Larry P.

mayor in particular showed great compassion for Emily. After her father had passed away the

and she inherited the family house but no wealth, the mayor found a way to exempt her from a

housing tax while managing to keep her dignity in tact. Often many wondered why the Germans

during World War Two were called krauts, the Vietcong in the Vietnamese Conflict Charlie, or

the Iraqis in Operation Iraqi Freedom hadji. It is because the more the negative connotative

nickname is used, psychologically the less you will see your foe as a human being. Making

neutralizing the enemy a muscle memory with no thought involved. For Emily, she was not seen

as a peer or a human being, but when the community found she had no wealth they found her to

have problems like everyone else, a peer and a human being. Faulkner is not especially known

for being a humanist, but his work reflects his concern of fellow human beings.

William Faulkner was not perfect, in his early teenage years he started drinking

alcohol, which progressed into alcoholism and further drinking until the day he died. He lived in

turbulent times in a country near the brink of civil unrest. His work a mirror of his experiences

combined with his ability to think abstractly, though not written in formal diction like Finnegan's

Wake the effect is just as profound. With Faulkner's work there is no mistaking mercy for

compassion, sorrow for another human being, as we are all one.