"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

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A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner In "A Rose for Emily", Emily, a lady of a noble origin, finds herself alone in small town in the Old South. The townspeople there turn their back on her because of her origin, although they have always been present at all of the events that marked her life, until the day she died. Emily's social isolation is evident through the development of the elements of character and events. The main reason that led the locals to isolate Emily was the fact that she came from a respectable and prestigious family, in a time where most of the people were poor. The fact that she lives in a big house and has a colored servant to work for her, it is something that make the locals feel that Emily is not one of them, and therefore it is only logical to put her aside. In addition, it is also her attitude towards the townspeople that showed that she differentiated herself from them, that she felt that she was somehow superior to them: "she carried her head high enough" (32). But it is not her fault. She had been brought up to believe that she's someone special, better than the rest of the people, and that is the reason why she never got married. Her father believed that no one would ever be good enough for his daughter, and thus he turned away all the men that asked for Emily's hand. So, Emily had only her father to protect and take care of her, and now that he is dead, she found herself all alone. She doesn't have anyone to protect her, and furthermore, she's left with no money, but for the house that she lived in. At this turning point in Emily's life, the townspeople turn their back on her, for her suffering seems to give them pleasure, since now "she had become humanized" (31). The difficult t... ... middle of paper ... ...rom the Negro" (34), and so they had no idea about what was going on in Emily's life. And thus, Emily died all alone forgotten from everyone in the town. Emily's isolation from the rest of the town, their indifference, as well as the lack of initiation was the reason of her own tragic death. The town knew that "old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy at last" (30), and they were afraid of having the same end as her great-aunt, but they just turned their back on her and let her be because it was the easiest thing to do. They also "knew that there was a room ... which no one had seen in forty years, and which would have to be forced" (34), but they didn't do anything and Emily was left alone to meet her destiny, and in that sense, they are accomplices to Homer's murder. Works Cited Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily"

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