A Rose for Emily is a southern gothic short story about an elderly woman stuck in her ways. When we are first introduced to Emily it is at her funeral where the entire town has come to falsely pay their respects. The men only went to Emily’s funeral because they viewed her as a fallen monument and the women only went out of curiosity to peer inside Emily’s house, which had been closed up to the world and shrouded in mystery for decades. Throughout the story, the narrator gradually describes Emily’s descent into madness and her unwillingness to accept the change happening around her. The central theme of A Rose for Emily focuses on the never-ending battle between tradition and change, which is expertly portrayed by William Faulkner’s use of …show more content…
Faulkner uses Emily’s house to symbolize Emily living a life in stasis. Emily’s home is similar to a time capsule, a place forever unchanging and untouched by time. Within her time capsule, Emily can live in a timeless, unchanging world where death does not exist. Death is strategically used to as a symbol for change throughout the story from the start of the story at Emily’s funerals to the end when the townspeople discover Homer Barron’s body in the upstairs bedroom. Death was the only change Emily couldn’t fight, but that didn’t stop her from accepting its ever-present presence in her life. They first become aware of this when Emily initially refuses to admit the death of her over-bearing father. Stating multiple times to the townspeople who came to console her that her father was not dead. In the end, the reader gets a final and a disturbing understanding of Emily’s denial of death with the skeletal body of Emily’s possible suitor Homer Barron laying on a bed, dressed in a suit, and placed beside him was a single strand of Miss Emily’s hair. Lastly, Emily herself is the living embodiment of tradition. Emily is referred to as a monument in the first paragraph, also, in paragraph three the narrator states, “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town.” William Faulkner didn’t just use Emily as a symbol of tradition, he also used her character illustrate the constant struggle between those of tradition and those of
William Faulkner used a great deal of symbolism in this story. His use of symbolism captivated the reader until the shocking end of the story. Some of the symbolism was blatant while some was vague and disguised. While Faulkner’s use of the color white in this story wasn’t obvious at first it soon becomes clear that the color white represents innocence and youth. The Grierson house was white and when Miss Emily was a young girl she wore white dresses as opposed to the black attire she wore in her latter years. This represents the innocence of Miss Emily before she becomes a victim of herself and her refusal to change. The yellow color of the wheels of the buggy Miss Emily and Homer Baron rode around town in represented Homer’s cowardice toward marriage. Another color Faulkner used as symbolism was the color red. Red is the color of love and the bedroom in the upstairs of the house was decorated in red symbolizing her love for Homer. Homer was symbolic too. He represented the North so even though he was Miss Emily’s love he was also her antagonist. When the druggist writes “for rats” on the arsenic it is symbolic of Homer. He was a “rat” that came into town and took advantage of Miss Emily because he had no intention of marrying her or staying with her because he was a non-secretive homosexual or bi-sexual ‘Homer himself remarked—he liked men”. Miss Emily’s hair was symbolic in several ways. First, after her father dies, she cuts it short symbolizing her freedom from her father’s controlling ways. When she is old, it becomes iron gray symbolizing strength and strong will since iron is a very strong element. Miss Emily got that strength from her father. When...
William Faulkner wrote A Rose for Emily in five different parts. The story begins with a description of Emily’s funeral and then moves into the “near-distant past.” Rather than writing this story in a chronological fashion, Faulkner shifts and manipulates time by stretching the story over several decades. We learn about Emily’s life through flashbacks. However, because the town of Jefferson is the narrator of the story, the reader is limited to only what the town knows. Faulkner wrote this story as if it were in a cloud of dust; many things are not clear. He once said: “given a choice between grief and nothing, I would chose grief.” Although this story is not about him, he details the loneline...
In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses imagery and symbolism to both illustrate and strengthen the most prevalent theme; Emily’s resistance to change. William Faulkner seems to reveal this theme through multiple descriptions of Miss Grierson’s actions, appearance, and her home. Throughout the short story it is obvious that Emily has a hard time letting go of her past, she seems to be holding onto every bit of her past. Readers see this shown in several ways, some more obvious than others.
"A Rose for Emily" is a wonderful short story written by William Faulkner. It begins with at the end of Miss Emily’s life and told from an unknown person who most probably would be the voice of the town. Emily Grierson is a protagonist in this story and the life of her used as an allegory about the changes of a South town in Jefferson after the civil war, early 1900's. Beginning from the title, William Faulkner uses symbolism such as house, Miss Emily as a “monument “, her hair, Homer Barron, and even Emily’s “rose” to expresses the passing of time and the changes. The central theme of the story is decay in the town, the house, and in Miss Emily herself. It shows the way in which we all grow old and decay and there is nothing permanent except change.
