A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner Essay

Her kindness and generosity doesn’t go unreturned by her neighbors though. As her description of the hog’s head shows. Her neighbors obviously really like her, enough to give her a hogs head with a surplus of meat, one that most people would save for themselves, much less give away for free and refusing any payment at that. It can also be said that she is not too proud to accept help from others, a trait that is very often thought to be possessed by those living in the more southern parts of the

An important idiosyncrasy of Emily's that will help the reader to understand the bizarre finale of the story, is her apparent inability to cope with the death of someone she cared for. When deputies were sent to recover back taxes from Emily, she directed them to Colonel Sartoris, an ex-mayor that had told her she would never have to pay taxes, and a man that had been dead for ten years. Years before this incident, however, after her father had died, she continued to act has if he had not, and only allowed his body to be removed when threatened with legal action. Considering the fate of her lover's corpse, one suspects she would have kept her father's corpse also, had the town not known of his death.

In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Emily becomes a minor legend during her lifetime. After her death, when her secret is revealed, hers becomes a story that no one can forget. "A Rose for Emily" is the story of the old maid who fell in love with a northerner, but resisted being jilted once too often. And only after her death, "When the curious towns people were able to enter her house at last, did they discover that she had kept her dead lover in the bed where she had killed him after their last embrace." (Kazin 162) . "In her bedroom, Emily and the dead Homer have remained together as though not even death could separate them."(Kazin 162) . Even though her lover had

The day after her father's death, the women of the town went to give their condolences to Miss. Emily. To their surprise, Miss. Emily was "dressed as usual" and had "no trace of grief on her face (Perrine's 285)." Emily told the women that her father was not dead. Finally after three days of trying to hold on to her father, "she broke down, and they buried her father quickly (Perrine's 285)." The town's people tired to justify Miss. Emily's actions, by saying that she had nothing left, and was clinging to the one thing that had robbed her for so long they convinced themselves that she was not crazy.

According to Faulkner, “After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all” (805). Occurrences such as these are private instances that took place within Miss Emily’s life. They are very important instances that undoubtedly caused Miss Emily to shift to an isolated lifestyle. On the other hand, actions displayed by the townspeople provide a viewpoint of Miss Emily’s relationship with the public. “Arguably, the townspeople’s actions serve to protect Miss Emily’s privacy- by preserving her perceived gentility-as much as they effectively destroy it with their intrusive zeal” (Crystal 792). The actions of the townspeople fuel Miss Emily’s desire to remain isolated from everyone else in her

In addition to the impact of her family on her mental state, it is also through the relationship Miss Emily has with her community, that helps to foreshadow the fateful ending. It is through the words and actions of the community that this relationship is shown, such as how they even distance themselves from her. In the beginning of the story in Act I, Faulkner describes Miss Emily’s position in the town as “a sort of hereditary obligation”. Since the death of her father, the town is aware of the struggle she is having while being alone, so that is why they see her

An important aspect in “A Rose for Emily” is the narrator's gender is left a mystery; this allows the reader to openly interpret the story from a different aspect, more specifically, through the mind of a feminist. Emily is subtly portrayed as an admirable woman who defies society's expectations of gender roles. Faulkner's use of the nosy women and the respectful men at the funeral, without further inquiry, may seem like it is in favor of a patriarchal society. However, Faulkner's main goal was to encourage the reader to understand that a woman, Emily, was capable of controlling her own behavior without society's influence.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” it is clear how Emily’s gender affects how the individuals in the town perceive her. Emily’s gender particularly affects how men understand her. Throughout the whole piece Emily is seen as a helpless individual who is lonely and has suffered losses throughout her life. When the reader reaches the end of the story the actions that Emily has taken is unexpected because of the way she is perceived by the narrator. In the beginning of the story, when the whole town was at her funeral and the men were discussing her life, none of the townspeople ever say anything negative about Emily. The men went to the funeral because they saw Emily as a fallen monument to the town. The narrator discusses how the town felt that Emily had become a tradition for them to take care of her. The narrator even points out how she did not have to pay taxes. This clearly shows how women are perceived in this town. Women are seen as unable to take care of themselves and as innocent humans. The way the narrator talks about Emily gives the reader the idea that Emily could never hurt anyone, because of this idea the reader is shocked at the end of the story. The feminist view of Emily allows the reader to be shocked by the ending of the story and it also allows the reader to see the way masculinity is understood in this piece.

The very beinning of the story is extraordinary. It begins with the burial of Emily, the residents around her coffin did not feel anything, most of them were curious. There were neither friends nor relatives, nobody who was in mouring for her, only inquirers. The readers can ask, what kind of person was Miss Emily? Why the others did not feel sadness? Perhaps there is a bigger question: what was the reason that nobody went to her house more than ten years (except her slave, Tobe).

Above all Emily thinks that her name means something to the town, losing the respect of the town’s people

In the story “ A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner the narrator introduces the reader to Emily Grierson, a sheltered southern woman who while alive struggled immensely with her sanity and the evolving world around her. Emily's father, a very prestigious man is the cause of Emily's senseless behavior. He kept her secluded from the rest of the town “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away...” (Page 3.) If Emily had been allowed to date and socialize with people her own age would she had turned out differently.

And then, she died. In her old age, inside her own house like her father. The town’s

Once Miss Emily’s father died, she didn’t want to let go. She had no one to love and lover her back. The only love and compassion she knew was her fathers. With him leaving this world entirely, I think she didn’t want to believe he was dead. She wanted to hold on as much as she could. “She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days… Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly.” Again, Miss Emily’s necessity for love made her unconscious of the real world, wanting to hold on to something that was not there.

by forcing her to have all the duties of the household. Yet, she gradually she sacrifices her life to them

Isolate is defined as to remain alone or keep separate from others whereas solitude is the state of being alone. Isolation and solitude are tremendous, effective and beating emotions. They forces the capacity to devastate a people life by overpowering it with despair and murkiness. A short story, "A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner, was initially published on April 30, 1930. William Cuthbert Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi, on September 25, 1897. As he experienced childhood in New Albany, Mississippi, the Southern culture impacted to him. Through his works such a Sartoris (book, 1931), The Sound and The Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (ballad, 1930), The Sanctuary (1931), and A Famle (1954), he delineated sequentially the rotting Southern culture. Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American creator of "Young Goodman Brown," born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, experienced childhood in an exceptionally strict Puritan family, which is the place his motivation originated from. "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street" (1853) is a short story composed by Herman Melville. He was Born in 1819 in New York City. He did most of his learning on his own, reading literature, technical manuals, historical textbooks and religious texts. The story echoes Melville’s self-criticism of his current work. In the stories: "A Rose for Emily," "Young Goodman Brown" and "Bartleby the Scrivener," the majority of the primary characters withdraw themselves from society, but for