Symbolism in a Rose for Emily

The literary world contains a vast collection of works, each employing diverse techniques in writing. One technique commonly found in literature is the use of images and symbols. Symbols are sometimes complex and contain both literal and figurative significance. Symbolism in literature is commonly used to bind the attributes of an object with various segments of a story to provide the reader with a deeper understanding and sometimes hidden meaning. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner utilizes a vast collection of symbols, as a means to enhance the reader’s visual perceptions but also prompts consideration into theories of motive surrounding the murder of Homer Barron.

“Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 1). Emily, a member of the town’s elite class, relied upon her father when growing up and after his death, she refused to pay her taxes, stating that her father contributed much to society. But it was evident that she didn’t pay them because of a lack of maturity - financially and socially. When she was younger she pushes herself onto Homer Barron, a Northerner with no interest in marriage. Throughout the story, Emily is conflicted over societal change, and clings to her privileged manner even after finding herself in poverty. Yet, she becomes involved with a man from a lower social class, and a Northerner as well - hinting that he has different beliefs and values. The townspeople, however, believe the relationship it too modern when there is a possibility they are having physical relations despite not being serious about marriage. The community’s inability to commit to progress, contribute to the confused Emily’s decision. In A Rose for Emily, Faulkner uses the symbolism of Emily’s house and her hair to demonstrate her emotional instability and physical deterioration, illustrating the outcome of his story.

William Faulkner once said, The article describes the fate of a southern town after the American Civil War. As the patriarch of the family, Emily's father leaned heavily to maintain the rank and dignity so he drove all the courtship to love Emily and deprived her of her right to happiness. After the death of her father, Emily fell in love with a foreman northerner that was building the railway for the town. But Emily still did not get rid of the shackles of family dignity and her father's influence on her approach. When she found that Homer Barron had no intention to marry her, she poisoned him with arsenic. Since then, Emily closed herself in the old house, and lived with his dead father for 40 years, until she died. The town residents found the secret at the funeral of Emily. William Faulkner is a pivotal figure in the history of American literature, known as the head of the Southern Renaissance and the leader of the Southern literature. "A Rose for Emily" is Faulkner's most classic short story. In this novel, Faulkner used a symbolic, like rose, Emily and the shadow of father, to reveal the contradictions and conflicts between the American old-age cultural minds and the northern industrial civilization after the civil war. He shaped a fallen southern aristocratic lady “Emily “in the tragedy of personal and social, realistic and traditional tragedy.

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 whip he held was a sign of strictness, power, and protectiveness he had towards Emily. When Miss Emily’s father dies, her refusal to admit that he died shows her unwillingness to accept change. The watch Miss Emily wore tucked out of sight in her belt is also symbolic of this. Another symbol of her unwillingness to change was her refusal to allow the new guard to put the numbers of her house for free mail delivery and her use of old paper and old ink in her answer to the demand for tax payment. Her refusal to pay taxes and her dilapidated house also reflected her unwillingness to change. The Grierson house represents the Old South and is symbolic of an age gone by. The poor upkeep of the house relates to Miss Emily and her poor upkeep. The fact that cotton wagons and gasoline pumps flanked the house represents the conflict between the Old South (Miss Emily) and the New South (the changing town). Faulkner also used the stench that permeated the air around Miss Emily’s house as symbolism. It symbolized the sour faultiness in southern thinking or logic; that the town would rather cover up the smell (townsmen with the lime) than uncover the cause. The bedroom where Homer was found dead symbolized a few things. First, it symbolized Emily. It was upstairs representing the high and mighty Griersons and it was secluded from everyone like Miss Emily was for the majority of her life.

At the beginning of the story, the reader learns that Miss Emily “is portrayed as ’a fallen monument,’… because she has shown herself susceptible to death (and decay) after all” (West 264). The house can also be perceived as a “fallen monument”(Faulkner 81) as the narrator

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

When creating a story the author has to incorporate elements which give the reader a hint as to what message they are trying to get across. These elements contour the story’s plot and determine whether a reader will remain interested or not. In A Rose for Emily, William Faulkner uses foreshadowing and symbolism to add suspense, keeping the reader on their toes until the story’s conclusion.

