Literature and Aspects of the Human Experience

Literature and Aspects of the Human Experience Literature offers a unique view into the human experience. Writers share their ideas about life through language, literary devices, and imagery. The human experience of love is one that every person can relate to. Three examples of literature that share this theme of love are: “A Rose for Emily”, “Love Song”, and “A Doll’s House”. Although some of the stories deal with family and parental love, this paper will focus on the aspect of romantic love. In the story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner romantic love was between Emily and the doomed Homer Barron; the poem “Love Song” by Joseph Brodsky gives the declarations of a man in love; and finally in the drama “A Doll’s House” Nora is fighting for the romantic love of her husband Torvald Helmer. Love is a shared theme in these stories, and the literature portrays this human experience in ways that allow the reader to better understand the mystery of romantic love.

Romantic Love The story of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner tells the sad tale of Emily Grierson. The story opens with Emily’s death. Her mortality sets the mood for this story of loss and sorrow. Although Emily has issues with parental and family love in this story the theme of romantic love is one that is truly tragic. Emily is the protagonist of the story. Her desire for love leads her to Homer Barron. Mr. Barron has come to Emily’s southern town to help in paving sidewalks. The ladies of town who still perceive Emily as part of a high society southern family do not believe that Emily could consider Homer Barron, “of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer” (Barnet, Cain, & Burto, 2011, p. 241, para. 2). Emily does fall in love with Homer. Unfortunately the story leads us to believe that Homer was not seriously interested in Emily. “Homer himself had remarked – he liked men, and …he was not a marrying man” (Barnet, Cain, & Burto,