A Rose For Emily Literary Criticism

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We as humans like to believe that the less you reveal, the more people can wonder. A true mystery in the making, "A Rose for Emily" is a gothic psychological tale depicting the cauldron of feelings one accumulates after committing a crime. William Faulkner writes this short story unlike most, portraying the effect of multiple narrators, while the point of view represents the consciousness of the town, which is not evident until later in the story. Another critical point to understanding the mystery behind "A Rose for Emily" is that it is not written chronologically. It is written through a series of "situation-triggered memories ordered symbolically" in order to reveal the ultimate theme of the story, "making the plot more associative than …show more content…

Emily could be observed as a southern belle who is trapped within the confines of her own society. Emily, as well as her house stands as a relic in the progressive era. Almost as if it is preservation for tradition, Faulkner exemplifies how the southern architecture decays as the surrounding community becomes more industrial. Faulkner wants the reader to pay close attention to the structure of the short story in order to fully uncover the mystery of the traps referenced within the short …show more content…

Faulkner introduces Emily as a dynamic and lively character, and the reader begins to wonder why she is so bounded to the past. After her father’s death, the townspeople begin to "feel really sorry for her" and realize, "the house was all that was left to her" (Faulkner 1105). In a peculiar way it makes the townspeople somewhat happy to know that her life is more secluded than it was before, and that she would be able to "become more humanized" (Faulkner 1105). She was unable to be truly humanized when her father was alive because he controlled her every move, and he was able to do so by ensuring her life was completely sheltered. For example, he made sure she did not find a lover during his lifetime, or someone who would ultimately take Emily away from him. Even after her father 's death he still controlled her thoughts and emotions, in which she was unable to truly escape until her own death. This power control over death proves "A Rose for Emily" is more of an unrequited love story trapped within a gothic tale. She does not return the same feeling of love to her father, and yet becomes more secluded from the town. The only way she is able to truly control her own life is by hiding from the outside world, and denying the fact of death

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