Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
A rose for emily theme analysis
Themes in a rose for emily
A literary analysis paper on a rose for emily by william faulkner
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: A rose for emily theme analysis
Esteemed writers William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway graced the latter of the nineteenth century and enriched the twentieth century with their stylistic, literary ventures that peaked the reader’s curiosity. Both Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize for literature. The writing styles of Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner share similar characteristics, as well as exhibit differences in their use of rhetorical strategies/devices. Relying on these strategies, both authors create stories of great depth and meaning, captivating their readers hearts and minds. Their use of symbolism,characterization, and the reliance on inference allowed Hemingway and Faulkner to develop their publications: A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), Hills Like White Elephants (Hemingway), A Rose for …show more content…
They can be used to display the premise of the composition as well; a simple title can achieve this goal. The titles Hills Like White Elephants and A Rose for Emily evoke a strong representation of the story’s main idea. Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants is a story about a couple who are talking about getting an abortion. With close analysis of the title it is evident that the story pertains to a burden in somebody’s life. A white elephant is seen as a possession that is useless or troublesome. To the spontaneous couple, a baby would be detrimental to their lifestyle because they would not be able to travel and enjoy life as they have been doing. Likewise, Faulkner’s title A Rose for Emily also displays the major premise of the story. Focusing on the word “rose” in the title is the key to understanding what this story is about. A rose represents true love and romance, meaning the protagonist Emily will either be in love or find love. As proved a symbol can be represented in many portions of writing, whether in the body of the story or hidden in the short lived words of the
The short stories “A & P,” “A Rose for Emily,” and “Hills Like White Elephants” are like puzzle pieces because they are all hooked together by common similarities. “A & P” by John Updike, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway may be different in some aspects, but they are very similar to one another. The similarities between the three short stories are themes, symbolism, inner conflict, and tragic occurrences.
Some readers might find the title of Faulkner’s story, “A Rose for Emily,” ironic. As a Symbol, the rose usually signifies romantic love. Assuming that Faulkner is well aware of a rose’s symbolic meanings, why does he wish to name his story about a doomed and perverse love affair? Faulkner causes the reader to believe this is a classic love story. Faulkner then overturns the reader’s expectations by offering an unconventional heroine. Generally love stories involve a young woman, pure and beautiful, worthy of receiving love. In this story, however, the heroine is old and decrepit. Emily is introduced first at her funeral where everyone from the town has come to pay respects. Emily then is described as “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town”. (Faulkner 681) This meaning that the townspeople viewed her as more of a monument to the town that has been there for as long as they can remember and won’t be moved. Emily throughout the whole story is criticized for the way that she thinks she is more important than everyone else, but it takes a society to judge a person at the top in order for there to be any social ladder. When Emily meets Homer she again is criticized for being seen with someone who comes from a lower part of society, but she is also being criticized for thinking she is better than everyone else. The townspeople make her feel like an outcast, and that is why she isolates herself from the rest of society. Society criticizes her for what she does, but it is the society that makes her do it. When Emily buys the rat poi...
A Rose for Emily Life is fickle and most people will be a victim of circumstance and the times. Some people choose not to let circumstance rule them and, as they say, “time waits for no man”. Faulkner’s Emily did not have the individual confidence, or maybe self-esteem and self-worth, to believe that she could stand alone and succeed at life especially in the face of changing times. She had always been ruled by, and depended on, men to protect, defend and act for her. From her Father, through the manservant Tobe, to Homer Barron, all her life was dependent on men.
In the course of a woman 's life there is vanity that prevails at first and slowly fades with the the mishaps or missed opportunities in life, for instance a once young and beautiful woman lets her surroundings affect the way she really wants to live and love. As to say, once a rose so vibrantly red and blossomed becomes withered and grey in waiting days. William Faulkner 's early 20th century story " A Rose for Emily," is an American gothic horror tale that shows the transition in Emily’s life of living her youth in the Old South and then getting older in a fast changing world that turns into the New South. Faulkner uses symbols of overprotection, emotional distress, and death through out the story to better describe the tragic life of Emily
William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily tells a story of a young woman who is violated by her father’s strict mentality. After being the only man in her life Emily’s father dies and she finds it hard to let go. Like her father Emily possesses a stubborn outlook towards life, and she refused to change. While having this attitude about life Emily practically secluded herself from society for the remainder of her life. She was alone for the very first time and her reaction to this situation was solitude.
In Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose For Emily” it portrays the love of a woman who is disturbed and cannot
Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. As Rpt. in Rankin, Paul "Hemingway's `Hills Like White Elephants'." Explicator, 63 (4) (Summer 2005): 234-37.
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 "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.
In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily”, we never hear the mention of a rose. The rose is a symbol of sympathy and pity that we feel towards her. Emily reflected the rose. She wanted to blossom and bloom but she was held down and lock up from the real world. Emily was the daughter of a rich man, a town hero. Her father, although he was looked up to by the town, was demanding and controlling. He turned down every man that he didn’t feel was worthy of his daughter. He set her up for a life that she could not escape. She became used to this lifestyle and it became who she was. When her father passed,
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.
William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" is perhaps his most famous and most anthologized short story. From the moment it was first published in 1930, this story has been analyzed and criticized by both published critics and the causal reader. The well known Literary critic and author Harold Bloom suggest that the story is so captivating because of Faulkner’s use of literary techniques such as "sophisticated structure, with compelling characterization, and plot" (14). Through his creative ability to use such techniques he is able to weave an intriguing story full of symbolism, contrasts, and moral worth. The story is brief, yet it covers almost seventy five years in the life of a spinster named Emily Grierson. Faulkner develops the character Miss Emily and the events in her life to not only tell a rich and shocking story, but to also portray his view on the South’s plight after the Civil War. Miss Emily becomes the canvas in which he paints the customs and traditions of the Old South or antebellum era. The story “A Rose For Emily” becomes symbolic of the plight of the South as it struggles to face change with Miss Emily becoming the tragic heroin of the Old South.
The author superbly utilizes symbolism throughout the short story. “Hills like White Elephants” is told in a vague way that holds the reader at bay. Hemingway’s genius use of symbolism helps the reader understand the story. One of the most prevalent uses of symbolism is the term white elephant, which represents “an unwanted gift, a seemingly remote and immense problem,” that the couple are forced to deal with (Kozikowski 107). The white elephant denotes the unwanted unborn child that is resented by the father, although the mother is curious to see through.
All in all, the story of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner represents a chilling and twisted story of a woman who used every option, even murder, to keep her state of happiness. Faulkner cleverly uses symbols, characters, and theme to fully illustrate the twisted mind of Emily Grierson and the communities never ending struggle between incorporating modern rules and keeping traditional values.
In "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner's use of setting and characterization foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. His use of metaphors prepares the reader for the bittersweet ending. A theme of respectability and the loss of, is threaded throughout the story. Appropriately, the story begins with death, flashes back to the past and hints towards the demise of a woman and the traditions of the past she personifies. Faulkner has carefully crafted a multi-layered masterpiece, and he uses setting, characterization, and theme to move it along.