In the short story "A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner is told from the town's people first person point of view. In “A rose for Emily” the reader is first introduced to Miss Emily Grierson at the beginning of the story while at her funeral. The story experiences a flashback with the narrator informing the reader of Emily’s tax collection and her relationship with a Homer Barron, a Northerner, who is in town for a construction project. In the next paragraphs I'm going to discuss the following element from this short story the Motif, Theme, and the Symbol of the Strand of Hair and some critics thoughts of this elements. The strand of hair in "A Rose for Emily" it symbolizes the love that Emily and Homer had one time and they lost it when Homer left and then decided to come back with her but she decided to kill him so he wont ever leave again. Emily Grierson was so stubborn so she can still be happy of what she did. The strand of hair withal tells the life of Emily who was against her oddness, she was accomplishing to live her life by her self and did not resign to the behavior she had, not caring how bad to the approbation of others. The narrator founds a strand of hair when they discover Homer Barron body when Miss Emily kept him in her house in a room where nobody could see him. After she past away they decided to wait and go and open the room that was close for almost forty years. When they entered the room they saw a body lying down in the bed the skin was already gone they only thing you could of see was the form of a body in bones. They got closer and the saw an indentation of Emily' head on the pillow with a long strand of iron- gray hair. They knew Miss Emily was sleeping with him every night. Audrey Binder sees E... ... middle of paper ... ...she would go sleep with him every night. The motive of the short story was that Emily wanted to have Homer for the rest of her life but when he left she went a bought the poison to kill him and he wouldnt leave her no more. The character Homer in the story you can't really tell if he was gay or not. Works Cited Caesar, Judith. "Faulkner's Gay Homer, Once More." Explicator 68.3 (2010): 195-198. Academic Search Complete. Web 16 Apr. 2014. Binder, Aubrey. "Uncovering The Past: The Role Of Dust Imagery In A ROSE FOR EMILY." Explicator 70.1 (2012): 5-7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Scherting, Jack. "Emily Grierson's Oedipus Complex: Motif, Motive, And Meaning In Faulkner's 'A Rose For Emily'." Studies In Short Fiction 17.4 (1980): 397. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 7 Apr. 2014 Faulkner, William. "A Rose For Emily" Ninth Edition 2011
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.
When she meets Homer Barron and thinks that she has found her true love. But contrary to what she wants, Homer is a homosexual: Khe liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elks Club --- that he was not a marrying man (A Rose for Emily, 126). To keep him with her forever, Emily chooses to murder Homer. Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and looking forward, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair (A Rose for Emily, 130).
William Faulkner takes us back in time with his Gothic short story known as, “A Rose for Emily.” Almost every sentence gives a new piece of evidence to lead the reader to the overall theme of death, isolation, and trying to maintain traditions. The reader can conclude the theme through William Faulkner’s use of literary devices such as his choice of characters, the setting, the diction, the tone, and the plot line.
William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" has been interpreted in many different ways. Most of these rely solely on hints found within the story. I believe that his life can also help one analyze this story. By knowing that Faulkner's strongest influence was his independent mother, one can guess that Miss Emily Grierson's character was based partly on Maud Falkner.
Southern decadence was famous and iconic back when the story, "A Rose for Emily" was set. It was caused by the end of the Civil War and the forced change upon the antebellum south. Decadence defined the south before the Civil War, including obscene wealth and slavery, and the aristocracy, of which Emily and her father were a part, never had to lift a finger. Emily ends up not only in deep denial, making her able to disregard the reality of her life, but also causing the townspeople to participate in her denial as well. William Faulkner grew up in this southern and self-indulgent environment, making his outlook true to life, and well illustrated in this story.
Sullivan, Ruth “The Narrator in A rose for Emily”. Journal of Narrative Technique (1971): 159-178
...er. Upstairs in her bedroom, lie Homer’s decomposed body wearing remnants of the suit she had purchased for him many years ago. The indentation of a head on the pillow case and the strand of gray hair next to the body, gives us the impression that Emily laid there before her death. These clues give the reader a second and final rectification that Emily had necrophilia.
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.
In “A Rose For Emily”, by William Faulkner, plot plays an important role in how
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
At the beginning of the story when her father died, it was mentioned that “[Emily] told [the ladies in town] that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body” (626). Faulkner reveals Emily’s dependency on her father through the death of her father. As shown in this part of the story, Emily was very attached to her father and was not able to accept that fact that he was no longer around. She couldn’t let go of the only man that loved her and had been with her for all those years. While this may seem like a normal reaction for any person who has ever lost a loved one, Faulkner emphasizes Emily’s dependence and attachment even further through Homer Barron. After her father’s death, Emily met a man name Homer, whom she fell in love with. While Homer showed interest in Emily at the beginning he became uninterested later on. “Homer himself had remarked—he liked men” (627) which had caused Emily to become devastated and desperate. In order to keep Homer by her side, Emily decided to poison Homer and keep him in a bedroom in her home. It was clear that she was overly attached to Homer and was not able to lose another man that she
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.
Faulkner uses symbolism to help bring out the main points in the story itself and also uses this symbolism to show how Emily is an allegory for the changes in the South during the time of the Civil War. By using the symbols of the rose meaning love or silence, or the hair meaning that over time things change, or even the house, being set back in the old times of the Civil War, symbolism is shown many ways throughout this short story. William Faulkner wrote "A Rose for Emily," in a way where the reader is able to comprehend and interpret the main points in the story in a different way as to where they will be able to look deeper within the meaning of each part of the story rather than having a dull meaning behind everything.
In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” he uses many literary elements to portray the life of Emily and the town of Jefferson. The theme of the past versus the present is in a sense the story of Miss Emily’s life. Miss Emily is the representation of the Old South versus the New South, mainly because of her inability to interact with the present or come to terms with reality. Holding onto the past and rejecting change into the present led Miss Emily into a life of isolation and mental issues.
...she believed might be the only way to keep the man she loved from leaving her. Out of desperation for human love, when she realized Homer would leave her she murdered him so she could at least cling to his body. In his death, Emily finally found eternal love that no one could every take from her.