Culture is also important to the setting in the story being told. Miss Emily was a Grierson. The high and might Grierson’s as they were known in Jefferson. Faulkner talks about how “Miss Emily had gone to join the representatives of the august names where they lay in a cedar-bemused cemetery among the ranked and anonymous graves of the union and confederate soldiers who fell at the battle of Jefferson.” By describing this culture setting Faulkner is setting the tone for what kind of character Emily is, and what kind of family she had. The Grierson’s were a powerful family in Jefferson, royalty if you will, and Emily was the last of this great family.

When reading “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, you may be quite confused. This is because William Faulkner wrote this short story in anachronic order, which occasionally confuses the reader and causes them not to fully understand the story. To understand it you must take parts of story apart and analyze the section. Faulkner uses tons of symbolism, foreshadowing, and history in the passages to help the reader understand what is going on. Literary devices in stories are a great way to analyze what is going on and to help you understand the passage clearer.

In 1930 William Faulkner published his very first story, “A Rose for Emily.” The story emerges with the funeral of Emily Grierson and discloses the story out of sequence; Faulkner brings into play an anonymous first-person narrator thought to be the representation of Grierson’s municipality. Miss Emily Grierson’s life was read to be controlled by her father and all his restrictions. Grierson was raised through her life with the thought that no man was adequate for her. Stuck in her old ways, Grierson continued with the Old South’s traditions once her father had passed. Awhile following her father’s death, Emily aims to put the longing for love to a stop and allows Homer Barron to enter her life. Faulkner portrays the literary movement of Modernism utilizing allegory through the post-bellum South after the American Civil War. In the short story “A Rose Emily,” William Faulkner uses a series of symbols to illustrate the prominent theme of the resistance of the refinement of life around Miss Emily.

William Faulkner was born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. He was the oldest of four Brothers since a very young age William developed a love for literature.He was awarded multiple awards including Nobel prices and Pulitzer awards. William Faulkner is known for his stories about the decadence of the south and the tones his stories have. In this story, we see how Emily is a symbol for the town of the old South and how everyone need to adapt to the new changes in the town. William tone influences every part of his stories.“A Rose for Emily” is about Emily Grierson a girl in a post-civil war Mississippi and how she isolated from everyone during tough situations. In “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner use of imagery and symbolism help us develop the theme of the story.

Symbolism in literature is using an object to portray a different, deeper meaning in a story. Symbols represent ideas or qualities that the author has maneuvered into his or her story that has meaning. There can be multiple symbols in a story or just one. It is up to the reader to interpret the meaning of the symbols and their significance to the story. While reading a story, symbols may not become clear until the very end, once the climax is over, and the falling action is covered. In William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” there are multiple examples of symbolism that occur throughout the story.

Emily's house is where Emily spent most of her life in isolation after the death of her father. Externally, it is considered to be "an eyesore among eyesores"(716) It is amongst cotton gins and that were put up after homes that previously resided on the street had since been moved out. Her house is basically the picture of decay amongst the newer buildings. This could possibly signify Emily's position in the town, or the town's position in the rest of the world. On one hand, the town is small and isolated, but on the other hand, Emily has isolated herself entirely from the rest of the town and seems to cling to her past even more so than the town itself.

As an image of decrepit grandeur, Miss Emily’s house is used to symbolize Miss Emily’s character herself, the historical setting in which the story takes place, and some of the story’s central themes. Described as “a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorates with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies” (Faulkner 1), the house is ornate and grand in design, even being located on what was once an exclusive street in Jefferson. However, over time, it had become dilapidated and unkempt, with the interior being dark and full of dust, possessing “a close, dank smell” (Faulkner 1). Similarly, Miss Emily was once a young lady of high standing, opulent in her own ways, but slowly aged and lost her grandeur, becoming “a small, fat woman” (Faulkner 1) whose hair was turning grayer as the days went by. Much like her home, Miss Emily was losing her charm over time, showing that her character was stubbornly grasping on to the idea that she still retained an image of splendor she no longer possessed, all while isolating herself from the rest of the town.