Faulkner's 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.

“Garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood; only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores” (Faulkner 52). With the small town of Jefferson growing into a modern, more commercial area, Miss Emily’s traditional ways and unchanged house leave the town in a critical situation. They must choose to move forward or continue to live in the ways of the past. In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” he embraces the theme, tradition versus change, in an effort to display that traditions are important and should be honored, however they can also hold you back and separate you from the

“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.

William Faulkner was a 20th Century American poet, screenwriter, and novelist who won a Nobel Peace prize in Literature in 1949 and was an author of two Pulitzer prizes. He was part of a prominent family in Mississippi that lost its prosperity and power during the Civil War. “In his works William Faulkner used the American South as a microcosm for the universal theme of time…whose reappearing characters grow older and cannot cope with the social change” (Larinde 1). “A Rose for Emily” has an accurate portrayal of the historical period it was written describing the social attitudes, moral implications, and racism of the Old South during the post-Civil War time period.

When a person has only been taught dysfunctional love, it is all too often that this is the only kind of love they will ever experience. In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner explores an unorthodox relationship between an aristocratic southern lady named Miss Emily Grierson, and a blue-collar northern fellow named Homer Barron. The narrator, who likely represents the townspeople, describes Miss Emily’s unusual father in detail. Because of this illuminating description, the reader is able to begin to understand the strange dynamic Mr. Grierson and his daughter share. The story reveals how an over-controlling parent can negatively

Faulkner's story initiates with the death of his primary focus. The deceased recluse, Emily, who had to that juncture existed only in the lonely recesses of her house and in the prying gossip of the townspeople, is a figure beset upon by a unique

Being raised in the south, there are somethings that life teaches a person; you always hold the door, acknowledge someone as they pass you by, and always say “ya’ll”. The southern culture is something that sites in its own niche of history and drags the past into the future. In A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, the reader gets a taste of the south and the way of southern living through an outside view of Emily Grierson’s life in a strange series of events. Falkner’s character, Emily, symbolizes the conflict of the past and the future in southern heritage though the events of her life.

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.

Love is an intense feeling of affection for someone, while hate is a feeling of an intense dislike or loathe for someone. However, they are both similar due to how these emotions cause a human to act irrationally. The lone woman in A Rose for Emily and the cashier, Sammy, in A & P both portrayed a greater sense of hate which overcame their love.

In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, set in Jackson Mississippi in the year of 1931, there are many occurrences of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is defined as a warning or indication of a future event. Faulkner uses multiple foreshadowing events in this Nobel Prize Winning story to build up to the shocking last sentence. Some of these occurrences include Miss Emily’s smelly house, when she purchases arsenic from the druggist, the purchase of toiletries and clothing for her sweetheart, and her upstairs being locked for many years. This short story is meant to be a horror, although throughout the story most would not be able to tell. Faulkner uses these foreshadowing occurrences to push the reader towards the horrific ending.

In “A Rose for Emily” the character Emily can be a dark person, the author shows us what she did to the man Homer Barron. The author includes the story mysterious and irony, for us to think about what can happen to some people as a result of living alone for a while and loosing someone who they deeply care about. Emily is in a situation that affected not just by herself, but other people too because she keeps her feelings and thoughts to herself.

In the short story, "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, a woman whose father passed away is set in her ways and has a caretaker named Tobe, which is the only person in her life taking care of her. Her name is Emily Grierson. The Grierson family was at one time a very wealthy family; the entire town seemed to look up to them. Due to poverty problems, some of the Grierson family moved away leaving Emily and her father behind in the town. Although Emily would be considered a traditionalist, hoping for the south to retain its old ways, William Faulkner criticizes her stagnation, and in her death, leaves readers with hope for a new South.

Southern Gothic writer William Faulkner author of “Rose for Emily,” knows that the form of a story gives it a special meaning. Faulkner uses the five parts out of chronological order to allow the reader to accept and understand why Emily Grierson is crazy or “perverse”. First, he must show why she is worth the town's “care”: and why she is a “fallen monument”. Faulkner starts the story with Emily already died to hint at his Gothic intestine. In Gothic stories, there is often a creepy or haunted house. Emily’s house is declared an “eyesore among eyesores” with a crayon portrait of Emily’s father and the house having a “dank” smell.

However, she was the centre of furious gossip in the entire town especially when her relationship with Homer Barron started.

In the course of “A Rose for Emily,” there are many instances in which William Faulkner uses the contrast between past time and the present to illustrate how hard it is for the protagonist, Emily, to let go of the past. A key and integral example