A Rose for Emily
In “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner’s symbolic use of the “rose” is essential to the story’s theme of Miss Emily’s self-isolation. The rose is often a symbol of love, and portrays an everlasting beauty. The rose has been used for centuries to illustrate an everlasting type of love and faithfulness. Even when a rose dies, it is still held in high regard. Miss Emily’s “rose” exists only within the story’s title. Faulkner leaves the reader to interpret the rose’s symbolic meaning. Miss Emily was denied the possibility of falling in love in her youth, so subsequently she isolated herself from the world and denied the existence of change. Miss Emily was denied her “rose”, first by her father, then by the townspeople, and then Homer Barron. Through the explicit characterization of the title character, Miss Emily, and the use of the “rose” as a symbol, the reader is able to decipher that Homer Barron was Miss Emily’s only “rose.”
Miss Emily’s father denied her the ability to establish a “normal” relationship because of their family’s social position. She lost the will and the desire to do so, even after he died. The reader is aware that Miss Emily’s chances of having a “normal” relationship are hindered by her father’s obstinace. Miss Emily’s father was a prominent well-respected southern gentleman, and he would not allow his only daughter to be courted by just anyone. “None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau.” As most little girl’s do, Miss Emily idolized her father, and held him in high regard, even though he was a strong and forbidding man, who did not allow her to experience life. Miss Emily’s father “robbed” her of her ...
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...ad ever come to her, including her self-esteem, and the ability to conform to her father’s and society’s wishes. She isolated herself so that she could be who she was.
Miss Emily Grierson isolated herself from a society that would not accept her for who she was. She was viewed as someone to be pitied and scorned. Everyone deserves a rose in life, and yet Miss Emily was denied her rose from everyone that ever came into contact with her. Her father, the townspeople, and even Homer Barron denied her love. Miss Emily found her rose and she would not accept the loss of love. She gave up her freedom, and isolated herself so that she could be with the one that she loved, and remember the embrace that they once may have shared. Like a flower between the pages of a bible Miss Emily found that living with memories was better than living in a society that scorned her.
A Rose for Emily Life is fickle and most people will be a victim of circumstance and the times. Some people choose not to let circumstance rule them and, as they say, “time waits for no man”. Faulkner’s Emily did not have the individual confidence, or maybe self-esteem and self-worth, to believe that she could stand alone and succeed at life especially in the face of changing times. She had always been ruled by, and depended on, men to protect, defend and act for her. From her Father, through the manservant Tobe, to Homer Barron, all her life was dependent on men.
In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Miss Emily Grierson is a lonely old woman, living a life void of all love and affection; although the rose only directly appears in the title, the rose surfaces throughout the story as a symbol. In contemporary times, the rose also symbolizes emotions like love and friendship. The rose symbolizes dreams of romances and lovers. These dreams belong to women, who like Emily Grierson, have yet to experience true love for themselves.
Some readers might find the title of Faulkner’s story, “A Rose for Emily,” ironic. As a Symbol, the rose usually signifies romantic love. Assuming that Faulkner is well aware of a rose’s symbolic meanings, why does he wish to name his story about a doomed and perverse love affair? Faulkner causes the reader to believe this is a classic love story. Faulkner then overturns the reader’s expectations by offering an unconventional heroine. Generally love stories involve a young woman, pure and beautiful, worthy of receiving love. In this story, however, the heroine is old and decrepit. Emily is introduced first at her funeral where everyone from the town has come to pay respects. Emily then is described as “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town”. (Faulkner 681) This meaning that the townspeople viewed her as more of a monument to the town that has been there for as long as they can remember and won’t be moved. Emily throughout the whole story is criticized for the way that she thinks she is more important than everyone else, but it takes a society to judge a person at the top in order for there to be any social ladder. When Emily meets Homer she again is criticized for being seen with someone who comes from a lower part of society, but she is also being criticized for thinking she is better than everyone else. The townspeople make her feel like an outcast, and that is why she isolates herself from the rest of society. Society criticizes her for what she does, but it is the society that makes her do it. When Emily buys the rat poi...
The “A Rose for Emily”. Literature: Prentice Hall Pocket Reader. Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2005. 1-9.
William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" is perhaps his most famous and most anthologized short story. From the moment it was first published in 1930, this story has been analyzed and criticized by both published critics and the causal reader. The well known Literary critic and author Harold Bloom suggest that the story is so captivating because of Faulkner’s use of literary techniques such as "sophisticated structure, with compelling characterization, and plot" (14). Through his creative ability to use such techniques he is able to weave an intriguing story full of symbolism, contrasts, and moral worth. The story is brief, yet it covers almost seventy five years in the life of a spinster named Emily Grierson. Faulkner develops the character Miss Emily and the events in her life to not only tell a rich and shocking story, but to also portray his view on the South’s plight after the Civil War. Miss Emily becomes the canvas in which he paints the customs and traditions of the Old South or antebellum era. The story “A Rose For Emily” becomes symbolic of the plight of the South as it struggles to face change with Miss Emily becoming the tragic heroin of the Old South.
