Allegory In A Rose For Emily

In the short story A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, readers are immersed in the narrative of a supposed town member who describes the impact that the recent death of an old woman has had upon their small community. In the narrative, readers are taken on a journey through the life of Miss Emily, an old, lonely woman who is seemingly frozen in her own timeframe. As the story unfolds, readers learn about the various tragedies Emily encountered in her lifetime such as the sudden death of her controlling father as well as her alienation from other family members that leaves her utterly alone following his death. Audiences also learn about events that happened throughout Emily’s life that both molded her as a person and aided in shaping her reputation around the town. From her controversial relationship with a construction worker named Homer Barron to her suspicious purchase of arsenic at the local drug store, there is no question that Emily lived under the constant scrutiny of her fellow townspeople. After reading the initial sentences, it can be concurred that this story doesn’t simply describe the life of an old, questionably insane woman, but also the story of the age-old battle between old and new. Through symbolism and an artful arrangement of the events described, Faulkner is able to meticulously weave a tale of the clash between newer and older generations’ views and standards.

Symbolism that “A Rose for Emily” displays is Miss Emily’s taxes that represent death. First is the death of her father. The taxes are a

“At last they could pity Emily” (453) or at least that is what the community thought they could do when Emily lost her father and became “humanized” (453). Emily is one of the most prominent people of her time and is even recognized through a story all written about her. This analytical essay of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner without doubt, uses symbolism to portray change and decay throughout the story by using Emily’s home, Mr. Grierson, and herself.

A reason that is presented as to why she has so little family other than her father is because he once had a falling out with some other relatives in Alabama, so the two sides refuse to come together. Even after Mr. Grierson dies, the Alabama kin “had not even been represented at the funeral.” (Act III) This once again showcases the loneliness of Miss Emily because she did not even have her own family to comfort her in a dark time. By being all alone, her unresolved feelings could have contributed to the abandonment issues. From the suggested abandonment issues, the reader can start to see that possibility of Emily taking matters in her own hand if given the chance. Besides just foreshadowing, her family history can also be argued to be the foundation of Miss Emily’s instability with her loneliness she needs to resolve being a result of their actions.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner presents yet another example of a woman who possesses feelings of adoration and hatred but is constantly in despair and isolation because of the male influences in her life. Like the woman, Delia, in “Sweat”, she holds these hateful and even fearful feelings held up inside of herself until she acts out and does something drastic, for example, murdering Homer Barron (913). In “A Rose for Emily”, like in “Sweat”, the male figures are characterized as being very authoritative and controlling, in the case of Emily, her father is this male figure. The narrator provides a detailed description of him next to Emily as others pictured them, as a “tableau”. “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the backflung front door.”(909). The imagery of the father clutching the whip next to the fragile Emily against a such a pure white background brings one to see and acknowledge the dominating and controlling nature of their relationship, better than any passage of conversation ever could

Emily herself is also considered a symbol. She has a great admiration for her father for her father who have always protect her from everything, specially from men. After he passes way Emily doesn't want to accept his death and becoming completely isolated on her house refusing any kind of change around her. Emily grows older and has a "sort of tragic and serene"(227) appearance. Her obsession of keep the same life style she used to have when her father was alive makes Emily set her own rules in Town. She wants to keep a verbal agreement her father had excusing her from paying taxes, refuses the modernization on mail, and keeps her "old fashioned" world inside of her house while the world outside is changing. Emily tries to keep the same "status" of the high society group she used to belong. Her attempt to stay in the past represents the decline of this social group, the representation of an "old society" refusing the new, the modernization, the technology. The symbols help the author of " A Rose for Emily" address the message of we can't avoid the changes around us. The world is in constant changing and we have to follow it.

Emily’s need to control change is first evidenced through her relationship with her father. Their bond, based on a high-class aristocratic ideal system, lasted until the death of her father. A mental image of Mr. Grierson’s

Faulkner states that Miss Emily would tell the other people that “her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body. Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly,'' (Faulkner 804). This part of the story foreshadows another incident where Emily again refuses to let go of the deceased. Instead of Emily not being able to let go of her father, this time she couldn't let go of her close friend, Homer. The hint of Emily not being able to let go of her father in the beginning serves as an indication for the reader that Miss Emily is very isolated and will do anything to prevent that. Emily’s suspicious actions causes the reader to anticipate certain happenings and wonder what will happen next.

