Over the years, it has been shown that constant harassment, judgment, and torment cause people to do things out of the ordinary. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” it is sufficient to say that the protagonist of the story, Emily Grierson, was treated with contempt and disrespect from the Townspeople of Jefferson. The suffering they put Emily through contributed to her insanity and the horrible life she lived. Faulkner displays how the Townspeople’s mistreatment of Miss Emily is partly to blame for the deterioration of her mental health through their overall attitude toward the Grierson’s image, their desire for justice against Miss Emily, and their ability to change and evolve with the modern world. Throughout this story, the Townspeople of Jefferson exhibit negative and judgmental attitudes and actions toward the Grierson family. They “believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (54). This was because Mr. Grierson viewed everyone else as beneath him and Emily and was under the impression that they were of a higher status. The external conflict between the Griersons and the people of the town is primarily shown through their …show more content…
actions and words. For example, various members of the community complained of a horrid smell coming from their house. To eliminate this issue, a few men indiscreetly went to her estate and sprinkled lime in her cellar and outbuildings. Even though Emily was aware of what they were doing, she didn’t speak out. She stood by and silently watched as they pushed her further into isolation. Also, gossiping about Miss Emily’s personal life was something almost everyone took part in. All they did was criticize, judge, and analyze the relationship she shared with Homer Barron; to them, nothing Miss Emily ever did was right. If they hadn’t been so harsh toward her, Emily may not have built a wall around her that she would forever be unable to escape. Furthermore, Faulkner shows through a variety of examples how the majority of the Townspeople believed that Miss Emily deserved all of her misfortune, and the rest were completely indifferent about her well-being. He displays this concept through their reaction to the fact that she was still single at thirty years-old. They “were not pleased exactly, but vindicated” (54). The town was offended by the fact that she held herself higher than any of the men; therefore, they felt as if she had gotten what she deserved. In addition, he further shows this through their response to Emily’s purchase of arsenic. The town believed she had the intention of killing herself, and they thought it to “be the best thing” (56). Miss Emily had become a burden to them, and they wished that she be put out of her misery only to free them from theirs. Finally, as time progresses, Miss Emily stays frozen as the Townspeople evolve and grow with the years.
This contributes to the feelings of isolation that lay so heavily upon Emily. She experiences an internal struggle; as more generations pass, the stronger she pushes away from society. For example, the people stopped sending their children to her when “the newer generation became the backbone and the spirit of the town” (57). Miss Emily even refused to let them give her a mailbox and address when the town gained free postal delivery. The new generation of Townspeople also tried to get her to pay her taxes, but she continuously insisted that she was still exempt from taxation in Jefferson. Without any change in her life, Miss Emily was trapped in a prison created by the people around
her. In conclusion, it is evident that the people of Jefferson greatly influenced Miss Emily’s life in only negative ways. Their actions express their distaste for Emily and her family and propel her deeper into an inescapable loneliness. Faulkner also shows how their words exemplify their desire for Emily’s demise. Additionally, the fact that they are capable of progressing, while Emily is trapped in the past, also pushes her deeper into confinement. Overall, it can clearly be seen that these people greatly contributed and are partly to blame for the decline of Miss Emily. Without this negative influence in her life, Emily Grierson may have been able to live a fulfilling life free from the pain, misery, and death that consumed her.
The author, William Faulkner, has a collection of books, short stories, and poems under his name. Through his vast collection of works, Faulkner attempts to discuss and bring awareness to numerous aspects of life. More often than not, his works were created to reflect aspects of life found within the south. Family dynamics, race, gender, social class, war, incest, racism, suicide, necrophilia, and mental illness are just some of the aspects that Faulkner explored. In “A Rose for Emily” the aspects of necrophilia and mental illness along with the societal biases that were observed in a small-town setting are seen to be a part of this captivating story. These aspects ultimately intertwine with the idea of insanity that characterizes “A Rose for Emily.
