Compare contrast essay Essay

Novelist Paul Sheldon has plans to make the difficult transition from writing historical romances featuring heroine Misery Chastain to publishing literary fiction. Annie Wilkes, Sheldon’s number one fan, rescues the author from the scene of a car accident. The former nurse takes care of him in her remote house, but becomes irate when she discovers that the author has killed Misery off in his latest book. Annie keeps Sheldon prisoner while forcing him to write a book that brings Misery back to life. Compare & Contrast Essay â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by: William Faulkner & â€Å"Misery† by: Stephen King I’ve chosen to compare & contrast â€Å"A Rose for Emily† By: William Faulkner with â€Å"Misery† By: Stephen King, Obsessive women, broken ankles, trapped men & Suspenseful endings both of these stories have a lot in common. In Stephen King’s â€Å"Misery† A Famous Novelist named Paul Sheldon is transitioning his writing from Romance to Fiction. While on his way to Colorado from his winter hide away he is in a horrific car accident brought on by the harsh weather conditions. Thankfully the writer’s number one fan and former nurse Annie Wilkes lived nearby and saved Paul from freezing to  death. Annie Wilkes just like Miss Emily Grierson lived isolated and away from the world, though Miss Emily lived in the town & Annie Wilkes didn’t Miss Emily Isolated herself socially by not leaving her home nor opening the door when people of the town came by. Annie However, actually lived in an isolated cabin in the mountains. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily† people of the town feel sorry for her because after losing her father (page: 207 she was sick for a long time), But not long after they began seeing her with a gentle man named Homer Barran. A construction worker who had come into town to pave the sidewalks. After a year of being with Homer the towns folk began saying they would marry even though Homer claimed to like men (page: 209, He was not a marrying man). One evening after  ending their relationship Homer went to see Miss Emily using rat poison she killed him and let everyone believe he left and went on with his life while she hid his remains. Annie Wilkes didn’t kill Paul Sheldon, but took advantage of the fact that he had been put in critical condition due to the car accident she removed him from. For weeks she held him captive until he gave her favorite novel the proper ending it deserved. After noticing his several, sneaky attempts to escape Annie straps Paul to the bed and cripples him by breaking both his ankles with a sledge hammer. Both of these women felt the need to keep these men hidden, trapped, and injured so they may stay with them forever. Miss Emily trapped Homer in death to stay with her since he had no interest in marrying her. In â€Å"Misery† Prior to having his ankles broken Paul finds newspaper clippings of previous victims of Annie where she was never convicted, He then realizes he may be next on her list. Soon after crippling Paul an officer drops by to see if Annie was aware that Novelist Paul Sheldon was missing and they were searching for him. Paul hears the officer and yells for help when Annie hears his screams she kills the officer and Paul is left once more to endure her gruesome punishment. Neither one of the men could predict what was going to happen to them, but Homer didn’t endure being tortured nor was he held captive for weeks. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily† Miss Emily was never caught nor suspected for the  disappearance of Homer. After the death of Miss Emily and after her services the town folk were curious to see  the inside of her home. (page 211, there was one room that no one had seen in forty years, and which would have to be forced). After entering the room they noticed mens toiletries, suits, ties and a pair of shoes even more so they noticed the man in her bed, His well over rotten body lay there in a nightshirt and next to him they could see where Miss Emily would lay beside him every night after his death. Unlike Miss Emily Annie didn’t get away with what she did to Paul, after killing the officer Paul tricks her into buying Champagne and cigars to celebrate the return of Misery, while setting up for their night of celebration Paul lights the re-written novel on fire and throws it. Annie begins to put out the flame when Paul slams his typewriter on the top of her head and shoves pieces of the burned novel pages into her mouth, she then dies of a fractured skull. Sometime after Paul is rescued by police. Both of these stories where great and though they are in different settings the characters shared similar physiological problems and depression. I think if both of these women met and could ever be in the same story there would be gory, suspenseful, torturing of men. I would like to read a book where Stephen King and William Faulkner write a story sharing both their ideas, I think it would be very interesting, thrilling and great to read.