A Rose For Emily Theme Essay

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short, but very captivating story. The story is a thorough examination of how Emily, the main character, relates to society. Although the story is short and sweet, it is full of themes and messages. Two themes that stand out the most are death and change. Emily lacked self esteem and tenacity, which hindered her from accepting change because she did not think that she would be able to stand on her own two feet. She had always been dependent on and dominated by men, and as a result she expected men to lead, defend, and think for her. She relied on men all her life, from her father, to her Negro butler, to Homer Barron. Emily is depicted as a victim in the story. She was a pawn to her father’s uppity

Homer was described as a Yankee with dark complexion, whose eyes were lighter than his face. Certainly if her father had been alive he never would have permitted the two to talk because Homer did not fit his social standards. However, Emily was getting older and longed to be married and have a family. She also desired love and protection and was bent on making Homer love and rescue her from her fear of being alone. Emily and Homer began to date despite the fact that Homer was not the marrying type and preferred to be with younger men instead. She felt as though everyone that loved her left her. For fear that she would not get her happily ever after, Emily went to the drug store and bought arsenic, a poison. A neighbor recalled seeing Homer go into Emily’s home one evening but that was the last time Homer would be seen until forty years later. Maybe one of the contributing factors as to why Emily killed Homer was to gratify her father’s and society’s standards that elites ought not marry regular laborers. Although she murdered Homer, Emily still loved him dearly and ignored the townspeople’s complaints of the foul stench that would escape her