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Literary analysis A rose for Emily
Literary analysis A rose for Emily
Character and Setting Analysis to A Rose for Emily
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Theme of Death in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily
William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is a tragic tale of a Southern aristocrat, Miss Emily Grierson, who is the subject of a town's obsession. The narrator, a member of the town, tells the story of what transpires in a decaying old Southern house that is always under the watchful eye of the townspeople. They witness Miss Emily's life, her father's death, her turn to insanity and the death of both her and her lover. The theme of death runs throughout this tale, which is understandable considering the events that take place in the story. Faulkner uses foreshadowing to foretell events that will transpire later in the story. Because of this foreshadowing, a reader may not be shocked when a strange turn in the story occurs, because, it may seem familiar to him. Faulkner's first use of foreshadowing begins with the death of Miss Emily. The main character does not usually die in the first sentence of most works of fiction, but here Faulkner is foretelling the deaths of other characters that will follow. The reader will learn more about Emily's life and death as the story unfolds.
Emily is only described when she is late in her life and then only as being like a "skeleton" in an "obese" body and looking "bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water". Here, Faulkner is using simile in his description of Emily to foreshadow the skeletal remains of Homer, her lover, who is found dead later. Miss Emily is not seen for years after the disappearance of Homer. When she is finally seen, she is described as being fatter than before and with her hair beginning to turn gray. Her hair continues to turning gray until it becomes "pepper and s...
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...s to see Miss Emily. Faulkner has also foreshadowed Homer's death by the smell of death that arises from the Emily's house. Faulkner has now foreshadowed all the events that await poor Homer. The townspeople comment that "That was the last we saw of Homer Barron". The most shocking event that transpires is when the townspeople find Homer's body lying in Emily's bed they also find one of Emily's gray hairs on the pillow next to him. This is foreshadowed when Emily's dead body is found with "her gray head propped up on a pillow yellow and moldy with age and lack of sunlight". Even in death Miss Emily was herself foreshadowed from the first line of the story.
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Introduction to Literature. By Carl E. Bain, Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1991: 69-76.
The authors therefor saw the ‘utopian’ societies to be a trap for weak minded publics, and that once in place, such systems would be able to perpetuate indefinitely due to the efficiency at which they protect and propagate themselves. Through fear, diversion and sedation the utopia can maintain a strong grip on the people it encompasses before anyone realizes the sacrifices made. The popularity of these books does rule out the possibility of such a society coming into existence in the future, however. The state of people is not about to change, and their ignorance will continue regardless of the harshness of the wake up calls issued.
Thomas More sees physical labor as very important. Not only to survive, but so that everyone contributes to society. Idleness can be a disease. There must be a balance to work. Everybody in Utopia does some farming. Farming was considered a ver...
William Faulkner's, "A Rose for Emily," is a short story that is narrated by an anonymous character to be considered as the voice of the home town and tells the story out of order. The story is based on the life of Emily Grierson and how it connects with the South after the Civil War. There are many parts in the story that show symbolism in varieties of ways. Some of these symbols include Emily's house, her hair, her clothing, and even the "rose" that is brought in the story. Symbolism is shown throughout many different ways through all forms of literature. It is mainly shown through the main theme as well as the smaller themes that are throughout the story. Symbolism is used to represent ideas or qualities through the use of symbols.
Fourth, the religion of the Utopians is much like modern religion with one major exception. The religious beliefs of both societies are pluralistic. Utopia allows all religion except our most dominant religion: secular humanism (i.e. "atheism"). A man, who believes blind chance not divine providence, determines actions, is less than a man. In our culture of neo-Darwinism and "man is pure matter," everything is by chance.
In Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily” the lead character is the center piece of resistance to change. Emily’s image is described on multiple accounts revealing a steady change in her life. Early on in the story the narrator a member of the civilization describes her as, “small, fat woman in black” (Faulkner 30). He mentions her appearance again by saying, “When we saw her again her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl." (Faulkner 31). This statement is made after the untimely death of her father. The subject of her image is mentioned one last time saying, “She had grown fat and her hair was turning gray...pepper and salt-iron gray."
Whether the Utopians are being examined for their value of precious metals, the treatment of women, or how they worship, it is evident that there are some major inequalities within their society. However, any reader of More’s Utopia must have the ability to look past the tensions that are present, and read the work as More intended it to be read—satirically.
To begin, an overview of utopian history is needed. The utopian lineage is as old as the Earth itself. Specifically, it started in the Garden of Eden, which is considered the ultimate utopia. After that, the next major utopia is described in Plato’s The Republic. According to Plato, as along as the major people classes live justly with one another, the overall society will be in harmony. Next published was Thomas More’s Utopia.
