Homer Barron In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

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In the literary work “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, there is a character with the name Homer Barron. The author insinuates that Homer Barron is homosexual, by including a few specific statements, and foreshadowing. Faulkner has the narrator describe Homer Barron as “ a Yankee- a big, dark, ready man, with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face.” (631) “Pretty soon he knew everybody in town. Whenever you heard a lot of laughing anywhere about the square, Homer Barron would be in the center of the group”, indicating that Homer is also very social (631). First off, the name. Faulkner gave the character the name Homer Barron. If the name is broken down, it can allude to two things. Starting with the first name Homer, it sounds a lot like homosexual. Then to the last name, Barron. Barron and barren are homophones. A homophone is a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not (“homophone”). To elaborate on, the word barren has a multitude of definitions; without the capacity to interest or attract, not producing results, and lacking (“barren”). Meaning Homer Barron was not interested in women, and lacked attraction toward them. …show more content…

Also in the text, the author remarks on the fact Homer likes to drink with the young men at the Elk’s Club. Then he goes on to say that he is not a marrying man. That can imply he is homosexual

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