A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner and the Five-Forty-Eight by John Cheever - Essay Example

Emily poisons Homer, killing him, though keeping his body with her in their house. After Emily herself dies, many years later, it becomes apparent to the townsfolk that Emily had slept beside the dead corpse of Homer until she herself died. Her insanity over her need to be with Homer drove her to murder and a life void of everything except for her beloved. Miss Dent, in “The Five-Forty-Eight”, becomes insane after being fired by her boss after a one-night stand. She seeks revenge by stalking him on a train, armed with a gun.

Even though Blake, Miss Dent’s boss is of a more sound mind than Miss Dent, it is obvious through the story that Miss Dent is more aware and perceptive of her surroundings. Again, feeling the weight of something devastating to her, the main female character falls into a state of insanity and acts out on it. As with Emily in the previous story, Miss Dent acts out in a dangerous way, harming others around her. The two short stories share the common theme of insanity. The story of each woman is different and unique.

In the same way, the ways these women act out on their insanity is also unique to the individual. The only other similarity between the two is that they both used harmful and, in regard to Homer, fatal methods to express their insanity and their feelings about the situations that they found themselves in.