Rose For Emily

"A Rose for Emily" is a fictional short story written by 1949 Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner. Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is about an aristocratic woman who lived a very secretive and unusual life. Miss Emily had always been very sheltered by her father. He was the only man in her life and after his death, her behavior became even more unnatural. However her father's death cannot be seen as the only cause of Miss Emily's insanity. Miss Emily's behavior was also influenced by her own expectations of herself, the townspeople's lack of authority over her, and her neighbor's infatuation with her.

SHORT STORY LITERARY ANALYSIS PAPER PLAN: INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH In William Falkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” Falkner presents the theme of many of his popular works: the representation of the influence of tradition’s longevity versus change in the perspective of society as it grows. “A Rose for Emily” is centered on few encounters, and the perspective that influence them, occur between the townsfolk and the outsider Ms. Emily. These encounters occurred when the ever progressing and changing town of Jackson, Mississippi and the traditions of said growing town coming into conflict in “A Rose for Emily”. Each perspective of the encounters created two distinct different perspectives of, or approaches to, the traditions and what can and cannot ‘fit’ into the modernization of society.

"A Rose for Emily" is a wonderful short story written by William Faulkner. It begins with at the end of Miss Emily’s life and told from an unknown person who most probably would be the voice of the town. Emily Grierson is a protagonist in this story and the life of her used as an allegory about the changes of a South town in Jefferson after the civil war, early 1900's. Beginning from the title, William Faulkner uses symbolism such as house, Miss Emily as a “monument “, her hair, Homer Barron, and even Emily’s “rose” to expresses the passing of time and the changes. The central theme of the story is decay in the town, the house, and in Miss Emily herself. It shows the way in which we all grow old and decay and there is nothing permanent

A Rose for Emily was Faulkner 's first short story to be published in a national magazine. It was then published in a collection entitled These 13 in 1931 and went on to become one of the most collected American short stories. This short story is a Gothic horror and a tragedy. It is about a lonely Southern woman who has become mental ill after having an unfortunate childhood and being isolated from reality. We can see in the quote from William Faulkner about how “you can be more careless, you can put more trash in [a novel] and be excused for it. In a short story that 's next to the poem, almost every word has to be almost exactly right.” that Faulkner had mixed feelings about the short story as the best form for his narrative. A Rose for Emily has a complex plot and good pacing. Faulkner only gives information needed to foreshadow the murder at the ending or to allow the audience into Miss Emily’s life, so that we could further understand her.

In “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner employs a narrator to describe Emily Grierson, a recently deceased old woman. Apart from her manservant, she does not interact with others, save for a short period of time in

A Rose for Emily is a short story written by William Faulkner. It tells the story of a young African American woman that is withdrawn from the community she was rise in. Emily Grierson, the title character in the story which is set in a southern town lends the landscape for this character’s behavior. Thought of as the last of the Confederate monuments before her death, also suffered from a mental illness which is believed to be cause by her father who kept Emily under lock and

Miss Emily is the community’s subject of gossip and speculation, when she starts to take the attention to Homer Barron, a northern Yankee who has come to town on contract to pave the sidewalks in Jefferson. The townspeople where glad to see her have an interest in Homer but suggest that “Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer. But there were still others, older people, who said that even grief could not cause a real lady to forget noblesse oblige (the traditional obligation of the nobility to treat the lower classes with respect and generosity)” (Faulkner 792). While Homer may not be the traditional suitor for Miss Emily, she takes to him due to the fact that she no longer has her father around to run anyone off and she is free to court anyone she wants. Emily, though arrogant and stubborn, grows up in a conservative society where puritan womanhood is firmly believed, so she is well aware of the power of tradition. Not only does she know the gossips concerning her dating with a Yankee, but also cares a lot about those rumors, as described in the story "She carried her head high enough—even when we believed that she was fallen. It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson." (Faulkner 792) This could be the reason why Miss Emily decides she wants to buy poison from a druggist and gives

In the story “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner, the author talks about a life of a woman and the town she lived in.

When asked about the meaning behind the title , A Rose for Emily, Faulkner never literally stated an answer. However Emily’s peculiar inability to let things go after they are dead suggests a possible reason for the title. It is not unheard of for one to preserve a rose in a closed book. Similarly, Emily preserved the body of Homer Barron in her house for years after his death. Homer was Emily’s rose. He was the happiness and hope that Emily had closed herself off from for such a long part of her life, of course she would want to keep that as long as she could.

Even though the rose is distinctly only in the title, it emerges as allegorical and symbolic throughout the story. Getty states, “The "Rose" of the title extends far beyond any one flower or literary allusion in its implications for the story's structure. The "Rose" represents secrecy: the confidential relationship between the author and his character, with all of the privileged information withheld” (Getty 230). The view of the warmth of love and fondness is to be thought when

Post Civil war era Mississippi, a racially divided confederate state. The south is known for hospitality, and that special charm. Yet in “A Rose for Emily” the townspeople tend to gossip about Emily and are very nosey. The author of the short story created an environment in where the values of the town contrast the typical stereotypes of a southern state. William Faulkner's, “A Rose for Emily” exposes the hypocrisy of the Post Civil War south.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” the story is revolved around the character Emily Grierson. The story is told by the townspeople where Emily lives. These people are attending her funeral and pitching in memories and tales they remember from Emily’s life. It is through the collective voices and opinions of the crowd that the reader is able to interpret Emily’s struggles. With Emily Grierson’s choices the reader can tell that she is a dependant woman, with psychotic tendencies, and does not take the thought of change and rejection lightly.

William Faulkner is an award winning novelist. He has written novels, short stories, plays, poetry, essays and screenplays. Mr. Faulkner graduated from Oxford University, as well as won the two most important awards that anyone can get for writing: Pulitzer Award and the Nobel Prize. A Rose For Emily, is a short story about a Southern women who faces the loss of her father and is criticized by her own town. In William Faulkner’s, A Rose For Emily the author approaches the story with a pathetical appeal, the tone/attitude of the story is set out to be gothic, as well as be a proud a Southerner.

“A Rose for Emily”, written by William Faulkner, tells the story of a lonely woman who is stuck in her own timeframe. Miss Emily refuses to adapt to the new ways of the South and keeps her own traditions instead. The town she lived in spread much gossip about her, they pitted her lost soul. “A Rose for Emily” highlights the traditions of the Old South vs the New, which is told through the life of Miss Emily who refuses to change.

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is a unique piece of literature. It has a plot which seems somewhat bland, and it is not particularly exciting. However, the ending is quite suprising, and for me it made the story worth reading. I think there are some interesting aspects of this story if you look at it from a feminist point of view. The feminist movement has attempted to elevate the status of the woman to a level equal with men. Feminists have fought for the right of women to be free from the old social restraints which have been in place for so long. A feminist believes a woman should be strong and independent. In some ways the main character, Emily, is this kind of woman, but for the most part she is