Blog Post #2 Topic #1

The concepts of race and patriarchy have been an issue throughout the beginning of time in our country. In William Faulker’s “A Rose for Emily”, Miss Emily Grierson is seen as a prominent woman due to the unfortunate events she has endured and the color of her skin. George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” includes both concepts as well, although the English officer falls under the pressures of the Burmese people. Both stories portray race and patriarchy, but the authors illustrate them in similar, yet different, ways.
 The story of “A Rose for Emily” takes place in Jefferson, Mississippi, following the end of the Civil War. Even though the victory of the Union symbolized the beginning of the end of slavery, the townspeople of Jefferson, being Southern whites, still withheld the ideas of any other Southern state in this time period. The word “Negro” is used several times throughout the story, and is mentioned to describe Emily’s servant. The servant is noted to be “going in and out with a market basket” and leading many people in and out of Emily’s house on several occasions, implying the labor forced upon him. Miss Emily Grierson was of 30 years of age at this time, so she had already been instilled the idea of racial dominance and the usage of slavery. It is apparent that Emily was pitied due to the death of her father, enabling herself her be put on a “high pedestal”. Patriarchy is seen when Emily’s father rejected all men his daughter brought for approval of marriage, so she was left by her lonesome when he died. The citizens of Jefferson took on this “fatherly” role when strange smells and incidents starting coming from Miss Grierson’s home. Faulkner states, “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care…” They believe that she is incapable of existing without a manly figure and was “a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town…”
“Shooting an Elephant” takes place in a village in Moulmein, Burma, in the 1920’s. Following the Anglo-Burma wars, the British colonized Burma at this time for selfish reasons; they wanted access to resources the land offered. Britain tried to justify the colonization behind the fear they had that the French would take over Burma if they did not. The main character is the author, George Orwell, himself, who is a police officer and is stationed in the small Burmese village. He disagreed with the views of the fellow British people. “I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British,” Orwell stated. He was extremely despised by the villagers and was continuously made fun of. With the simple mention of his occupation within the story, Orwell had superiority over the Burmese. It is ironic that throughout the duration of the story, it is seen that he is affected by, and succumbs to, the pressure of the villagers, specifically when the infamous elephant rushes the town. Orwell originally had no intention to kill the elephant. The murder of the “Dravidian coolie” was not enough to persuade Orwell that the elephant deserved to be killed. Here, you notice the view that Orwell has on the race of the deceased, despite his view of imperialism. It was not until the mockery from the Burmese started, that he was convinced. The officer mentions, “But even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind.”
In both stories, the power dynamics of race and patriarchy are articulated. Faulkner’s fictional character, Miss Emily Grierson, displayed the stereotypical racist view of a white southern woman of that time and was shown pity by the town and law for the circumstance she was in. As for the story of Orwell, the concepts of patriarchy and race are expressed during the colonization of Burma, putting the Europeans as more dominant and superior to that of the Burmese.
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