A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is located in Jefferson, a small Southern town during the post- Civil War era. The story revolves around the eccentric and catastrophic events of Miss Emily Grierson’s life. At a first look, Miss Emily seems like a lonely woman with little self-confidence and low self-esteem, which is due from her father’s upbringing. There had to be some kind of neglect by her father because he made her lived such a sheltered life. He made her think that nobody was good enough for her and he even turned her away from his own family. From beginning to end, Emily turned into quite an odd character due to this type of sheltered life.
In section one, the narrator of A Rose for Emily, is the voice of the town rather than a specific person. The story embarks on a journey unfolding when Miss Emily Grierson dies, and how the whole town joins together to go her funeral. The women of the town go mostly out of inquisitiveness to see the inside of her house, which they say is, "a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had once been our most select street"(409). Then we receive an explanation of why Miss Emily had been a "hereditary obligation upon the town"(409). In 1894, the mayor, Colonel Sartoris, made up a story about how her father lent the town money, so her taxes were already paid for when her father died. When the next generation took over the office, the Board of Alderman held a conference meeting to decide how to collect taxes from Miss Emily, who was still living in belief of not having to pay them. The board of aldermen went to her house and remained in the dusty parlor until Miss ...
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...accept it. She tried to stop time in her own warped ways, and even more astoundingly, the townspeople let her. To them, she was a symbol of the old South. She was her father's daughter, and they were more than satisfied to let her do things in her own way. They liked her as a symbol of the Old South so that they could adhere to the idealistic past as well. But we the readers and the townspeople find out, time stops for no person. It can never stop and no matter how hard you try to entrap it, it will find a way out eventually. Emily's way out was death. She leaves behind the townspeople who protected her to figure out how they will move into this new world of industry and development.
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Story and Its Writer: An Introductory to Short Fiction. Eighth ed. Bedford / St. Martin's: Ann Charters, 2011. 409-15. Print.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily". An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Ed. Barnet, Sylvan, et al. 287-294.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." N.p.: n.p., n.d. 1-8. A Rose for Emily. University of Virginia. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily". An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Ed. Barnet, Sylvan, et al. 287-294.
"A Rose for Emily" is a fictional short story written by 1949 Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner. Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is about an aristocratic woman who lived a very secretive and unusual life. Miss Emily had always been very sheltered by her father. He was the only man in her life and after his death, her behavior became even more unnatural. However her father's death cannot be seen as the only cause of Miss Emily's insanity. Miss Emily's behavior was also influenced by her own expectations of herself, the townspeople's lack of authority over her, and her neighbor's infatuation with her.
Emily Grierson, referred to as Miss Emily throughout the story, is the main character of 'A Rose for Emily,' written by William Faulkner. Emily is born to a proud, aristocratic family sometime during the Civil War; Miss Emily used to live with her father and servants, in a big decorated house. The Grierson Family considers themselves superior than other people of the town. According to Miss Emily's father none of the young boys were suitable for Miss Emily. Due to this attitude of Miss Emily's father, Miss Emily was not able to develop any real relationship with anyone else, but it was like her world revolved around her father.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Shorter 5th ed. Ed. R.V.Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton & Comp., 1995. 275-83.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." A Critical Introduction to Short Fiction. Eds. JoAnn Buck et al. Southlake: Fountainhead Press. 96-103. Print.
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.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Shorter 5th ed. Ed. R.V.Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton & Comp., 1995.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose For Emily." The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. 91-99. Print.
In the story, A Rose for Emily, the townspeople gather around to mourn the death of Miss Emily Grierson. As they gather each person reminisce memories of the woman, whether they were good or bad. Emily Grierson was a settled young lady who lived with an over powering father and quiet servant. Emily was never allowed to date or fancy a man because her father would keep her captive and secluded from any relations. On the day of the father’s death, Emily could not let her father go; therefore she kept her father with her for three days, in denial that he had passed. Time went on and Miss Emily decided it was time for a change. Miss Emily crossed paths with a man by the name of Homer Barron. He was an upstate Yankee worker who was on a job nearby the Grierson home. The townspeople were disappointed because of the Grierson name. According to them, they believed that Emily would never fall for Barron. They were wrong. After a while of going out and having fun, Homer was never seen again. Miss Emily would be seen buying odd items for marriage which made the
With every turn of the page, the dark and twisted storyline of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner leaves the reader in a stronger state of shock and inevitably speechless. Faulkner cleverly uses symbols, characters, and theme to illustrate the inner thoughts of Emily Grierson and the community’s ongoing struggle between tradition and modernism. .
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.
The ways of the world had changed around her and Miss Emily just had not accepted it. She had tried to stop time in her own twisted ways, and even more astonishingly, the townspeople had let her. To them, she was a symbol of the old South, even if they did suspect some mental illness. She was her father's daughter, and they were more than content to let her do things in her own way. They liked her as a symbol of the Old South so that they could cling to an idealized past as well. But as the reader knows time stops for no one. It can never stop and no matter how you try to trap it, it will find a way out eventually. Emily's way out was death. She leaves behind the townspeople who are left to figure out how they will move into this new world of change and growth, how they will reconcile the Old South with the new one.
Emily’s father’s death was a major tragedy for Emily. It seems as if she was in denial of his death. Faulkner explains, “The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom. Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead.” So Emily would not admit that her father had died. After she accepted his death, she had to endure life without a father. This must have been terribly hard, but she endured it. Many people also attempted to help Emily