In literature we often encounter characters being influenced by an outside force. These influences are the exercises of a moral or a secret control over the actions of another. Usually brought about by a controlling or directing power based not on authority, but on social, moral, financial, or other forms of ascendency. Sometimes the power of privately controlling the acts of those in authority brings about persuasive capabilities. These influences can have a positive or negative effect on the characters' lives, depending on their reactions to the influence.
The effect of predominance is seen in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." "A Rose for Emily" is about a "stubborn and coquettish" (Pg. 479) girl trying to make her way as an independent woman after her father's tragic death.
In this work, Faulkner develops the idea that influences from our past and present affect our lives; making these influences work to our benefit creates prosperous lives, while continuing to believe in these influences after they are no longer applicable in our lives leads to twisted lives.
Influences have spanned back as far as man has existed. Even an animal can have social dominance over another animal. In the following quotation we see the influence of the father figure:
"We had long thought of them as a tableau; Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip." (Pg. 481)
This "horsewhip" (Pg. 481) is the legendary weapon used by American father to protect his daughter from unwelcome suitors. Just like the America fathers, Emily's father is influencing Emily to stay away from "all the young men." (Pg. 481) Even as Emily ages to a ripe age of "thirty" (Pg. 482) she still remains "single" (Pg. 481), because of her father's control over her love life. When Emily's father dies she "cling[s] to that which had robbe...