In zoology, students are taught that the some of the most successful organisms are eusocial, or truly social, ones. This means that those organisms are dependent on each other to work together to promote the success of the colony. This behavior, however, is not observed in humans. In fact, the human race has shown a tendency to turn against others in an effort to get ahead themselves. Furthermore, humans, consciously or not, create their own groups to attempt to better their well-being as this is the best way to survive. These are known as societies. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines society as “An organized group working together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or profession”. (Webster) Using this information, we can assume that an individual who is a part of a society in which they do not share common values, that individual may begin to reject their society, or the society may also reject them. Kate Chopin’s The Storm and William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily display two different aspects of how an individual can reject society …show more content…
or a society can reject society can reject an individual, respectively. Written by William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily is a short story about a woman who, as she aged, began to disagree with the ideals and values that her society held.
It can be observed that Emily, the protagonist of the story, never truly held herself to the same standards as her community. Also, that her community only tolerated her behavior because of who her father was to the town. (FAulkner) In the case of A Rose for Emily, the society rejects the individual, and even further isolates her a little more with every rebellious or questionable action she takes. In the story, Faulkner chooses to write Emily’s actions in a scattered way so that we don’t get the complete picture until the end of the story. This allows us to be able to see her in the way her town did. From Faulkner’s writing style, it can also be observed that the town isolated her and as a result of the isolation, rejected her from their
society. In an article with the title Miss Emily After Dark, written by Thomas Argiro, the author brings a new idea to the metaphorical table. He writes that Emily was the town mystery. He explains that Faulkner framed Emily’s character as someone the town really didn’t know, other than her father’s daughter. He explains that Faulkner does a good job at leaving readers to speculate about Emily and her actions and uses this to explain how the societal rejection took place. He states that the rejection came from not only her insanity, but also the towns failure to attempt to get to know her. He says that if the town learned who Emily Grierson was as a person, they would not be left to speculate and could’ve given her the help she needed, as opposed to turning a blind eye that ultimately lead to her societal rejection. Argiro goes on to criticize Faulkner’s decision to frame Emily’s character as he did, then praises him because he believes that Faulkner’s goal was to present a misinterpretation to give an example of how a society can reject individuals based on a lack of knowledge. (Argiro) Derek Edyvane wrote an article titled Rejecting Society: Misanthropy, Friendship, and Montaigne that inquires who is the problem in societies -the individual going against the grain, or the society that is unwilling to change. In the case of A Rose for Emily, the society, or town, does their best to do away with her. They accomplish this goal by isolating her from the rest of the community. However, Edyvane writes that maybe communities should be more accepting of individuals that go against the status quo. He states that societies need individuals who rebel, like Emily, to challenge the beliefs and values that others so blindly accept. He associated this example to other authors who challenged their societies ideals and values, like Montaigne. He states that Montaigne was a misanthropic person, meaning that he completely rejected his own society. Montaigne believed it was better to find humor in the outlandish beliefs and values of his society, than to grieve about them, according to Edyvane. He goes on to explain that Emily showed this same behavior in her society. For example, at the point when the town's experts went to her home to gather charges, she just expressed she didn't have any. As a person living in that town, every individual (of age) had charges regardless of personal feelings or beliefs, however Emily did not agree with the new rule, so she mocked it. Edyvane says that Emily was an extraordinary instance of a misanthrope moreover. Edyvane also writes that an individual who will challenge their society’s belief system is necessary for the progress, or evolution, of the group. This individual may bring change to the current rules, or they could re-instill why those standards and rules are in place. (Edyvayne) In A Rose for Emily’s case, Emily reestablished why the rules were in place because they saw how, not only the individual could suffer from loneliness as she did, but if all citizens chose to neglect the rules, the town could fail to progress with the modern society. The idea that a rebellious individual is needed