Character Analysis of Emily Grierson Essay

William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” tells a story of Emily Grierson and her life in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi. Emily finds herself trapped in a strict society where people expect others to follow the traditional gender roles instead of having equality among each other. While most women in Jefferson are strong and independent, Emily defines herself as dependent and childlike, contrasting to what modern-society women believe.

"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” (55). In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” a southern town reflects on the life of a woman who had been “a tradition, a duty, and a care: a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (55). Faulkner uses Mr. Grierson, the town people, and Miss Emily’s actions to divulge why Miss Emily Grierson act like she is “higher up” than a run-of-the-mill resident of the town. This mentality is given to Miss Emily which causes her to be inconsiderate, reclusive, and lonely.

In this southern setting after the Civil War, Faulkner exposes the theme of resistance to change. A Rose for Emily is an assessment of the way some people deal with vicissitudes in their lives. Miss Emily Grierson who always subsisted under her father’s wings, displays serious issues after his death. The story begins with the end of Emily’s life. Poor Emily’s sentimental clutter and grotesque demeanor bring pity on her character. Some may argue that she was just misunderstood, others may see in her a psychologically unbalanced person, and that her attitude was simply a way of crying out loud for help. In any cases, Emily appears to be someone that the common mortal would feel compassion for, enough to deposit flowers on her grave. Her inability

William Faulkner wrote a short story called A Rose for Emily. This story stuns many readers starting from the beginning to the end. This story is based upon a woman named Miss Emily Grierson and the isolated life she lives. The people in the town she lives in gossip about her life. As this story goes on, readers can see how Emily and her mental status changes. In the end of the story, it talks about how the townspeople discovered a gruesome murder that Miss Emily committed. The ending can give a sense to readers that something was not right with her. This story can be portrayed as how Miss Emily begins to become mentally unstable, which leads to a psychotic break because of social isolation, the death of her father, and the influences of society.

During the conversation Miss Emily tells the men “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (31). Colonel Sartoris has been dead for almost ten years. Emily’s behavior not only shows mental instability but also that she may be delusional and confused.

William Faulkner portrays an unusual life of Emily Grierson when she has a difficult time with the change in her surround environment all while dealing with a hard time handling death in this short story “A Rose for Emily”. This short story speaks of death, it starts with the death of her father and ends with her death. Death is all around Miss Emily Grierson and the story emphasizes the issues she has when coping with it. Later it is found after Emily has passed that she was keeping a secret from everyone. In this short story, Emily faces many changes, which include the death of her father and society evolving around her. Emily is not easily susceptible to any of these changes. She is very misunderstood and this can be seen through

"Perhaps he considers himself the sheriff . . . I have no taxes in Jefferson. " They brought forth their best men, but Emily’s condescending attitude vanquished them every time. She never would accept the advancing world around her. This reoccurring theme, refusal to move on will be the downfall of Emily

However, there were several events in her life that made their relationship harder. The primary reason is the visit of her two distant cousins from another state and Homer temporary leaving Emily to give her the chance to get rid of them. Emily’s father never left her alone and when he died Homer Barron was a treat that she was never allowed to have. He later died and left her and she was completely alone after that. Miss Emily cannot accept the fact that times are changing and society is growing. Emilys relationship with Homer was highly impacted by her father, all the resistance taken upon her and all the imprisonment, strict, dictation had taken a toll on Emily and she had killed Homer for the reason being so that she can be with him forever. She refuses to let go. The murder was intentional because she had purposely gone to the store to purchase arsenic. She held herself above the law because she did not really feel that she needed to give a reason for wanting the poison. Miss Emily, in her own mind, probably felt that she had the right to do what she was doing. After all, she was the proud daughter of the

It is William Faulkner’s unique ability to create a character that the audience will sympathize for but also feel animosity towards that makes “A Rose for Emily” so page-turning. The antagonist, Emily Grierson, is a pretty mysterious woman. Her father dies, she is left with almost nothing, she meets a man, and then she stops leaving her house. In literature, the tone is the narrator’s attitude towards his/her subject. Additionally, the style of a short story is the way the writer structures the plot and the manner that it is conveyed. In “A Rose for Emily”, it is almost impossible to truly look into the mind of this narrator because he informs the audience so many emotions that the general society has towards Emily’s reticent personality. Thus, Emily becomes more and more isolated, in which she takes a step further and stops leaving her house altogether. And the writer does a great job in expressing this. In long, vivid sentences fraught with jarring diction and compassionate tones, William Faulkner exposes the reality of society’s alienation towards a possibly insane individual.

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” details the relationships throughout the life of Emily Grierson. From her time as a young woman to her expected death the reader learns about her family history and the questionable relationships she has with the men in her life. Beginning with her father, Colonel Sartoris, to the town of Jefferson, Mississippi, readers will make a conclusion to the twisted mind of Emily.

In the short story, “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner shows the audience the impression that Emily became a lonely person due to the many turning dealings in her life. After being separated for several years from the rest of town, things changed and the new townspeople went to Miss Emily asking her to pay her fair share of taxes. Her reply was for them to see Colonel Sartoris. According to the narrator, Colonel Sartoris had been dead for about ten years. As the story goes on, she became very ill and by the time the townspeople saw her again she had a short hair and looked sorrowful. Over time, her housekeeper Tobe ran her errands for her. After some time had passed, the townspeople saw that Emily’s physical appearance has changed. The narrator mentions noticing Emily getting fat and her hair turning gray to where it eventually became salt and pepper gray.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is filled with mystery and horror, but the pinnacle of it all is the character of Emily Grierson. Faulkner gives the reader the perfect amount of information about her to keep the reader interested and at the same time keep the character shrouded and unknown. The curious style of narration and order of the story along with the domination of Emily’s father reveal Emily’s character and the danger of overwhelming southern values on an individual. Faulkner’s largest tool he uses to describe Emily is through the perspective of the townspeople.

I would like to spoke on the dead corpse she had kept in her home. Emily put herself in a predicament where keeping her father’s lifeless body in her home could cause mental problems. Emily’s father controlled her life and who and when she date. Here you have her life wrapped around her father’s fingers to the point that without him she would lose

Everyone was sad for Emily when her father died; he left her the house but she had no money. Moreover, when he died she refused to accept the fact that her father died. People from town did not think she was "crazy" but assumed that she did not want to let her father go, although it could be said that he stole her youth. Then, the narrator returns to the period after the death of her father. Emily begins dating Homer Barron, who is in the village for a sidewalk construction project. The people from her neighborhood did not like their relationship at all and take Emily's cousins to town to put an end to it. One day Emily buys arsenic at the drugstore and it is thought that Homer is going to leave her and that is why ‘she intends to commit suicide.’ She bought some man clothes and a wedding dress and people from town thought that she and Homer were going to get married. However, Homer leaves her and then her cousins’ leave, but then Homer returns home. The last time Homer was seen was when he walked into Emily's house. Emily rarely leaved her house, except for a six-year period during which she went to teach painting

The pursuit of love changes people. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” presents a story of Miss Emily Grierson’ life through the narrator who portrays the collective conscious of the entire town. The town displays a negative view towards her and through that lense, the narrator describes different parts of her life, particularly her love life. The journey through Miss Emily’s love reveals how past experiences can immensely affect the necessity for one’s actions and fulfillment of her desire. The fantasies of both Miss Emily and the town