“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman may appear to be different stories. They have a different plot, different characters and describe a different setting. However, they aren’t completely different in all ways. Both stories surround themselves on the theme of isolation, and how it can have negative effects on those with a mental illness. The stories are also similar through the creative use of diction in which through clear describing words, produces clever imagery to cast a photograph into the reader’s mind. These details help the reader to understand key concepts such as the setting and also how a character may be feeling in a certain scene. For example, if the scene is described as dull and depressing, the reader may be able to connect and relate this to how the character is feeling in their personal life.
Both of the short stories don’t state the topic of mental health bluntly, but the reader is able to read between the lines and pull out describing words hinting to this topic. This helps the reader to understand where the author was going with the text and also what lessons can be learned throughout. For example, in “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator is lying in a bed. She describes the setting as a cottage but the reader is able to believe she is actually in a psychiatric institution due to sentences such as, “the windows are barred, and there are rings and things in the walls.” The same unique descriptions are also shown within “A Rose for Emily” such as the incident when Miss Emily is confronted by city authorities over her taxes. When Emily is questioned in the text she states, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” a few times before having the authorities thrown out of her home. This is an alarm for concern because Colonel Sartoris had been dead for years. The reader is lead to believe that she may be losing touch with reali...