Essay about A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner

When Miss Emily finds somebody, though, it quickly pushes her to desperation. Her relationship with Homer Barron is a result of the life and death of her father. Ironically, he is a northern, roughneck Yankee, the exact opposite of any connection a Grierson would consider. Unsuspectingly, Emily is attracted to him, which is an oddity itself considering her lack of personality and his obvious charisma, for “whenever you [hear] a lot of laughing...Homer Barron [will] be in the center of the group” (560). He is also the first man to show an interest in her without her father alive to scare him off. The town is doubtful that the pair will remain together, but Emily's attachments are extreme, as seen when she would not surrender her father's body. The circumstance exhibits how her feelings are greatly intensified towards Homer. However, he is “not a marrying man” (561). When it appears as though he will leave her, she kills him with poison. While seemingly the opposite effect of love, killing Homer is quite in line with her obsession. If he is dead and she keeps Homer all to herself, Emily will never lose him; he can never leave her. Other such details that express her extreme attachments appear as she buys him clothes and toiletries before they are even considered married. There is also the revelation at the end of the story that she has been keeping his body for over thirty years and sleeping with it, clearly demonstrating her overt desperation

In the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, Emily, the protagonist, is shown as someone who’s life is falling apart and brought down by society. Emily in this story could be described as a victim to society and her father. Emily Grierson’s confinement, loss of her father and Homer, and constant criticism caused her, her insanity.

“Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 1). Emily, a member of the town’s elite class, relied upon her father when growing up and after his death, she refused to pay her taxes, stating that her father contributed much to society. But it was evident that she didn’t pay them because of a lack of maturity - financially and socially. When she was younger she pushes herself onto Homer Barron, a Northerner with no interest in marriage. Throughout the story, Emily is conflicted over societal change, and clings to her privileged manner even after finding herself in poverty. Yet, she becomes involved with a man from a lower social class, and a Northerner as well - hinting that he has different beliefs and values. The townspeople, however, believe the relationship it too modern when there is a possibility they are having physical relations despite not being serious about marriage. The community’s inability to commit to progress, contribute to the confused Emily’s decision. In A Rose for Emily, Faulkner uses the symbolism of Emily’s house and her hair to demonstrate her emotional instability and physical deterioration, illustrating the outcome of his story.

The treatment by Emily’s father affected her as an adult in many ways. I feel that her father actions caused her to isolate herself from society and not able to adapt to change. In the story, “A Rose for Emily”, Emily lived with her father and had little interactions with anyone else. Emily’s father was very controlling over her life by not allowing her to do things on her own, which resulted in Emily being reserved from society. Her father kept her shielded, and believed that no young man was good enough for his daughter. The narrator stated, “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will” (Faulkner, 1931, 84). After his death

Grierson's life to symbolize Southern aristocracy. For example, when she tried to buy poison from the druggist, she had that air of superiority about her that demonstrated her supposed position of authority, which was illustrated when the druggist submitted to her demands and got her the poison (35). Another example is when Emily remits the taxes being imposed on her by the newer generation (33). The townspeople respect that fact that she is an aristocrat. That is why they are very hesitant when it comes to defying what she wants. Also since the story was told in the point of view of the townspeople, we are able to grasp the idea of the slow decline of the customs of the “Old South” as the townspeople continue to move forward. From Emily's point of view, she might still be thinking that the customs from the “Old South” are still active and is not declining at all, since she is someone who is unwilling to accept change. This in turn leads to her slow demise as she is unable to adapt to the changes in the newer generations. However, when Ms. Grierson dies, so do her traditions and customs, basically symbolizing the decay of Southern aristocracy of the town and the start of change that the newer generations will

Miss Emily is a testament to the Civil War, having been born before or during the War. She bridges the years before the war and the turn of the century, symbolizing the values of the Old South and its resistance to change during the decades following the war. The Griersons had been an important family

