Compare and contrast Matt's motives in "Killings" by Andre Dubus with Emily's in "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner.

Both "Killings" by Andre Dubus and "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner focus on premeditated murders. In "Killings", Matt Fowler kills the man who has shot his son. Fowler's friend Willis Trottier helps Fowler plan and carry out the murder. Richard Strout killed Matt Fowler's son, Frank, because Frank was having an affair with Strout's wife. Trottier owns a bar that Strout frequents; one night, he and Fowler wait for Strout to leave the bar so they can take him to an isolated road. There Fowler shoots Strout, and Fowler and Trottier bury his body in a grave they have dug days earlier.
In "A Rose for Emily", Emily Grierson also commits premeditated murder. She calmly buys arsenic at the drug store to poison her lover Homer Barron. While the story does not explicitly indicate that an accomplice is involved in Homer's death, it is possible that Emily's employee Tobe, who is the only other person in the house on a daily basis, may know that Emily has hidden Homer's corpse in her home.
However, the motives of Matt Fowler and Emily Grierson are quite different. Fowler cannot live with the idea that his son's killer, who has not yet been jailed for his crime, is free. He is hurt by the fact that his wife has encountered Strout in town, and Strout is able to enjoy his life before he reports to prison.
On the other hand, Emily has two motives for killing Homer Barron. Emily is angry that Homer is planning to leave her because she wants to marry him. More importantly, however, she does not want to be alone. By killing him and keeping his body in a locked room, she is able to sleep with his corpse for the rest of her life.
Though both stories focus on premeditated murder, the main characters have quite different motives for killing.


In "Killings," Matt Fowler shoots and kills Richard Strout because Strout has murdered his youngest son, Frank, in a premeditated act sparked by jealousy.  Matt's motive is pure revenge, and he has an accomplice in his friend Willis.  They carefully plan Strout's murder and cover up his disappearance.  Matt tells his wife, Ruth, what he has done.
In "A Rose for Emily," Emily Grierson kills Homer Barron with rat poison.  Homer was a Yankee with whom she had been seen publicly and was presumably in a romantic relationship, but her remaining family and people of the town judged it inappropriate.  Despite the fact that it looked like Emily and Homer would marry, the marriage did not happen, and Homer Barron disappeared after being seen going into Emily's house. Years later, Homer Barron's rotted remains are found in Emily's bed after she has died. 
The motives for the deaths are mostly dissimilar.  Matt kills Strout because he feels he must avenge his son's death. Emily Grierson's motives are less obvious, but it is arguable that she murders Homer because he is going to leave her.  Because Emily kept Homer's remains with her, it is possible that she had a pathological desire to keep their relationship "alive." Emily does not have an accomplice, and she tells no one of her crime.
It is also possible to argue that the murders are similar in that Emily's murder can also be seen as an act of revenge if she was angry at having her reputation ruined and being abandoned by Homer. Both murders are premeditated and covered up by the perpetrators. 

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