in every society can also be seen in Kate Chopin’s The Storm. The Storm, written by Kate Chopin, is a short story about a woman who is not happy with her life, but instead complacent. But her complacency lead to her acting in a way that was, and still is, not seen as appropriate behavior of a married woman. (Chopin) In her article, ‘So the Storm Passed …’: Interrogating Race, Class, and Gender in Chopin’s ‘At the ’Cadian Ball’ and ‘The Storm’, Lisa Kirby compares the writings of Kate Chopin’s works At the Cadian Ball and The Storm. From Kirby’s point of view, readers can see how Chopin wrote in a way that challenged, and continues to challenge, society’s beliefs, expectations, and values. Kirby believed that whether or not Chopin meant to do so, she always seemed to challenge how her readers thought and perceived. (Kirby) The Storm’s story line was so controversial at the time it was written that it wasn’t published for another seventy years. In his article, The Kaleidoscope of Truth: A New Look at Chopin's 'The Storm, Allen Stein writes that Chopin was sure that her work would be seen as unacceptable to readers during her time. He further states that Chopin may not have completely disapproved of Calixta’s actions, but instead uses her mistakes as a testament of humanity’s tendency to make mistakes and to test the limits of their society. He then gives other examples of what modern readers thought of Calixta and Alcee’s affair. After he explains that Chopin did not likely hold a myriad of opinions about the affair, he writes that Chopin never truly too a side, praising her for her ability to seemingly remain unbiased. Stein causes readers to see just how much a societal rejection can affect another human, using Chopin’s weariness to publish as an example. However, on the opposite side of the spectrum, it also shows how an individual rejecting their society can change the way others perceive and tolerate that behavior in the future. (Stein) In conclusion, whether an individual is being rejected or doing the rejecting of societies, it challenges how people think. In A Rose for Emily, readers see a society that rejected an individual based on misconceptions, assumptions, and ignorance. It shows that while individuals going against the status quo could be vital to a community, that is not the case in A Rose for Emily. However, while the rejection did not change any groups thinking in that story, it certainly challenged the way its modern readers viewed individuals like Emily. In the case of The Storm, it can be observed that readers, over time, have become more accepting of controversial topics being published as they can enlighten readers and prevent the ignorance that was seen in A Rose for Emily. The Storm also gives an example of how an individual can choose to ignore or reject the standards of their society. This can lead to growth as a community or as an individual. In the case of The Storm, it can be observed that both took place. Calixta grew as a person knowing that she was content with the decisions she made leading up to the affair and society(the readers) have become more accepting of challenges and new ideas to help enlighten.
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...
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.
William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” displays themes of alienation and isolation. Emily Grierson’s own father is found to be the root of many of her problems. Faulkner writes Emily’s character as one who is isolated from the people of her town. Her isolation from society and alienation from love is what ultimately drives her to madness.
Three key elements link William Faulkner's two short stories "A Rose for Emily" and "Dry September": sex, death, and women (King 203). Staging his two stories against a backdrop of stereotypical characters and a southern code of honor, Faulkner deliberately withholds important details, fragments chronological times, and fuses the past with the present to imply the character's act and motivation.
All the characters in “A Rose for Emily” all have an important connection with the main character, Miss Emily. This was story was narrated by a townsperson, who you could also count as character in this story. The townspeople had many opinions about Miss Emily. They always seemed to talk about her, always judging her life and how she was. That’s what made her an important person in the town. It wasn’t a normal day in the town without talking about Miss Emily.
The main themes of A Rose for Emily are isolation and loneliness, tradition versus present, and the gap between generations. The story is about a woman whose life has been filled with apathy and sympathy. In this story, Emily isolates herself from society, due to events from her past. Excessive isolation can cause loneliness in anyone's life. In A Rose for Emily, the author seems to describe that such isolation can cause someone to do appalling acts. Miss Emily has a hard time adjusting to the present time era. She wants everything to stay like the old South and cannot adjust to any change. Also, Miss Emily cannot handle the gap between generations because she believes everyone and everything should stay as is and it should never change because that is all she knows about.
