In the short stories, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “Killings” by Andre Dubus, the authors each have a unique way of putting together an engaging plot. The way each plot is arranged contributes to a reader’s response to what the author writes. This adds to the suspense in each story and elaborates on the motivation for the different killings in each of the stories. The authors’ use of characterization makes a reader see the characters as real people and can provoke empathy and sympathy. The motivations for the murders in each story seem to be very plausible. There are two main themes in these two stories; love and revenge. Matt, who is the main character in “Killings” and Emily, who is the main character in “A Rose for Emily,” both have different motivations for committing murder. However, both characters kill for love and revenge. Although both characters have differing motivations, there are many key similarities between Matt’s motive for murder and Emily’s. In both of these short stories, Matt and Emily share many differences regarding their motivations. They also have a lot in common.
In the beginning, both stories begin with a funeral. One is the funeral for Miss Emily Grierson, and the other is for Frank, Matt Fowlers, son. When Matt’s son is killed, it fills him with a lot of grief. His wife continually sees Richard, who is Frank’s killer. Matt is already distraught over his son’s death, so having Richard walk as a free man is a huge motivation for Matt to want to kill Richard. Emily, on the other hand, seems to have killed her potential suitor because she never wanted to be left alone. Her suitor was Homer Barron. Barron does not seem to be the only factor in Emily’s motivation to murder. Emily’s father appears to also play a role in how Emily’s mental health is. The townspeople “. . .remembered all the young men her father had driven away. . .” (Faulkner 57). Emily appears to have found a potential suitor after her father’s passing, but Emily feels the need to kill Homer Barron to prevent him from leaving. She seems to have the fear her father will chase them away even though he is gone. Emily also appears to have a hard time coping with the loss of her father. There was a lot of unresolved trauma Emily had not dealt with before meeting Homer Barron. If Emily wanted to stay with Barron forever, this was the only way they could both stay together forever.
Both Emily and Matt seem to have concluded murder would be the best way to execute their revenge, but each character’s reasoning is different. Emily does not seem to kill out of revenge; she looks to kill because she does not want to be left alone. Matt, on the contrary, wants to kill out of love for his wife and late son Frank. Matt wants revenge and wants Richard dead too. Both characters are not thinking clearly. Even though Matt and Emily have different motivations for the murders, both are killed for love. Matt loves his wife and Frank so much that he kills Richard. Emily loves Homer Barron so immensely, she did not want him ever to leave.
Matt is a more moral character and can be related to much more than Emily. Matt tells Richard “[w] I’ve got you a ticket, and a job. A friend of Mr. Trottier’s. Out West. My wife keeps seeing you. We can’t have that anymore” (Dubus 72). The way Matt gives Richard false hope he will live shows Matt has some heart. Matt giving Richard false hope plays a role in how a reader can sympathize with Matt. Also, this indicates Matt cares deeply for his wife and invokes more sympathy from the reader. He seems to be conflicted about whether or not he truly wants Richard dead. Matt has flashbacks of the murder he committed, and it replays in his head, which implies Matt feels guilty about the crime he committed.
As a reader, the way Matt has grief at the end of the story makes one also feel sympathy for Matt because he only did this to protect his wife. One of the other reasons one may feel more sympathy towards Matt is because he seems to have been murdering for a better reason than Emily was committing murder. Unlike Emily, Matt kills a killer. This is entirely different and adds to the sympathy towards Matt because it seems as though he is doing the right thing because he really cares for his family. Many readers may also be empathetic towards Matt because of his dedication to his family.
On the contrary, Emily seems not to feel any remorse. This can only be implied because she never leaves her home, so one cannot surely know what Emily was feeling. After the death of Emily, the townsfolk go to her home and “. . .noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. . .[and] a long strand of iron-gray hair” (Faulkner 61). It is implied that Emily was lying next to Homer Barron’s corpse for a long time. Emily does not show much remorse for the killing of Barron. The way Emily does this does not seem to be something a normal stable person would do.
During Emily’s life, Emily also seems like a cold character. She is seldom seen outside of her home and seems to keep to herself. She looks to isolate herself more than Matt. Matt seems to be more immersed in his family. She is not friendly to the people in her town. This also does not add to a reader’s ability to sympathize with her. A reader may be able to feel some sympathy towards Emily because of the way her father treated her but does not seem to be a reason to go and kill an innocent man. This may make a reader uncomfortable and not feel as sad for Emily.
Overall, there are many similarities between Emily's and Matt’s motivations for murder. The theme of love and revenge is present throughout both stories. Each character justifies the killings in different ways. Emily and Matt both appear to have concluded the only way to resolve their problems is to kill. Matt seems to justify murdering because of his family. His motivations for the killing of Richard are much more plausible than Emily’s killing.