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Theme and meaning of a rose for emily
Theme and meaning of a rose for emily
Theme and meaning of a rose for emily
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In "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning," William Faulkner creates two characters that at first seem nothing alike. On one hand, Emily Grierson, a secluded aristocrat from Jefferson, Mississippi, that the townsfolk ignore, even though she is an essential figure of the town . On the contrary, Abner Snopes is a rambunctious, hot-tempered man that most people tend to stay away from. If these two characters are compared by social status and gender alone, it would appear to be that Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes are complete polar opposites. However, William Faulkner’s characters of Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes have more in common than at first glance. They are both outcasts in their societies, they are both willing to do anything for total control, and they both are unwilling to change.
Even though they are at the far ends of the social hierarchy, The
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clearest thing Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes have in common is that they are both social outcasts in the communities they live in.
Miss Emily’s father restricts the people she is allowed to interact with to the point that she has no social life. So after her father dies, Emily has been isolated so much that she does not know anyone and has no idea how to socialize, and just as Miss Emily is isolated from the townspeople, they feel isolated from her. She becomes not as someone to become close to , but as a person of high society . They view her as "a tradition, a duty, and care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town" (Rose ). Normally, everyday townspeople do not socialize with upper-class citizens, so the people of Jefferson feels like it would be a wrong to converse with Miss Emily. Also, the townsfolk put Emily Grierson on a pedestal of some sort which further sets her apart from the rest of the town. Jefferson looks and treats Emily as a “monument” of the town (Rose ). She is not perceived as a real,
genuine person in the town’s mind, only as an object that can not be touched. Miss Emily lives her life as an outsider because of the social rift between her and society. Similarly, Abner Snopes is an outcast in the society he lives in. All the people he encounters speculate him as a low class outsider. He is a misanthrope, acting cruelly and harshly towards everyone. The people who unfortunately cross paths with Abner want absolutely nothing to do with such a awful and despicable man. Not only do people avoid Abner; he avoids them as well. He cares for nothing and no one, and makes no effort to be the least bit accepted by anyone. For example, when Snopes is in court facing charges of burning down a neighbor's barn, he "spoke for the first time, his voice harsh, level, without emphasis. . . . He said something unprintable and vile, addressed to no one" (Barn ). His anti-social and mean personality creates a harsh wedge between him and the rest of the world. So, just like Emily Grierson, Abner Snopes is outside the social circle. , Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes are very controlling characters and will do anything to keep control. They let no one else try to have power over them. Emily Grierson's desire for control derives from her father dictating her life, and after her father's death, she seizes the opportunity to get her life back. For example, when Miss Emily goes to purchase a deadly bottle of arsenic, the apothecary requests that she says what she will use it for. Miss Emily, not wanting to provide the answer, "just stared at him, her head tilted back in order for him to look her eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic" (Rose ). Even in the slightest, if she is feeling regulated to do something she does not want to do Emily will quickly sway the situation in her favor. However, the most extreme measure Emily takes to gain control is when she kills Homer Barron the man she loves. She is so taken aback at the thought of losing Homer and the power she had over him that the only way to keep control over him was to kill him (Rose ). Even though Emily is in authority in the town she calls home, if she feels for a moment that it will diminish, she will take action. Similarly, Abner Snopes desire for control has dangerous consequences. The most drastic example of Abner's desperate measure to possess control is when he burns down barns of those he feels threatened by (Barn ). He burns others' property because he wants to show them that he is in control. Emily and Abner display their dominating personalities in all of their actions.
In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, there is a constant theme of protection for Emily Grierson, because she was a woman living in the south after the civil war and the requirements that were placed on women enable to be honorable. That is to say that, women needed to be protected by the men of the community during that time in history and women’s actions were constantly under watch to see if a woman was honorable and worthy of protection or not. Within the story, there are many instances in which this is shown. Faulkner also shows the reader a gender split between the men and women and how they felt towards Emily.
In the beginning of the story, the narrator referred to her as a “fallen monument” and states that the deceased Emily Grierson was to be buried together with the “Union and Confederate soldiers who fell at the battle of Jefferson”(Faulkner 99). This gives the story a united description of Emily’s character and shows how well she was respected in her community even after her demise. In addition, the narrator continues by showing the mystery the deceased woman had created when she disappeared from the light of society. “From that time on her front door remained closed, save for a period of six or seven years…” (Faulkner 103).When a rose that is in the center of attention disappears, everyone who’s seen it becomes curious about its disappearance. This was the exact same case with Ms. Emily. The people of the town were saddened as none of them knew the correct information on the deceased
Mental illnesses affect individuals in many ways. Some can manage the illness, so they can have a sense of normalcy in their life. Other individuals live become overwhelmed by their illness. The actions they perform may seem socially unacceptable. By analyzing “A Rose for Emily” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” readers can recognize that both protagonists suffer from autophobia, sensory processing disorder, and paraphilia.
Emily had a servant so that she did not have to leave the house, where she could remain in solitary. The front door was never opened to the house, and the servant came in through the side door. Even her servant would not talk to anyone or share information about Miss Emily. When visitors did come to Emily’s door, she became frantic and nervous as if she did not know what business was. The death of Emily’s father brought about no signs of grief, and she told the community that he was not dead. She would not accept the fact that she had been abandoned because of her overwhelming fear. Emily’s future husband deserted her shortly after her father’s death. These two tragic events propelled her fear of abandonment forward, as she hired her servant and did not leave the house again shortly after. She also worked from home so that she never had a reason to leave. Emily did not have any family in the area to console in because her father had run them off after a falling out previously. She also cut her hair short to remind her of a time when she was younger and had not been deserted. Even though people did not live for miles of Emily Grierson, citizens began
In "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning," William Faulkner creates two characters worthy of comparison. Emily Grierson, a recluse from Jefferson, Mississippi, is an important figure in the town, despite spending most of her life in seclusion. On the contrary, Abner Snopes is a loud, fiery-tempered man that most people tend to avoid. If these characters are judged by reputation and outward appearance only, the conclusion would be that Emily Grierson and Abner Snopes are complete opposites. However, despite the external differences, these two characters have surprisingly similar personalities.