She is also somebody that the townspeople feel they have the need to care for because they see her as part of the town’s history, the narrator describes her as, “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town…” (Faulkner, I) She was “tradition” and “duty”, they felt an obligation of keeping her and not letting her go because she was a historical figure to them. She also represents death because even though she wanted everything to be left the same, she was physically changing and getting old, the older you get the closer you get to death. Her hair was turning gray and the narrator says her body, “looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water…” (Faulkner, I), a “motionless body” makes you think of a death person. When her father died, she was not able to believe that he was dead and wanted to keep him in the house. She could not let go of her death
“A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner is a story of the life of an odd lady named Emily Grierson. William Faulkner describes Emily as an strange woman through specific details by using foreshadowing throughout the story. He mentions of Emily from when she was young to where she died as an old lady cooped up in her house. After analyzing all the details from the story the reader will realize that it creates mystery and slow pacing throughout the story. William Faulkner uses foreshadowing in “A Rose For Emily” to create mystery and suspense within the story.
The theme of "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner is that people should let go of the past, moving on with the present so that they can prepare to welcome their future. Emily was the proof of a person who always lived on the shadow of the past; she clung into it and was afraid of changing. The first evident that shows to the readers right on the description of Grierson's house "it was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had once been our most select street." The society was changing every minutes but still, Emily's house was still remained like a symbol of seventieth century. The second evident show in the first flashback of the story, the event that Miss Emily declined to pay taxes. In her mind, her family was a powerful family and they didn't have to pay any taxes in the town of Jefferson. She even didn't believe the sheriff in front of her is the "real" sheriff, so that she talked to him as talk to the Colonel who has died for almost ten years "See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson." Third evident was the fact that Miss Emily had kept her father's death body inside the house and didn't allow burying him. She has lived under his control for so long, now all of sudden he left her, she was left all by herself, she felt lost and alone, so that she wants to keep him with her in order to think he's still living with her and continued controlling her life. The fourth evident and also the most interesting of this story, the discovery of Homer Barron's skeleton in the secret room. The arrangement inside the room showing obviously that Miss Emily has slept with the death body day by day, until all remained later was just a skeleton, she's still sleeping with it, clutching on it every night. The action of killing Homer Barron can be understood that Miss Emily was afraid that he would leave her, afraid of letting him go, so she decided to kill him, so that she doesn't have to afraid of losing him, of changing, Homer Barron would still stay with her forever.
William Faulkner's short story “A Rose For Emily” opens the reader into the secluded, odd and depressing life of Miss Emily Grierson as seen through the eyes of people in the town and told through one of the townspeople. The mystery and curiosity from others are highlighted from the very beginning of the story when the the reader is introduced to the death of Miss Emily. From the very beginning sentences, a tone of darkness and curiosity can be felt in the short story. This tone helps to pique the interest of the reader on the reclusive life of the the main character and to enhance the story as it moves along to the climax. Miss Emily lives such a isolated life that very few are a part of. The events that happen and her actions in the story keep the townspeople talking and wondering about her and her home. The people are eager to take a glimpse into the recently departed's house and a tale quickly begins to reveal why people are so fascinated with Miss Emily. Faulkner's use of a inquisitive, gossipy and dark tones help to establish the opinion of Miss Emily to those who live around her and to reveal the already known details she has hidden in her house.
“A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner is about a strange middle-aged woman, raised in the south with a deep-rooted Southern upbringing. Emily portrays the antagonist in “A Rose for Emily” because she refuses to accept that the world is changing all around her. Emily is haunted by her past and becomes a prisoner of her mind, body, and soul. She refuses to accept the changing times in her life and the world we live. Emily continues to carry herself in a very dignified manner where she lives, even when her world is collapsing in front of her. Emily’s way of life is different from most; however, when traumatizing events take place in a person’s life you can easily lose your mind. In this short story, we will see hurt, despair, death, and how Emily becomes a prisoner in your own home.
Emily’s house plays a big part in this story. While the house is in good condition, slavery is still strong. With the house in its decayed state, slavery is about to be abolished. “A tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation” Faulkner writes. Faulkner uses symbolism to connect the house with the current status of slavery during the American Civil
William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” commemorates the bizarre and pitiful life of Miss Emily Grierson, an isolated woman overcome by desperation and fixated on the past. An unnamed member of this southern community narrates the pivotal events in Emily’s life that contribute to the development of her character and ultimately her psychotic act depicted in the story’s final scene. Time is a crucial element within the story. Not only are the events told out of sequence, but Emily herself seems out of place in modern times and she is lost in the past. During the progression of the story, the reader encounters three major symbols- the house, the bodies, and the watch-all of which Faulkner effectively uses to reveal the story’s central
William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" is an written as an example of a post-Civil War era Southern lifestyle. Faulkner illustration the lifestyle through the element of characteristic. Miss. Emily’s life, house and relationship represent as examples of the North vs. South.
With every turn of the page, the dark and twisted storyline of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner leaves the reader in a stronger state of shock and inevitably speechless. Faulkner cleverly uses symbols, characters, and theme to illustrate the inner thoughts of Emily Grierson and the community’s ongoing struggle between tradition and modernism. .
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.
Symbolism can represent an object if it is stated clearly to the to the reader like in the book the rose can be represented as purity as long as the rose is white because white is the cleanest color like Emily from the book she was pure she was un touched also color can be a factor of symbolism because depending on the color of the rose as red can easily be represented as love and black is repressed as death.