much love they have for each other. Earlier in the story, after her father died, the townsfolk were again talking about her, this time about her being alone. Her loneliness can be seen in the quote “When her after her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to her… Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized, ” (Faulkner 4). The death of her father instantly left her alone as she had no other family members living with her and did not have any close friends. The loneliness that Emily has after her father’s death and the love she receives from Homer are evidence that she changes as different events occur around