Outsiders and Communities

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how the Shakespearean play "Hamlet", William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily", and Robert Frost's poem "Design" all have a person who is alienated from his, her, or its community as their central figure. The paper illustrates how rather than becoming increasingly integrated with the rest of the community, the central character finds him or herself ostracized from what might constitute society. The paper demonstrates how only by studying outsiders like Hamlet, Emily and the spider, which stand outside of their worlds, does the arbitrary nature of our own morality become clear.

From the Paper:

"Hamlet stands apart from the Danish court, and Miss Emily stands apart from her town. Emily sense of separateness is reinforced by William Faulkner's usual choice of narrating her tale from the collective point of view of the town, using the second person pronoun "we." Unlike Hamlet, this allies the reader with the townsfolk, rather than with the outsider. That Emily is an outsider is clear, however, by her unrelenting sense of entitlement. Emily believes that she should not have to pay taxes. Even when she has lost her beauty, she says in no uncertain terms: ""I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." University of Virginia. E-text. [30 Apr 2006] http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/wf_rose.html
• Frost, Robert. "Design." 1936. E-text. Poetry by Design. [30 Apr 2006] http://www.starve.org/teaching/intro-poetry/design.html
• Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." MIT Shakespeare Homepage. [30 Apr 2006] <http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/hamlet/>

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