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,
Faulkner uses the modern short story form and A Rose for Emily can be put into the category of an "epiphanic" short story as described by Thomas M.Leitch . This is because the story comes to a "climatic revelation" without having a specific plot line with "purposive agents." Faulkner also writes close to the form of the short story as you can definitely read it in one sitting and he concentrates on a brief time span. This allows him to provide us with a deeper look at Emily and the society that surrounded her in a microcosm of what Faulkner witnessed happening to many Southern aristocrats. We know Emily is an aristocrat because of her behaviour towards the issue of tax, as she believes she is above paying because she is a "Grierson.
“A Rose for Emily” happens to be a story set in the south during a time where women were supposed to be classy and care for their families. Emily did not fit in because she had little to no encounters with the opposite sex. Mr.
Enough happens to the point we could have endless conversations. In A Rose For Emily, A rose could either foreshadow her death and his, or it could be a symbol of love and how she cannot let go. She must have a lover. That is why in my eyes, this story is more psychological than sexist or racist. The reason why no one can visit her is not because of class. It is because she has a dead body (homer) in her house. Homer tried to leave, but when he came back for his stuff she killed him so that she would never be lonely. That is how I interpret this story. It sickens me, but intrigues me being that I am going into education and psychology. Most likely she learned her behavior, but the situation she grew up in as a child could be of some significance. For example the way her dad treated her. And where was her mom? All this, which could be caused by her previous and current social class, has caused her to be impacted to the point of murdering for love. We see from William Faulkner that, “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (96). Faulkner then shows us that, “only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps – an eyesore among eyesores” (96). We see that humanity must change. There is one group of people still in this world who are intolerant. If we let inequality be okay right now, our kids will see it. We
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” tells the story of a woman whose freedom was repressed by her father and, after his death, disconnected herself from the community and became more isolated in her home town than ever before. The story shows Emily’s loneliness and isolation through various symbolisms.
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner In "A Rose for Emily", Emily, a lady of a noble origin, finds herself alone in a small town in the Old South. The townspeople there turn their back on her because of her origin, although they have always been present at all of the events that marked her life, until the day she died. Emily's social isolation is evident through the development of the elements of character and events. The main reason that led the locals to isolate Emily was the fact that she came from a respectable and prestigious family, in a time where most of the people were poor.
A Rose For Emily portrays two important conflicts, which are encountered by the reader. There are different conflicting situations that can be seen in Faulkner’s story. The most notable conflicts are man vs. man, and man vs. himself conflicts. The man vs. himself conflict is the most prominent in the story, than the man. vs. man conflict. The conflicts are well displayed by the protagonist where she struggles with her personal desires against the society. Emily lived a life of isolation whereby her father secluded her from the rest of the world. She struggled with everything in her life first her narcissistic father, the isolation from the rest of the society, her father’s death, and now her lover who wants to run away from her. Seeing that her life was falling apart, she robs Homer her life just like her father robbed her teenage life, and later own she dies too. A Rose For Emily reveals conflicts one can have within himself, the people around him, and the environment. Emily’s life was a li...
In conclusion, A Rose for Emily these characters are what create the story into one. Without each person, it would not help explain each individual. Mr. William Faulkner the creator of this story knew how to make it where each paragraph even when going past to present into a good flowing story. Making it where it described Emily’s death, to her past, present, and so on. Also, Explaining Homer, Tobe, town’s people, and Emily’s father to where it explained there story yet conformed into one whole. The only thing about this story is that it never truly explains why the title was named A Rose for
Through the use of setting, characterization and theme Faulkner was able to create quite a mysterious and memorable story. "A Rose for Emily" is more than just a story though; her death represents the passing of a more genteel way of life. That is much more saddening than the unforgettable scene of Homer's decaying body. The loss of respect and politeness is has a much greater impact on society than a construction worker who by trade is always trying to change things. Generation after generation Miss Emily happily escaped modernism by locking herself in her house the past.