Readers’ Perceptions of Gender, Use of Stereotypes and Identification with Literary Texts : Selected South African High School Students’ Responses on “A Rose for Emily”

Selected South African high school students’ perceptions of stereotypes in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” are the center of attention in an attempt to establish or refute the existence of a uniform interpretation in the interpretive community. The textual reader responses were collected by using a questionnaire. The results show that the respondents use stereotypes to understand encounters with literary texts and as tools to connect the content of the text with their own experiences. The stereotypes also provide a framework for the readers to position themselves with or against the text... Mehr ...