How much of what we learn as children affects us as we get older? This question is answered in the literary works “Stalking” by Joyce Carol Oates and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. Both authors attempt to explain this using their main characters, Oates' Gretchen and Faulkner's Miss Emily Grierson. Gretchen and Miss Emily use different ways to deal with their problems. Gretchen uses her invisible opponent and Miss Emily uses Homer, even after killing him. They don't have the best social skills and in trying to interact with people they demonstrate how socially inept they are. Gretchen mumbles or completely ignores others. Miss Emily, although polite, simply dismisses the city authorities on two separate occasions. Both characters have been cut off from the normal world. Gretchen was ignored by her parents; Miss Emily is blocked from normal human interactions by her father. Although both characters deal with their loneliness and interact with people in different ways, they support the idea that how we are taught how to behave socially affects us for the rest of our lives. Gretchen and Miss Emily both made their own contact with another human figure. Gretchen created an invisible adversary that she chased into her new town. “Gretchen, walking slowly, deliberately, watches with her keen, unblinking eyes the figure of the invisible Adversary at some distance” (Oates 188). Although she created this humanoid in her mind, it doesn't help with her inability to create normal human relationships, without knowing it, she pushed herself further into isolation. Gretchen is also in a new city. “But the gas station hasn't been open since Gretchen and her family moved in here about six months ago” (Oates 189).......half of the paper...socialites have almost done a complete tour. They're both trying to create a relationship with something they can't really connect with. Gretchen created her Invisible Adversary while Miss Emily attempted to keep her father's corpse and then Homer Barron's body in her home. There is a difference in the communication skills of the two women, Gretchen tries to ignore as much as possible and Miss Emily politely sends people away. Even with this, Miss Emily offers a possible glimpse into what the future has in store for young Gretchen. Works Cited Oates, Joyce Carol “Stalking.” Discovering literature. AND. Guth, Hans and Gabriele Rico. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice Hall. 1991. 187-193. Print.Faulkner, William. “A rose for Emily.” Discovering literature. AND. Guth, Hans and Gabriele Rico. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice Hall. 1991. 165-172. Press.