A Victim of Society in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

558 Words2 Pages

In the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, Emily, the protagonist, is shown as someone who’s life is falling apart and brought down by society. Emily in this story could be described as a victim to society and her father. Emily Grierson’s confinement, loss of her father and Homer, and constant criticism caused her, her insanity. Emily was kept confined from all that surrounded her. Her father had given the town folks a large amount of money which caused Emily and her father to feel superior to others. “Grierson’s held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner). Emily’s attitude had developed as a stuck-up and stubborn girl and her father was to blame for this attitude. Emily was a normal girl with aspirations of growing up and finding a mate that she could soon marry and start a family, but this was all impossible because of her father. The father believed that, “none of the younger man were quite good enough for Miss Emily,” because of this Miss Emily was alone. Emily was in her father’s shadow for a very long time. She lived her li...

Show More
Related

  • Free College Essays - Fear in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Life is sad and tragic; some of which is made for us and some of which we make ourselves. Emily had a hard life. Everything that she loved left her. Her father probably impressed upon her that every man she met was no good for her. The townspeople even state “when her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to her; and in a way, people were glad…being left alone…She had become humanized” (219). This sounds as if her father’s death was sort of liberation for Emily. In a way it was, she could begin to date and court men of her choice and liking. Her father couldn’t chase them off any more. But then again, did she have the know-how to do this, after all those years of her father’s past actions? It also sounds as if the townspeople thought Emily was above the law because of her high-class stature. Now since the passing of her father she may be like them, a middle class working person. Unfortunately, for Emily she became home bound.

    Read More

  • Faulkner's A Rose for Emely and Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emily was drove crazy by others expectations, and her loneliness. ““A Rose for Emily,” a story of love and obsession, love, and death, is undoubtedly the most famous one among Faulkner’s more than one hundred short stories. It tells of a tragedy of a screwy southern lady Emily Grierson who is driven from stem to stern by the worldly tradition and desires to possess her lover by poisoning him and keeping his corpse in her isolated house.” (Yang, A Road to Destruction and Self Destruction: The Same Fate of Emily and Elly, Proquest) When she was young her father chased away any would be suitors. He was convinced no one was good enough for her. Emily ended up unmarried. She had come to depend on her father. When he finally died, ...

    Read More

  • Narrative Worth in A Rose for Emily

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “ A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner tells the complex tale of a woman who is battered by time and unable to move through life after the loss of each significant male figure in her life. Unlike Disney Stories, there is no prince charming to rescue fallen princess, and her assumed misery becomes the subject of everyone in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi. As the townspeople gossip about her and develop various scenarios to account for her behaviors and the unknown details of her life, Emily Grierson serves as a scapegoat for the lower classes to validate their lives. In telling this story, Faulkner decides to take an unusual approach; he utilizes a narrator to convey the details of a first-person tale, by examining chronology, the role of the narrator and the interpretations of “A Rose for Emily”, it can be seen that this story is impossible to tell without a narrator.

    Read More

  • Repression In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    346 Words  | 1 Pages

    Repression is the restraint, prevention, or inhibition of a feeling, quality. Although some advocates might argue that repression cannot affect someone’s everyday life, In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner the protagonist, Emily Grierson challenges that ideology in several unique ways.

    Read More

  • Isolation In William Faulkner's 'A Rose For Emily'

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily” is a story about isolation, curiosity, and madness It starts off with the death of Mrs. Emily Grierson, A town favorite in the sense that she is mysterious and reclusive, becoming somewhat of an old interest to the town. With this beginning, the narrator begins to tell us the nature of Mrs. Emily and her interactions and presence over the town, as well as her morbid personality. From purchasing the rat poison to the locals finding the preserved body of her long but passed lover, Homer Barron, in her own home. It is the descent into the mind of deranged and unstable woman, a woman who is the main focus of the tale, yet without appearing repeatedly throughout the story, and having the reader hear her thoughts.

    Read More

  • Characterization within A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    By using strong characterization and dramatic imagery, William Faulkner introduces us to Miss Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily”. The product of a well-established, but now fallen family, Emily plays common role found in literature- a societal outcast, who earns her banishment from society through her eclectic behavior and solitary background. Often living in denial and refusing to engage with others, Emily responds to her exile by spending the remainder of her life as a mysterious recluse that the rest of society is more content to ignore rather than break social customs to confront her. Emily’s role as an outcast mirrors a major theme of the story, that denial is a powerful tool in hiding a secret, however, the truth will eventually emerge. The mystery surrounding Emily’s character and the story’s memorable imagery creates a haunting tale that lingers with the reader.

    Read More

  • William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily : Her Father is to Blame

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Emily Grierson Influence

    478 Words  | 1 Pages

    Emily is a very mysterious and strange character. Throughout the story,  Miss Emily’s behavior turns very bizarre. This erratic behavior started showing after Emily’s father passed away. Mr. Grierson was a very controlling father, he constantly was running men out of Emily’s life. After Mr. Grierson dies in the story it says, “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her” (Faulkner 520).

    Read More

  • Alienation and Isolation in William Falukners "A Rose For Emily"

    433 Words  | 1 Pages

    William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” displays themes of alienation and isolation. Emily Grierson’s own father is found to be the root of many of her problems. Faulkner writes Emily’s character as one who is isolated from the people of her town. Her isolation from society and alienation from love is what ultimately drives her to madness.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner tells the tale of an old and seemingly unstable woman named Emily Grierson who has apparently just passed away. The short story reflects on her role in the community and the somewhat strange events that occurred throughout her life. Through the telling of the events, by the end of the story the reader has been able to witness something that could be described as a slow descent into madness. It would be difficult to argue that Miss Emily does not show symptoms of mental illness; there is evidence that supports that the roots of her problems are caused by the circumstances she has no control over such as childhood, society, community, and personality, and it is these circumstances

    Read More

  • Free Essay: Alienation and Isolation in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Faulkner, one of the most famed writers of our times, explores in his writing the themes of alienation and isolation. He interweaves these themes with his female characters. In A Rose for Emily, Miss Emily Grierson is a woman who is alienated and lives in isolation from the people in her town. The theme of isolation is the focal point of the story, since it is what drove her to her madness.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Characterization In A Rose For Emily

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Rose for Emily

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Desperation for love arising from detachment can lead to extreme measures and destructive actions as exhibited by the tumultuous relationships of Miss Emily in William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily” (rpt. in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 9th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2006] 556). Miss Emily is confined from society for the majority of her life by her father, so after he has died, she longs for relations that ironically her longing destroys. The despondency and obsession exuded throughout the story portray the predicament at hand.

    Read More

  • The Rose Of Emily In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    1955 Words  | 4 Pages

    The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is about the life of Miss Emily Grierson. Emily is a mysterious character who evolves from a lively and optimistic young girl to a secluded and secretive old woman. Throughout the story many other characters are introduced and assist with the stories progression and conveyance of Miss Emily. Many who have read this tale have given many different opinions about Miss Emily. Many say she is a twisted and demented old woman and others believe her to be a true tragic hero. Throughout the story, Faulkner uses characters such as Tobe, Mr. Grierson, Homer, the narrator, the town’s people, and even Miss Emily herself to make a truly haunting story.

    Read More

  • Applying Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory to William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    Growing up Emily’s father, Mr. Gierson, made her stay in the house and not socialize with others. He taught her that he was only trying to protect her from the outside world. Mr.Gierson was a rude man who felt that things should go his way; therefore, his daughter hopelessly fell for him because she did not know any oth...

    Read More

More about A Victim of Society in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

Open Document