William Faulkner has written some of the most unique novels and short stories of any author, and, to this day, his stories continue to be enjoyed by many. Both “Barn Burning” and “A Rose for Emily” tell about the life of southern people and their struggles with society, but Faulkner used the dramatic settings of these two stories to create a mood unlike any other and make the audience feel like they too were a part of these southern towns. These two stories have many similarities in there setting, but they also have many differences to that make them unique and interesting.
Because of the way she is raised, Miss Emily sees herself as "high society," and looks down upon those who she thinks of as commoners. This places her under the harsh scrutiny of the townspeople who keep her under a watchful eye. The only others who see Miss Emily as she sees herself are the Mayor Colonel Sartoris, and Judge Stevens.
If Emily carried her head a little bit lower and spent time looking at people around her, she could find a reliable listener to help her escape from the isolation. According to people in Jefferson town, the Grierson was really a monument, although this monument was fallen, they considered Emily, the last Grierson, an example to the young people. As a result of that, townspeople, especially some of the ladies, began to say that it was a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people.
Symbolism in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning. If we compare William Faulkner's two short stories, 'A Rose for Emily' and 'Barn Burning', he structures the plots of these two stories differently. However, both of the stories note the effect of a fathers teaching, and in both the protagonists Miss Emily and Sarty make their own decisions about their lives. The stories present major ideas through symbolism that includes strong metaphorical meaning.
He was the only man in her life, and after his death, her behavior became even more unnatural. However, her father's death cannot be seen as the only cause of Miss Emily's insanity. Miss Emily's behavior was also influenced by her own expectations of herself, the townspeople's lack of authority over her, and her neighbor's infatuation with her. The narrator tells us the Griersons had always thought too highly of themselves and no doubt Emily shared this opinion with her belated family. After her father's death, she was the last of the Griersons.
Emily father was highly favored in the town. Faulkner writes in his Short Story Criticism, “The Griersons have always been “high and mighty,” somehow above “the gross, teeming world….” Emily’s father was well respected and occasionally loaned the town money. That made her a wealthy child and she basically had everything a child wanted. Emily’s father was a very serious man and Emily’s mind was violated by her father’s strict mentality. After Emily’s father being the only man in her life, he dies and she find it hard to let go of him. Because of her father, she possessed a stubborn outlook on life and how thing should be. She practically secluded her self from society for the remainder of her life.
Miss Emily’s isolation is able to benefit her as well. She has the entire town believing she is a frail and weak woman, but she is very strong indeed. Everyone is convinced that she could not even hurt a fly, but instead she is capable a horrible crime, murder. Miss Emily’s actions range from eccentric to absurd. After the death of her father, and the estrangement from the Yankee, Homer Barron, she becomes reclusive and introverted. The reader can find that Miss Emily did what was necessary to keep her secret from the town. “Already we knew that there was one room in that region above stairs which no one had seen in forty years” (247).
The characters in Faulkner's southern society are drawn from three social levels: the aristocrats, the townspeople, and the Negroes (Volpe 15). In "A Rose for Emily," Faulkner describes Miss Emily Grierson in flowing, descriptive sentences. Once a "slender figure in white," the last descendent of a formerly affluent aristocratic family matures into a "small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head" (Faulkner, Literature 25-27). Despite her diminished financial status, Miss Emily exhibits her aristocratic demeanor by carrying her head high "as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson" (28). In an equally descriptive manner, Faulkner paints a written portrait of Miss Minnie Cooper in "Dry September." He portrays her as a spinster "of comfortable people - not the best in Jefferson, but good enough people" and "still on the slender side of ordinary looking, with a bright faintly haggard manner and dress (Faulkner, Reader 520). Cleanth Brooks sheds considerable insight on Faulkner's view of women. He notes that Faulkner's women are "the source and sustainer of virtue and also a prime source of evil. She can be ...
In “ A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner tells the complex tale of a woman who is battered by time and unable to move through life after the loss of each significant male figure in her life. Unlike Disney Stories, there is no prince charming to rescue fallen princess, and her assumed misery becomes the subject of everyone in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi. As the townspeople gossip about her and develop various scenarios to account for her behaviors and the unknown details of her life, Emily Grierson serves as a scapegoat for the lower classes to validate their lives. In telling this story, Faulkner decides to take an unusual approach; he utilizes a narrator to convey the details of a first-person tale, by examining chronology, the role of the narrator and the interpretations of “A Rose for Emily”, it can be seen that this story is impossible to tell without a narrator.
After all the tragic events in her life, Emily became extremely introverted. After killing Homer, Emily locked herself in and blocked everyone else out. It was mentioned, “…that was the last time we saw of Homer Barron. And of Miss Emily for some time” (628). In fact, no one in town really got to know Miss Emily personally as she always kept her doors closed, which reflects on how she kept herself closed for all those years. Many of the town’s women came to her funeral with curiosity about how she lived, as no one had ever known her well enough to know. This was revealed at the beginning of the story when the narrator mentioned, “the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant… had seen in the last ten years”(623). Everyone in town knew of her but did not know her because she kept to herself for all those years.