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A Rose For Emily Essay

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Published in 1931, “A Rose for Emily”, is a short story written by William Faulkner. The story is set around 1894 in the Southern part of the United States. This story describes the life of Miss Emily Grierson. When the mayor had brought Miss Emily taxes, she told them that she had no taxes in Jefferson. Then the story changes to thirty years before when the townspeople were trying to tell Miss Emily about the smell of her house. Then she had gotten sick, and wasn’t seen for a long time, until she was seen with Homer Barron. Eventually, Homer Barron was never seen again, and neither was Miss Emily except inside her house windows. When Miss Emily died they went into her house and found a body that had been there for sometime. This story is …show more content…

One of the first symbols that is seen in the story is the invisible watch that is talked about on page thirty. The watch that Miss Emily wears to the meeting with the town officials symbolises how she does not want change, or time to pass. Another symbol shown in this story is Miss Emily’s house. Her house continues to stay the same during all the reconstruction that is going on in the South. This is shown in the story, “When the town got free postal delivery, Miss Emily alone refused to let them fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox to it”(35, 9th edition). This event, and the house alone symbolises again how Miss Emily resented change, and tried her best to not realize what was changing around her. Another symbol found in the story is the colors that the author adds. One color that is a symbol is found at the end of the story. On page thirty-six, it explains how the townspeople went into Miss Emily’s house and broke the door down of the room that no one had seen in forty years. When they broke the door down the colors of the walls were rose, and inside the room they found a man's body. The color of the room being rose symbolizes love, and the love Miss Emily had for Homer. While the symbols in “A Rose for Emily” are one reason that this story is the best, so are the themes that can be

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