Essay On The House In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

In “A Rose for Emily”, Charles Faulkner used a series of flashbacks and foreshadowing to tell Miss Emily’s story. Miss Emily is an interesting character, to say the least. In such a short story of her life, as told from the prospective of a townsperson, who had been nearly eighty as Miss Emily had been, in order to tell the story from their own perspective. Faulkner set up the story in Mississippi, in a world he knew of in his own lifetime. Inspired by a southern outlook that had been touched by the Civil War memory, the touch of what we would now look at as racism, gives the southern aroma of the period. It sets up Miss Emily’s southern belle status and social standing she had been born into, loner or not.

The house, similarly to Emily, is a symbol - and the only surviving tribute of the decaying privileged class. By the time the story takes place plenty has changed. What was once “a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with

In “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily Grierson live a life of quiet turmoil. Her entire life has revolved around an inexplicable loneliness mostly characterized by the harsh abandonment of death. The most vital imagery utilized by Faulkner demonstrates Miss Emily’s mental condition. She, being self-improsened within the confines of her home, is the human embodiment of her house; Faulkner describes it as “... stubborn an coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps--an eyesore among eyesores.” (Faulkner 308).

The symbolism between the past and the present was also shown in the beginning of the story when Faulkner wrote, "…only now Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and gasoline pumps – an eyesore among eyesores." It was ironic that the same description "stubborn and coquettish decay" could be a description for Emily as well (71). As the house fell into decay, so did Miss Emily, "She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water and of that pallid hue." Miss Emily was described as "a small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head" (72). Traditionally, in the Old South people wore black while they were grieving the death of a loved one. The cane she used

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.

     Another story of Faulkner's that contains the maturing theme and has a Southern setting is 'A Rose for Emily.'; This one, like most of his others, takes place in the southern part of the United States. It takes place after the Civil War during the south's transition from the 'Old South'; to the 'New South.'; All we know is that she lives in Jefferson, but we can assume it is in the South for a couple of

William Faulkner is a well-known author, whose writing belongs in the Realism era in the American Literary Canon. His writing was influence by his Southern upbringing, often setting his stories in the fictional Southern town, Yoknapatawpha County. “A Rose for Emily” was one of Faulkner’s first published pieces and displays many of the now signature characteristics of Faulkner’s writing. The short story provides commentary through the use of many symbols. In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily”, the author uses the townspeople as a representation of societal expectations and judgments, Emily and her house as symbols for the past, and Homer’s corpse as a physical representation of the fear of loneliness.

William Faulkner’s use of a setting in a short story, such as “Barn Burning”, effected the entire outcome of the story from start to finish. In “Barn Burning”, a young boy must face his father and face the reality of a harsh world. He must also discover for himself that his father is wrong and learn to grow up the right way in a racial environment. Faulkner’s setting is one of the most important literary elements that help the audience understand the story.

“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.

Emily 's house represents old southern ideas because it sits on an plantation which as her family were once prominet slave owners. Although both stories involve creepy old structures, the setting in Faulkner 's story is specific to the South.

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.”

As any reader can see, " A Rose for Emily" is one of the most authentic short stories by Faulkner. His use of characterization, narration, foreshadowing, and symbolism are four key factors to why Faulkner's work is idealistic to all readers.

"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

Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is centered on the American South at the turn of the century. He uses this short story to address the fact that the South is refusing to accept the unavoidable historical and social change. Faulkner uses symbolism in order to help the reader understand that if the South does not adapt to the changing times, it will die a slow, nefarious death just like Miss Emily herself.

The manner that Faulkner applies point of view in "A Rose for Emily" provides the readers with the idea of the dying values, traditions, and customs of the “Old South”.