If Emily carried her head a little bit lower and spent time looking at people around her, she could find a reliable listener to help her escape from the isolation. According to people in Jefferson town, the Grierson was really a monument, although this monument was fallen, they considered Emily, the last Grierson, an example to the young people. As a result of that, townspeople, especially some of the ladies, began to say that it was a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people.
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.
\Miss Emily Grierson, the main character in Williams Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” removes herself from society and becomes a total recluse, refuses to progress with the passing of time, murders her lover, but continues to sleep with his corpse until her dying day. The behavior presented in Emily is a sign of mental illness. Throughout the story, Emily’s mental instability becomes apparent through her character. The house that she was raised in and died in, and the love she had for dead bodies lead to her mental illness eventually causing her death.
In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily Grierson holds on to the past with a grip of death. Miss Emily seems to reside in her own world, untarnished by the present time around her, maintaining her homestead as it was when her father was alive. Miss Emily’s father, the manservant, the townspeople, and even the house she lives in, shows that she remains stuck in the past incapable and perhaps reluctant to face the present.
Miss Emily’s isolation is able to benefit her as well. She has the entire town believing she is a frail and weak woman, but she is very strong indeed. Everyone is convinced that she could not even hurt a fly, but instead she is capable a horrible crime, murder. Miss Emily’s actions range from eccentric to absurd. After the death of her father, and the estrangement from the Yankee, Homer Barron, she becomes reclusive and introverted. The reader can find that Miss Emily did what was necessary to keep her secret from the town. “Already we knew that there was one room in that region above stairs which no one had seen in forty years” (247).
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.
Miss Emily was part of the highly revered Grierson family, the aristocrats of the town. They held themselves to a higher standard, and nothing or nobody was ever good enough for them. Faulkner fist gives us the clue of Emily's mental condition when he refers to Emily's great-aunt, Lady Wyatt. Faulkner tells us that Lady Wyatt had "gone completely crazy" (Faulkner 93). Due to the higher standards they had set for themselves, they believed that they were too high for that and then distanced themselv...
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.
Miss Emily’s refusal to change all started when her father had passed away and when asked about it she was in denial and “she told them her father was not dead.” She didn’t want to come to the realization that the only person in her life that loved her and protected her was gone. The fact that he was so controlling of her life and how she lived made Miss Emily afraid of what was going to happen next. She wasn’t used to making her own life choices.
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.
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...
Although I do not agree with how Miss Emily Grierson behaved, but I do not blame her. Harbored from reality her entire life I can expect for her to do some unordinary things. I feel bad for Miss Emily because she was the center of attention in a modernized town where she still practiced her traditional values. Through the eyes the townspeople we get our views of Emily at a distance. Had the story been told from Emily’s perspective we could better understand her reasoning for her bizarre behavior.
In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” he explores the concepts of one’s difficulty accepting reality, relationships, and illusions. The story revolves around these topics but particularly surrounding a woman named Miss Emily Grierson. Miss Emily Grierson like many doesn’t like change but she has a difficult time when it comes to accepting reality so much so that she actually poisons a man and lays beside his dead body.
Miss Emily's house as the setting of the story is a perfect metaphor for the events occurring during that time period. It portrays the decay of Miss Emily's life and values and of the southern way of life and their clash with the newer generations. The house is situated in what was once a prominent neighborhood that has now deteriorated. Miss Emily's "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 of an earlier time," now looked awkward surrounded by "cotton wagons" and "gasoline pumps." The townspeople consider it "an eyesore among eyesores." Time has taken a similar role with Miss Emily altering her appearance from that of a "slender figure in white" (624) to that of "a small, fat woman in black" (622). The setting of Faulkner's story defines Miss Emily's tight grasp of ante-bellum ways and unchanging demeanor.. Through her refusal to put "metal numbers above her door and attach a mail box" to her house she is refusing to change with society. Miss Emily's attitude towards change is ...