However, the story portrays Emily Grierson as a fallen victim to her father and society. Her overprotective and domineering father had prevented Emily from dating with the opposite sex in the past. Moreover, the Jefferson’s society continued to dictate its rules, “Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer,” and “there were still others, older people, who said that even grief could not cause a real lady to forget noblesse oblige – without calling it noblesse oblige” (519). While she was dating Homer Barron, the Jefferson’s society interfered, and “the minister’s wife wrote to Miss Emily’s relations in Alabama, so she had blood-kin under her roof again and we sat back to watch

Some of the ladies in town finally decides to send the Baptist Minister to Miss Emily to wade in this situation. According to the text, when the minister returned he never spoke of the visit, visibly shaken, and no one in the town forced the issue (Faulkner 539). The sole concern is Emily’s break with tradition to get into a relationship with a commoner. According to the text, “of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer” (Faulkner 538). The townspeople decide that Emily is a disgrace to traditions for stooping low to court a commoner.

Emily Grierson had a rather normal childhood. She was a young, southern girl whose family was made out to be a lot more extravagant than reality actually represented. Pride was something which she stressed was quite important in her family. She felt the pressure to keep the family pride going. From her description, her town seemed to be one where women were brought up to be quite narrow minded and controlled. Emily herself was controlled by her father, a man who pushed others away who tried to please Emily. None of the men that would present themselves to Emily were seen as acceptable by her father. She seemed

The family of Emily, the Griersons, was a very influential and important family in Jefferson. The townspeople seem to obey a certain hierarchy within which Emily was highly placed.

Greirson knew that, saw it in Emily and thus the reason that she was kept in confinement her whole life.

Miss Emily is an elderly lady who lives alone in a nice home with a African-American butler Tobe. She is a mysterious lady who changes her attitude from being a vibrant and hopeful young lady to a secretive old women. Her father, Mr. Gierson had rejected many of those potential suitors because he still wants Miss Emily to be under his control. After Miss Emily's father death, she went devastated and the townspeople had some sympathy for her. However, she spends some quality time with a new comer Homer Barron but his chances of marrying her decreases throughout the years. Miss Emily shows insanity and serene to validate her life.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily Grierson is the main character who represents the old values and traditions of pre-Civil War who is faced with the new values and traditions that challenge everything she has ever known. The very first description we get of Emily is the reason people attend her funeral: “the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (Faulkner 168) which immediately gives the reader an idea of her being from a past time. Her family’s home is the last remaining building from the town Emily grew up in because “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood” (Faulkner 168). The first major example of Emily’s inability to conform with the new traditions is the revoking of Colonel Sartoris’s tax deal. The old tradition pitied her after her father’s death, but the new tradition didn’t value this and sent her a tax notice every year to which she always sent back. When the sheriff visits to collect the taxes, Emily insists that he needs to talk to Colonel Sartoris who has been dead for 10 years. This delusion shows that Emily is unable to come to terms with the end of the old values. In section II of the story, Emily is trapped as being the last of the Griersons due to her father’s death before he chose a suitor for her. The town “believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner 170) and this combined with the old tradition of the

In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the protagonist, Emily was a young lady who lived in a companionless individuality. Within of the story there were several things that caused her to be lonely throughout her whole life. Emily’s conflict is with the society. Her dad was one of the main problems, or so I’ll say a disturbance for her. He always wanted her to live the lonely life and give all her attention to him and only him. Once the passing of her father, she didn’t want help from anyone. She practically kind of shut herself out from the world. “That was when people had begun to feel really sorry for her. People in our town, remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy at last, believed that the Griersons

In "A Rose for Emily" (451) William Faulkner brings life to a gothic tale of eerie and gruesome murder, in the name of love. Miss Emily, a southern bell turned old maid, finds her heart's desire in a northerner of little social value. Emily breaks all the rules of society and keeps her beau. Poison, intrigue, murder, and just plain crazy come together to make this short story creepy and amazing. Research will show through character analysis, theme and symbolism how Faulkner brought the Deep South's blind loyalty to the masses.