Toxic As he sat there in the sand, Clint looked out over the ocean and contemplated the events of the last few days. She was really gone for good this time, and no amount of bargaining with God would bring her back. Clint stood up and brushed himself off. What more could he have done to make her stay? He could not just let her go; not without a fight anyway. He had to go back home and make her see reason. Emily could no longer be with Clint. She realized she had to get away and be safe; and the only place that provided that comfort to her was back home with her mother. She hurriedly gathered her clothes and what belongings she could fit in her car, knowing he would be back soon. He never did leave her out of his sight for too long. …show more content…
Her mother only lived a few towns over, but the drive would give her a chance to collect herself and clear her head a bit. She turned on her radio; “Music always helps,” she thought. With the radio cranked and her windows down, Emily began to put this horrible mess that had somehow become her life in her rearview mirror. Clint pulled into the driveway and immediately knew. Her car was gone and he recognized this was the gone-for-good kind. He went into the apartment just to make sure and found a note laying on the kitchen table. Clint picked it up and walked into the living room, surveying the emptiness that was beginning to overflow around him. As he sat down on the couch, he could hear Emily’s voice as he read her words to himself, …show more content…
I knew this was where I needed to be.” “Come on inside, honey. Let me make you some tea and you can sit and relax, we can unpack your stuff later.” “That sounds like a fabulous idea,” said Emily, as her and her mother walked arm-in-arm into her childhood home. This was right where she needed to come to lick her wounds—those on the outside just as much as those on the inside. Emily was in the living room enjoying her tea, flipping through an old family photo album while Ruth was in the kitchen preparing dinner for the two of them when they both heard the sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway. As Emily pulled back the curtain, her heart leaped into her throat; it was Clint. “Mom, it’s him!” Ruth turned from the sink and headed to the front door just as Emily was getting up off the couch. Why did he have to come here? Emily thought, why couldn’t he leave just well enough alone? It felt like thunder crashing when Clint stormed in the house just as Ruth was arriving at the door. “Get out of my house, Clint!” “No, Ruth. Listen, I just wanna talk to her. This has nothing to do with you…Em, where are you,
Before the murder, Ruth had concerns about her son Frank’s relationship with the killer’s estranged wife and fears the worst for her ...
After a long day of hard labor, Emily would gather her three children from Pete’s tent, and would march them to the boxcar outside of the carnival gates, which served as their home. Seldomly, after a long day of work, Emily would sometimes come and stand beside the piano Josh played, and listen to Josh’s music. Most of the times, Emily would smile and say nothing, but one particular night, Emily leaned forward and whispered to Josh, “You have a gift. Don’t let these hard times make you lose sight of it.” These encouraging words reassured Josh, a reassurance he desperately needed.The first couple of weeks working at the carnival, Josh slept restlessly. After Lonnie
She thought about her family, and the neighbors, and the town, and the dogs next door, and everyone and everything she has ever met or seen. As she began to cry harder, she looked out the window at the stores and buildings drifting past, becoming intoxicated suddenly with the view before her. She noticed a young woman at the bus stop, juggling her children on one side of her, shielding them from the bus fumes.
It has changed from feeling sorry for this woman to thinking she is going to murder someone. Near the end of the story, after describing Miss Emily’s life, Faulkner catches up to the present day where Miss Emily has died. He explains how Emily’s cousins came once they heard of her death and buried her. The cousins all walked into Miss Emily’s room, which greeted them with a bitter smell.
When her Father dies, Emily cannot bury him because she feels like she has finally tamed him. Emily's father can no longer controll her. With his demise, Emily is now in control of her life, and in control of her father. The day after Emily's father died, the local women pay a visit to Emily. "Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her fac...
life and looked for a way to gain her freedom. Emily must endure her fathers
Having to send Emily in her early days to live with her father was a burdensome nuisance. All of Emily's father's attributes were rubbing off on her, "all of the baby loveliness gone," (p.
She then shifts to discussing TV shows that bring family members together such as Sally Jesse Raphael or Oprah. As the mother imagines what it will be like when her daughter comes home, she brings out the imagery of tears and wrapped arms, and since we have all seen these shows, the reader can see the stage set up with four chairs and the daughter waiting for the parents to come out on stage. We can see the look of surprise on the daughter's face as they come out onto the stage. She has not seen her daughter, Dee, for a while and imagines b...
Before even truly greeting her mother and sister, Dee takes photo after photo, artfully framing every shot with both her mother and the house that she loathes, but never allowing herself to be in the picture. This was D...
Emily was lying in bed when all of a sudden she heard a loud knock on her door in the middle of the night. She went to go see who it was and fortunately it was her good old friend Johnny Surrat whom she hadn't seen in a long time, Johnny had said he was away on business, well he came in and he talked to her and asked how her and her mom were surviving since their slave had been set free before President Lincolns death. He gave her twenty gold pieces and said he was on an important mission and that he didn't know when he would be back. Emily lived with her mother who was dying. And she took care of her mother till the day she died. When her mother died at first she was kind of relieved that it was all over yet she really missed her mom. Before her mother had died, her mother told her whatever she did not to go live with her uncle but her uncle somehow got legal custody of her. And she was sent to go live with him. Her uncle said that he was a doctor and he had many patients that would come to his house and he would help many people and she always wondered why her mom hated him so much he seemed like a good man.
Similar to “they” who lend advice to Emily’s mother, strangers and institutions also pertain to choice. Specifically, Emily’s mother’s decision to repeatedly send Emily away emphasizes the consequences of such choices and the concept that one’s environment may automatically make choices for them. Emily’s mother does not have a choice in where Emily stays, for in order to even remotely provide for Emily, she must find a job and work most of the day. For example, Emily’s mother must leave Emily with an unappreciative neighbor as she “work[s] or look[s] for work” (Olsen 2). This is ironic in the fact that her work simultaneously provides for Emily and puts greater distance between them. Nonetheless, as a consequence of the choices Emily’s mother
She continues in this sequel to talk about the abuse she faced and the dysfunction that surrounded her life as a child and as a teen, and the ‘empty space’ in which she lived in as a result. She talks about the multiple personalities she was exhibiting, the rebellious “Willie” and the kind “Carol”; as well as hearing noises and her sensory problems. In this book, the author puts more emphasis on the “consciousness” and “awareness” and how important that was for her therapeutic process. She could not just be on “auto-pilot” and act normal; the road to recovery was filled with self-awareness and the need to process all the pieces of the puzzle—often with the guidance and assistance of her therapist. She had a need to analyze the abstract concept of emotions as well as feelings and thoughts. Connecting with others who go through what she did was also integral to her
Emily attempts to recapture her past by escaping from the present. She wants to leave the present and go back to a happier past. Miss Emily wants to find the love she once knew. “After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all” (243). Emily alienates herself from everyone when the two people she has loved most in her life go away. She becomes afraid to grow close to anyone in fear of losing them again.
comes near his daughter. After living like this for so many years, Emily is left with
Growing up Emily’s father, Mr. Gierson, made her stay in the house and not socialize with others. He taught her that he was only trying to protect her from the outside world. Mr.Gierson was a rude man who felt that things should go his way; therefore, his daughter hopelessly fell for him because she did not know any oth...