The song "Settle Down" by Kimbra vividly describes
how Emily from "A Rose for Emily" must have felt while she was alive.
The connection I made between the two was that they both dreamed of having a
family and a husband. In the music video one see that the singer dreams of
having a family because instead of having a real male in the video, there is a
manikin in his place. Both Kimbra and Emily are searching for their happiness
through marriage and having a family. The manikin in the video represents the
husband Kimbra dreams to have. As for Emily her dream husband, turned out to be
a fail. Just like in Emily's house, the house in the music video is decorated
lavishly with antiques to paint their individual picture of happiness. Also,
within the song lyrics I believe that Emily would be able to relate to Kimbra's
song because it illustrates Emily's desires through music. This was my second
time reading "A Rose for Emily" and I still firmly believe that Emily
murdered Homer because of the oppression she endured from the hands of her
father. All she ever wanted was to have a husband and a family, but in fear of
losing her chance because Homer has interest in men, she decides to kill him
and live out her fancy in her home because it is all that she has left. I think
we as people hold onto our dreams because it is the one thing we as a society
cannot take from one another. If one were to be push into a situation where
there dreams, hopes, and aspirations are dwindling at the edge of a cliff, one
will do anything possible to keep it alive. Maybe even harm someone in the
process. Do not mistake me for trying to justify Emily's action but simply as
something to think about.
Billy you have made a really great connection between the short story A Rose for Emily and the song Settle Down. I have never heard of this song by Kimbra. By your good reasoning on how they both connect, I decided to hear it for the first time. I am able to see how and why you connected the two. Even though the woman in the music video used a manikin it was easy to compare to Emily`s dream guy. Also, I like that you found something that related to the unkempt house. I agree with you on the purpose of her killing Homer. She did not want him happy with anyone else which led her to believe that the best thing to do is kill him.
ReplyDeleteBilly, I genuinely enjoyed reading your post due to its reflectiveness regarding the story "A Rose for Emily." I have personally never heard the song "Settle Down" before, but I found it to be very relative to the story in many ways. I agree with your view regarding Homers death and Emily murdering him, and the song seemed to relate very well with Emily's yearning for affection and love. Notably, the manikin in the music video seemed to perfectly symbolize the man that Emily wants, yet doesn't receive from Homer, which is what lead Emily to murder him and gain ultimate control.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the music video I could easily see where you saw how the two medias relate. It was actually a pretty accurate visual representation. Both women became obsessed with their fantasies to the point where a fatal end was deemed necessary. In the music video, the girl becomes jealous of the attention her dream man is receiving from another girl and ends up with a symbolic fight at the end. This parallels how, like you said, Emily kills Homer over the other interests he has. The difference is that instead of receiving attention from other girls he has an interest in men. But not only that, the video depicts a fight between the girls where Emily simply kills Homer.
ReplyDeleteBilly, You did a great job with making a connection between the song and the short story. I also did a song and I feel like songs can say just as much as a short story can. The women in the song seemed like she wanted the love just like Emily did in the short story. They both seem kind of crazy in away, they shouldn't be wanting to put their happiness in another mans hands. Although, they both seem to be doing that with no problem at all. Im glad you pointed out this music video and not just the song, because the music video really gave me a picture to the short story also which was awesome. Great job Billy!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Billy, That music video was honestly perfect in the way it could describe how Emily must have felt. I do not think that any other media outtake could have come as close as this one was with for the story “A Rose for Emily”. I watched the entirety of the music video and saw one other topic that we spoke about in class that relates with this story. We spoke of gender roles and how women should be able to cook, clean, and care for the house and husband. In the music video there is a point when one girl becomes jealous of another girl because she sees the man she loves with her. It then proceeds to show clips of the jealous young girl quickly cleaning the house, learning how to cook, and dressing up herself with makeup and jewelry. This just helps prove the point that this is how society sees women and what they expect from them. I do agree that both the song and story have the same goals and desires to live a normal happy life with a husband and family.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the story I did not catch that Homer liked men which threw my perception of the ending off a little bit. But I do have to say that I agree with you that Emily did kill Homer, he father put way too much restrictions and pressure on poor Emily.
I enjoyed your post, Billy. Great thinking, per usual.
ReplyDelete