The Importance of Setting in a Rose for Emily

In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” the speaker gives specific details involving the setting. He shares with us the crucial information to understand the story’s true value. In the story, the setting helps the readers comprehend when and where to place exactly why some things in the story happen for a reason and to make it a vivid adventure. Symbolism also plays a part in making the story one to remember. In “A Rose for Emily,” the setting and symbols both act as vital roles by describing important items that symbolize a greater meaning and placing the time period in which it is set.

"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

Miss Emily's house as the setting of the story is a perfect metaphor for the events occurring during

“Like Miss Emily it stands “lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay” alone amidst alien surroundings. When the town complains about the smell emanating from the house, the judge equates house and woman: “Will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad?” Miss Emily becomes a fallen woman where she lived in a house that had “once been white… set on what had once been our most select street…lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and gasoline pumps an eyesore among eyesores.” The house, like Miss Emily, has fallen from purity and like Miss Emily it is an eyesore, for

William Faulkner begins the story by describing the characters of Miss Emily. He divides the story into five parts which all talk about the life of Miss Emily. At the first part, he describes her as, “A tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town.” (Faulkner 217). He further discusses that Miss Emily not wanting to pay any taxes to the city until the Board of Aldermen had called a special meeting about the issue. But Miss Emily kept saying that she had no taxes to pay what so ever and tells her servant, the Negro, to “show the gentlemen out.” (Faulkner 218). She did not show any respect and manner for the Aldermen. The

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

In "A Rose for Emily", a woman (for whom the story is named) confines herself in her somewhat large house in a small town during the early half of the twentieth century. For the most part, in order to understand the entirety of the story, it is vital to understand the setting and how each character develops it, and,or, interacts with it.

In the short story, “A Rose For Emily” written by William Faulkner, there is a myriad of examples in which the theme of isolation and exclusion is implemented. Emily Grierson, the main character, is known to the town as old and alone. Emily inhabits the past and is not introduced to the town’s social norms. As the town began to industrialize, Emily’s residency has not evolved into the modern day world. The community continues to grow, whereas Emily begins to grow old in her forgotten home among the town, thus leading her into isolation and exclusion.

As the story continues, Faulkner beings to describe Miss Emily as a woman who has stayed true to her customs and strong ties to her family. Her family is much respected in her town, it is shown through an expected greeting. Miss Emily is also free from paying any taxes because Colonel Sartoris revoked her taxes after the death of her father. On page 1 Paragraph 8, she is asked by the city authorities to pay her taxes she owes and

Faulkner uses Emily’s character to represent the Old South in health and death. Her stubborn attitude and her decorum both reflect the characteristics of the Old South. When the men go to her home and confront her about her unpaid taxes and she asks them to leave, she represents that women in the Old South were not argued with and not questioned as not to insult them. The way that the people of the town treat her reflects this even further. The people of the town treat Emily as a monument just as they had seen the Old South. “It was another link between the gross, teeming world and the high and mighty Griersons.” They see her as something to observe and only interfere when she does something they do not like, such as dating a Northerner. Even in death The Old South follows her. “And now Miss Emily had gone to join the representatives of those August names where they lay in the cedar-bemused cemetery among the ranked and anonymous graves of Union and Confederate soldiers who fell at the battle of Jefferson.”

Miss Emily is a contemporary of the older generation and her refusal to pay taxes demonstrates how the adherence to tradition in the face of modern change leads to a slow death. The older generation and by extension Miss Emily refuse to conform to modern standards because they are bound by history and tradition. Social rank and and status heavily influence

Another thing that might have contributed to Miss Emily’s motive was all of the gossip about her. In the small town of Jefferson, there was an abundant amount of gossip. Miss Emily was a main topic of that town gossip. When Miss Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron began, many of the townspeople looked down on the relationship. Scherting asserted that “Miss Emily’s conduct during the time baffled the people of Jefferson” (401). At this time the women were held to certain standards. Miss Emily was meeting none of the standards that the time

The author uses historical context to show the town as a symbol of the new South. “Even though Miss Emily was a child during the Civil War, she represents to generations past and present the old Deep South of the Delta cotton-plantation aristocracy. She is a visible holdover into the modern South of a bygone era of romance, chivalry, and the Lost Cause.” (Madden). Emily functions as a foil of the town in which she is living, while the town has been evolving to a newer south. She is stuck in her old southern ways even as the town is changing around her likewise it creates a conflict between the town and Emily because of the fact that the town is trying to get her to accept that things are changing. For example when Emily’s father died, she was in denial and the town was trying to get her to let go of her father and let him be buried. “Additionally, Faulkner’s own personal experiences with

The story begins at Miss Emily’s funeral, where the whole town shows up to say goodbye to their past treasure. Emily is a symbol for the past days and her life was a mystery, which is what made her so interesting. The story consists of flashbacks from an unknown narrator and tells the tale of Miss Emily and the towns different perspectives of her. Faulkner’s short story is like a “time machine…[it] is about the past and Miss Emily’s tenacious clinging to the past”(Clausius). However, the fact that the whole town shows up to her funeral means that they too can’t let go of her or the past. The town is almost haunted by Miss Emily; although, the narrator is sympathetic towards her. At her funeral, the narrator notes that Emily has been “. . .a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the

In the eyes of the folks who lived in Jefferson, Mississippi, Miss Emily Grierson was a very eccentric woman. She kept to herself, only employed one servant in her house, and was a shut in for the last thirty years of her life. Even before she became a recluse, the townspeople found her odd because of how she acted towards them. Emily was considered eccentric because she did things no normal woman of her station would do, and yet she still tries to hang on to her traditional ways in fear of change. Renee Curry, author of “Gender and authorial limitation in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily,’” suggests that “Faulkner designs this narrative position as a reflection of his own stance toward patriarchal and societal structures and