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Sexism, Racism, and Class in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner is a story about the life of an old woman. The narrator reveals the main events of her life, such as the death of her father, the disappearance of her lover, and the events surrounding her death, and the thoughts of the townspeople on Emily and her life as heard from the gossipy people of the town. One theme -- or central idea -- of the story is how narrow-minded attitudes can cause others to withdraw. Emily is one of the people who withdraw because of narrow-mindedness. The attitudes regarding sexism, racism, and class depicted in "A Rose for Emily" are narrow-minded.
First, the attitude of sexism is narrow-minded. When Colonel Sartoris remitted Emily's taxes, he made up a story about the town owing Emily's father because she would not accept charity. The narrator says the story is one that only a woman could believe. That attitude is small-minded and sexist because men are capable of believing anything women can. Later, a bad smell develops around Emily's house and the women assume it is from an unkept kitchen. Emily's manservant does the cooking and the women say, "Just as if a man -- any man -- could keep a kitchen properly" (83). A more open-minded perspective shows that men can keep a kitchen just as well as women. When Emily and Homer are courting the women think something should be done because they are setting a bad example for the young people. The men do not want to interfere. The women interfere anyway and they convince the Baptist minister to talk to Emily. This attitude is sexist because some men may have wanted to interfere as much as the women and some women may have wanted to leave Emil...
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...ith on a daily basis. Parents do not want their daughters to marry beneath them. Negroes are still fighting for their equality and individuality. Women are still struggling to be seen as more than merely objects to be ruled. Also, homosexuals are fighting for their right to choose without being judged by others, and charismatics are trying to prove that alternative, more open and lively ways of worship are acceptable. These attitudes sometimes cause people to withdraw from society in order to keep from being judged. In "A Rose for Emily, Faulkner portrays Emily as a withdrawn person because of narrow-mindedness.
Bibliography:
Work Cited
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Compact 4th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. 81 - 88.
6. West, Ray B., Jr. "Atmosphere and Theme in Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily'." William Faulkner: Four Decades of Criticism. Ed. Linda Welshimer Wagner. Michigan State University Press, 1973. 192-198. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Sheila Fitzgerald. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 July 2011.
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Taken from Abcarian and Koltz, "Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience." St. Martins Press. 1998.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature and Its Writers. 6th ed. Boston, New York:
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. 549-51. Print.
In William Faulkner's 1930 short story "A Rose for Emily," the protagonist, Miss Emily Grierson is a desperately lonely woman. Miss Emily finds herself completely isolated from other people her entire life, yet somehow manages to continue on with her head held high. French philosopher and writer Voltaire said "We are rarely proud when we are alone," but Miss Emily's case is quite the opposite. The strength that Miss Emily gains from pride is what helps her through the loneliest of times.
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. 2nd
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 William Faulkner story “A Rose for Emily” has many subtle details that reveal that woman being treated as a lesser and with injustice has always happened and throughout the telling of Miss Emily Grierson’s life, you get a good look at it. For instance, the narrator reveals that “the town remembers all the young men her father had driven away” (Faulkner 732). This gives us insight into the way the female has long
Faulkner, William. “A Rose For Emily.” An Introduction to Fiction. 10th ed. Eds: X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New Yorkk: Pearson Longman, 2007. 29-34.
---. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 5th ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Shorter 5th ed. Ed. R.V.Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton & Comp., 1995.
In the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, Emily, the protagonist, is shown as someone who’s life is falling apart and brought down by society. Emily in this story could be described as a victim to society and her father. Emily Grierson’s confinement, loss of her father and Homer, and constant criticism caused her, her insanity.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose For Emily." The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. 91-99. Print.
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner shows the effects of privilege in humanity and how it can lead to mad behavior. Emily used to be rich, before her father died, and so the town looks the other way at her unusual and entitled actions for most of the story. When she went out to purchase poison, “the law [required] [Emily] to tell what [she] [was] going to use it for,”(p. 4), however, the druggist lets her get away with just a stare, allowing her to break the law because of her reputation, therefore enabling her to kill Barron with the poison she bought, and doing exactly the action that the law was most likely put into place to prevent. After she kills Barron and the neighbors notice a smell around her house, the judge says that they could
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.