One can clearly imagine the timid Emily standing behind her towering father. "Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip." Emily's father not only dominates the portrait but dominates Emily as well. Emily's father controls her every move. She cannot date anyone unless her father approves, yet he never approves of any of the few men that do show interest in her. "None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such." Unable to find a good enough suitor, Emily has no choice but to stay and care for her governing father.
The protagonist of this story is Miss Emily Grierson, an old maid spinster without family who becomes a “tradition” and a “sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 299). The story begins with the death of Miss Emily, so I will rearrange my analysis of the character to begin with what we first know about Miss Emily.
In the short story “A Rose for Emily” Emily Grierson is a woman who was raised with her rich father in a small town. Emily was raised in a very secluded house; her father did not allow her to go out and find a man she would want to marry. Emily was raised to be very close to her father and because of that she could not find her own life. When Emily was older her father died, Emily was so close to him by the time that he died that she kept his body for days because she did not want to admit he was gone. Emily was a beautiful woman when she was young. Emily’s family was rich, upper class, and the kind of people that small town people want to be.
Back in the day when I was very little, I remember that my dad used to take care of me. He would never let me run around the house when glass could off break and hurt me. As I kept growing up my father started to give more freedom but also gave me more responsibilities; like he wanted me to do the chores of the house, not all of them but some. I knew they were not mine to do but I still help. When I went off to college and I had to do all by myself, I realize that my father did good on making me do my laundry, chores and etc., when I was young. Besides I knew that I had to do my chores for me to go out with friends. Although I had this kind of responsibilities at a young age I can say that it helped in life. But because some parents overprotective their children and they are not exposing to real life, children might not know how to function in society when their parents die.
In “A Rose for Emily”, William uses the setting to reveal the traits of Emily and the townspeople. As the setting changes throughout the story it gives the readers different aspects of everyones high expectation towards Emily and the burden that she had to go through to carry her head high. For instance, the town people never like the thought of Emily marrying Homer b...
As Faulkner begins “A Rose for Emily” with death of Emily, he both immediately and intentionally obscures the chronology of the short story to create a level of distance between the reader and the story and to capture the reader’s attention. Typically, the reader builds a relationship with each character in the story because the reader goes on a journey with the character. In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner “weaves together the events of Emily’s life” is no particular order disrupting the journey for the reader (Burg, Boyle and Lang 378). Instead, Faulkner creates a mandatory alternate route for the reader. He “sends the reader on a dizzying voyage by referring to specific moments in time that have no central referent, and thus the weaves the past into the present, the present into the past. “Since the reader is denied this connection with the characters, the na...
William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily tells a story of a young woman who is violated by her father’s strict mentality. After being the only man in her life Emily’s father dies and she finds it hard to let go. Like her father Emily possesses a stubborn outlook towards life, and she refused to change. While having this attitude about life Emily practically secluded herself from society for the remainder of her life. She was alone for the very first time and her reaction to this situation was solitude.
In “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, Emily Geierson is a woman that faces many difficulties throughout her lifetime. Emily Geierson was once a cheerful and bright lady who turned mysterious and dark through a serious of tragic events. The lost of the two men, whom she loved, left Emily devastated and in denial. Faulkner used these difficulties to define Emily’s fascinating character that is revealed throughout the short story. William Faulkner uses characterization in “A Rose for Emily”, to illustrate Miss Emily as a stubborn, overly attached, and introverted woman.
She desperately desired to pursue a life of love and happiness but because of her father, knew of no other way to live her life beyond his control. “Being left alone, and a pauper, [Emily has] become humanized” (3) in the eyes of the townspeople due to freedom from her father’s authority. She was free to be her own person and live her own life. Shortly after her father’s death, an opportunity for Emily to pursue love is given when Homer Barron, a lively, middle class Northerner, comes to the town. Being an outsider, Homer knew nothing of Emily or of her past, leaving Emily an open door to the pursuit of a uncontrolled love. He is the first man to know Emily without knowing her father first, allowing her to choose him based off of her own desires. Soon after his arrival, the town began to see “[Homer] and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in [a] yellow wheeled buggy” (4), their first glimpses of Emily outside of her house since the death of her father. The presence of Homer in Emily’s life has a significant impact on her reputation and character. As a woman of high class, it is seen as untraditional and pitiful for Emily to be seen with Homer. Yet, her relentless pursuit of her free desires causes Emily to manipulate such societal expectations into a step up for her to get what she wants without question. “It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson [and] to reaffirm her imperviousness” (4). Emily’s idea of love for Homer is merely shaped by the controlling love from the only other man in her life- her father- of whom stood as barrier between Emily and real concept of
In "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner's use of setting and characterization foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. His use of metaphors prepares the reader for the bittersweet ending. A theme of respectability and the loss of, is threaded throughout the story. Appropriately, the story begins with death, flashes back to the past and hints towards the demise of a woman and the traditions of the past she personifies. Faulkner has carefully crafted a multi-layered masterpiece, and he uses setting, characterization, and theme to move it along.