A Rose For Emily Analysis Essay

Literary Analysis

In the short story “A Rose for Emily” death plays a major role in developing the story. It also shows how the death of one person can change a city as a whole. However, if you compare this story to the life of the author, William Faulkner, you can see how death in his life can contribute to why he wrote the story the way he did. The death of the people is used to add to the meaning of the work altogether. William Faulkner’s experiences add meaning to his work, “A Rose for Emily,” through several deaths and Emily’s ultimate demise.

Throughout the story, the narrator shows how Emily was holding on to the past when everybody else was moving forward in the present and she didn’t want to make changes. Even though there were many deaths that occurred throughout the story, Emily at no time accepted the fact that they actually died. She wasn’t willing to move forward into the future. As seen in the text:

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. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to

All of them, however, can be looked at through the life of the author. William Faulkner was no stranger to death or disappointment. He suffered through many deaths, including a week old daughter. Each of Emily’s conflicts resinated William’s life. He had a difficult life and faced many harsh deaths, in order to overcome his situations he would write about them. He would use this as a way to express his feelings, so that he could move past them and continue to prosper.Once readers understand the background of the story and the life of William Faulkner, the meaning behind “A Rose for Emily” almost appears to mirror Faulkner’s life. And this is just one