Character Analysis of Emily Rose in ' a Rose for Emily'

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 the short story A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner there is a very interesting character. Her Name is Emily Grierson and she is a rich southern gentile. All her life it seems that she was raised at a standard that was above the rest. By living such a secluded and controlled life it set her up for the happenings in her future.

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 William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” his main character Miss Emily Grierson’s deranged behavior leaves the reader questioning her mental status.

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses symbolism, imagery, simile and tone. Faulkner uses these elements to lead his characters to an epiphany of letting go of out-dated traditions and customs. The resistance to change and loneliness are prominent themes within “A Rose for Emily”. Faulkner uses “A Rose for Emily” to caution his readers that things are not always what they appear to be.

In this story there are many clues that go together to show us that Miss Emily did truly love Homer. She poisoned him because she was afraid he was going to leave her when his work in the town was complete, and she couldn't bear to lose another person she loved. In everyday life people go to extreme measures to be with the person they love. Some people commit suicide to be with a person that has passed on and others do some unbelievable things to be with or have the person that they loved.

After Emily’s father passes away in “A Rose for Emily,” Emily’s sweetheart rejects her. The only man that her father must have approved of ran out on her, leaving

Initially after the loss of her father Emily Grierson refuses to let go of him and the influence he has over her in “A Rose for Emily”. Emily’s father was a big part of her existence he was the only man in her life. For years he had ran off suitor that had called upon Emily. Once he was gone it is hard for her to adapt to life without him. She refuses to believe that he is dead telling the ladies of the town “that her father was not dead” (101). She had been very close to her father and without him her live would not be the same. She never leaves the house she stays secluded from the town. By remaining alone she will not have to face the fact that any change has taken place.

“A Rose for Emily” showed how even as much as she tried Emily didn’t know how to survive or adjust to the world around her, because of her upbringing. Emily had to hold on things because she feared they would leave her, because growing up she was so sheltered. “…she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will.” After her father died she didn’t know how to let go or react even after how he treated her all her life. “…her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door.” She even denied his death for days after he died, “She told them 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.” Emily lashed out and

William Faulkner wrote A Rose for Emily to entertain his audience. It is a mysterious read which keeps the reader interested and wanting to know more. Throughout the text Faulkner hints about the misfortunes that surround Emily. The biggest problem that was seemed to be low key addressed is to not judge what you think a person may have or go through because you could be wrong or you could be entirely right. The biggest misfortune that happens to Emily, is that she dies and then the writer gives background and flashes back to what Miss Emily’s life through a third person view to show how the townspeople assumed about Miss Emily’s life. (insert resource #2 thesis part)

Throughout this tale, she changes mentally, socially, and physically. According to Nicole Smith, One part of her that changes is her need to be social and “After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away people hardly saw her at all” (Faulkner 324). In this quotation, it shows that because of losing two men in her life, it added to her want to live in solitude. According to Nicole Smith, “Kinney has argued that Miss Emily’s delusions, especially

It is believed that she would want to keep Homer Barron for herself, like a prize or trophy, and even though her father believed that no one would ever be good enough for her, Homer could never be hers because of his interests in young men. So, Emily would, devise a plan to murder Homer, she feared that should would be left alone again and allowing the townspeople to believe the two are married. The acts committed by Emily are comparable to those of Jeffery Dahmer in that he kept his victims as trophies. According to Encyclopedia

The story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner would be drastically different if it was written from the point of view of Miss Emily. Her intentions and thoughts would be more pronounced, and because of this, the ending of the story may not come as such a shock. In addition, Miss Emily would be less distanced from the audience, and they would be able to understand her character in a way that the townspeople could not. Miss Emily being the narrator would immensely change the reader’s perception of the story’s ending and her character.

suggests that Homer Barron is a fun loving person. While, Emily comes out of the house very few times, and is never seen having fun with people. When Emily proposed Homer Barron for marriage, Homer refuses to marry Emily, as he did not wanted to overtaken by time and become dull as Emily would have wished. Thus, Emily poisons Homer Barron and killed him and kept him forever with her.

Another important character from the story is Homer Barron, a man who develops an interest in Miss Emily, “Presently we began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy and the matched team of bays from the livery stable” (519). According to the story, it seems that the whole town was thinking they would get married: “She will marry him” “She will persuade him yet” (520). However, Miss Emily ends up killing Homer by poisoning him. There seems to be two reasons why she did it. One is that she wanted to marry him, but it appears he refused. The other one is that he might be homosexual: “he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elk’s Club, that he was not a marrying man” (520). All these speculations about the principal characters Emily and Homer have one questioning what the narrator’s intention towards them was really. “The narrator wants to trap us in the speculations made about Emily’s and Homer’s characters by making us believe that Emily will kill herself or that Homer is homosexual” (Wallace). He might be right on this statement because this is what one is most likely thinking about through the reading.