One of the major ideas about the future of humans has been the utopian society, or simply utopia, which is an ideally perfect world where everyone can live harmoniously together despite different backgrounds, ethnicity, religions, beliefs, and so on. However, the idea of such a society is bombarded with many arguments, most of which point out to that, considering the current and harsh conditions that the world is facing, the perfect and dreamed world cannot exist or be realized. To elaborate the utopian society topic, this essay will explore the progress of study of a utopian society, the important characteristic of a utopian world, and investigate the probability of a reality where such a world may exist in mankind’s
Yet another famous Utopian society that appears to thrive on the surface is that of Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. More’s society was ...
William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" is perhaps his most famous and most anthologized short story. From the moment it was first published in 1930, this story has been analyzed and criticized by both published critics and the causal reader. The well known Literary critic and author Harold Bloom suggest that the story is so captivating because of Faulkner’s use of literary techniques such as "sophisticated structure, with compelling characterization, and plot" (14). Through his creative ability to use such techniques he is able to weave an intriguing story full of symbolism, contrasts, and moral worth. The story is brief, yet it covers almost seventy five years in the life of a spinster named Emily Grierson. Faulkner develops the character Miss Emily and the events in her life to not only tell a rich and shocking story, but to also portray his view on the South’s plight after the Civil War. Miss Emily becomes the canvas in which he paints the customs and traditions of the Old South or antebellum era. The story “A Rose For Emily” becomes symbolic of the plight of the South as it struggles to face change with Miss Emily becoming the tragic heroin of the Old South.
period in her life. These parts are prime examples of how Faulkner jumps back and forth throughout Emily’s lifetime. Part one begins with Emily’s funeral while part two begins “thirty years before”, “two years after her fathers death and a short time after her sweetheart”, Homer Barron. (93) Part three begins with her meeting Homer. This is interesting because the part before takes place after he dies. This also shows how Faulkner keeps one guessing with his unorthodox plot order. The next part talks of how Emily is planning to supposedly kill herself. It tells of how she buys the...
...at I think is the best part of More’s utopia is that it is an equal society that has no money or currency. Since every member of the society is working simply for the common good, there being no belief in luxury, and everyone knowing how to grow food, there is no need to have a currency system. Since there is no system or currency, then there is no place for wealth to manifest thus one less prompter of greed. There is also no system of trading in Utopia, so truly everyone is one equal grounds, with the same capabilities and possessions as everyone else. This helps to eliminate the many causes of inequality, so the society that is presented in Utopia is an ideal society.
In Sir Thomas More 's Utopia, he creates broad distinctions between the way that things were done in his homeland, and they way that they are done in his fictitious country of the same name. In his writing, he describes many aspects of Utopian life, from geography to clothing, all in his attempt to create the perfect society, one that does not, and could not, exist. More specifically, he attempts to eliminate the follies of European society in his descriptions of the Utopians, referencing their societal pillars of utility, uniformity, and humility. He describes their government, clothing, opinions on precious metals, and euthanasia practices, all in an effort to display Utopia as a country of logic, built to hinder and prevent the possibility of human failings.
In Utopias, as in the Garden, one must give as much of oneself as possible to the society so that there is plenty to distribute to all members. The fall and the subsequent banishment from the perfect existence within the Garden serves as an example of how corruption has removed humanity from its golden age, or the “original period of human felicity, [the] idyllic state of ease, harmony, peace, and plenty” (Murfin and Ray 205). Humanity, having been educated in the perfection of the past, and the possibilities that morality, tolerance, and communitarianism can offer us for future betterment, continues to seek redemption to this lost age. Utopian philosophy and literature has served as the tool with which humanity can explore the possibilities of these preferable existences.
Miss Emily's house as the setting of the story is a perfect metaphor for the events occurring during that time period. It portrays the decay of Miss Emily's life and values and of the southern way of life and their clash with the newer generations. The house is situated in what was once a prominent neighborhood that has now deteriorated. Miss Emily's "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 of an earlier time," now looked awkward surrounded by "cotton wagons" and "gasoline pumps." The townspeople consider it "an eyesore among eyesores." Time has taken a similar role with Miss Emily altering her appearance from that of a "slender figure in white" (624) to that of "a small, fat woman in black" (622). The setting of Faulkner's story defines Miss Emily's tight grasp of ante-bellum ways and unchanging demeanor.. Through her refusal to put "metal numbers above her door and attach a mail box" to her house she is refusing to change with society. Miss Emily's attitude towards change is ...