The whip he held was a sign of strictness, power, and protectiveness he had towards Emily. When Miss Emily’s father dies, her refusal to admit that he died shows her unwillingness to accept change. The watch Miss Emily wore tucked out of sight in her belt is also symbolic of this. Another symbol of her unwillingness to change was her refusal to allow the new guard to put the numbers of her house for free mail delivery and her use of old paper and old ink in her answer to the demand for tax payment. Her refusal to pay taxes and her dilapidated house also reflected her unwillingness to change. The Grierson house represents the Old South and is symbolic of an age gone by. The poor upkeep of the house relates to Miss Emily and her poor upkeep. The fact that cotton wagons and gasoline pumps flanked the house represents the conflict between the Old South (Miss Emily) and the New South (the changing town). Faulkner also used the stench that permeated the air around Miss Emily’s house as symbolism. It symbolized the sour faultiness in southern thinking or logic; that the town would rather cover up the smell (townsmen with the lime) than uncover the cause. The bedroom where Homer was found dead symbolized a few things. First, it symbolized Emily. It was upstairs representing the high and mighty Griersons and it was secluded from everyone like Miss Emily was for the majority of her life.

1. Discuss the ways in which Faulkner uses Miss Emily 's house as a symbol and/or metaphor both her character 's personality and circumstances and for the narrative 's broader themes. What does the description of Emily 's house—at the beginning of the story, particularly, but also throughout the narrative—reveal about her character? About the story 's historical setting? About the narrative 's central concerns?

A suspenseful tale of tradition versus change is told with the help of literary elements in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. Foreshadowing and symbolism develop Emily’s tragic fate in a way the reader is exposed to how deeply death and sociatal change have effected Miss Emily. Faulkner displays how effective these elements are for a short story to truly have an impact on the

Strong family units or friendships can make the difference in someone leading a happy, healthy life or leading a cold, isolated one. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a story about a woman who is obsessed with love and death. After her controlling father dies she refuses to let go of his body, and when she falls in love with a young Homer Barron, who doesn’t return her feelings, she can’t face the thought of losing him. Instead of letting Homer move on she poisons him, and sleeps next to his corpse until she passes away. Throughout the story, readers are left wondering why Emily is so twisted and detached from reality. Using the house and the characterization of the townspeople, Faulkner tells a story about how too much pressure on a

The main symbolism running throughout A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, is the theme of how important it is to let go of the past. Miss Emily clings to the past and does not want to be independent. The Old South is becoming the new South and she cannot move forward. The residents of the South did not all give in to change just because they lost the Civil War. In A Rose for Emily time marches on leaving Miss Emily behind as she stubbornly refuses to progress into a new era. In the story, symbolism is used to give more details than the author actually gives to the reader. Symbolism helps to indicate how Emily was once innocent but later changes, how her hair, house, and lifestyle, helped to show her resistance to change. The story is not

The townspeople felt bad for Emily and thought the reason for her craziness was because her family had a history of it. Emily also waits three days before revealing the death of her father. Emily allows the dead body of her father to lie in her home rotting away. Another crazy action that Emily does is when she goes to the pharmacy to purchase “rat poison”. When Emily goes to buy the arsenic she doesn’t tell the druggist what exactly she is going to use it for, but stares him down making him feel uncomfortable. “Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up” (213). One of the most extreme actions Emily performs is being responsible for Homer Barron’s death. But, after fully reading the story the reader understands that Emily not only kills Homer but sleeps with his corpse. “What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay… Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair” (215) There the reader’s thought of Emily sleeping with the dead body and her psychotic tendencies is confirmed.

Emily behaves the way she does for numerous reasons. She is born into an aristocratic family. Emily is brought up as a Southern belle by her father and is placed on a pedestal by the townspeople. The Grierson’s are known in town for being extremely wealthy and having the nicest house in Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County. Due to the fact that her father, Mr. Grierson, keeps her isolated and socially restricted as a child, she behaves abnormally. Emily feels as if she is pressured to live up to her father’s expectations. Because Emily is kept away from everything, she is not yet exposed to the real world.