The short story, “A Rose for Emily,” written by William Faulkner examines the psychological downfall of Emily Grierson, an aristocratic Southern woman, and her inability to cope with changing times. Grierson’s life during her youthful years was filled with an immense amount of tragedy, which left her with the desire to hold as tight as possible to the significant things that brought her happiness. After the death of Emily’s father and the departure of her lover, she finds herself unable to cope with the dramatic change that have occurred in her life, as a result, she goes to extreme measure to ensure her new lover, Homer, never rids of her of the happiness he brings her. Furthermore, Faulkner develops the main character, Emily Grierson as having an obsession with the past due to her father’s death and her abandonment by her former lover, as a result, her obsession leads her killing Homer in order to have him as hers forever. Faulkner presents Grierson to his audience after she is deceased as his readers are introduced to her at her funeral. He then takes the readers on a journey through her life in order to reveal the events that led to her deciding to kill Homer. However, Faulkner decides to first inform his readers of Grierson’s obsession with the past and inability to accept change that occurs with it. Faulkner informs us that Grierson was a “tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner, 998). This is a result of Colonel Sartoris “[inventing] an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily’s father had loaned money to the town” (Faulkner, 998), resulting in Grierson believing she did not have to pay the taxes demanded by the new generation of local government. When the local governme... ... middle of paper ... ...act on her troubled and sorrow filled past cause her to become obsessed with the past and unable to move forth, however, with the arrival of Homer she finally accomplishes her goal of controlling time through Homer’s death. Works Cited Binder, Aubrey. “Uncovering the Past: The Role of Dust Imagery in A ROSE FOR EMILY.” The Explicator 70.1 (2012): 5-7. Academic Search Complete. Web. Retrieved. March 27, 2014. Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily” The Norton Anthology American Literature, 8th ed. Ed. N. Baym and Robert S. Levine. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2013. 998-1004. Print. Harris, Paul A. “In Search of Dead Time: Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily.’” KronoScope 7.2 (2007): 169-183. Academic Search Complete. Web Retrieved. April 27, 2014. Schwab, Melina. “A watch for Emily. (time in William Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily’)” Studies in Short Fiction 28.
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. 10th ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2010. 681-687. Print.
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.
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.
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. 2nd
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.
Schwab, Milinda. "A Watch for Emily". Studies in Short Fiction. EBSCO Publishing. 28.2 (1991): 215-217. Academic Search Complete. Blinn College, Bryan, Lib. 18 Oct. 2007 .
In the first sentence the reader is informed that the main character, Emily Grierson, has died and that the entire town has attended and everyone for a different reason. The narrator begins a flashback to ten years before her death when the “backbone” of the city began to harass Emily for her taxes; the reader is introduced to a situation. Then flashback another thirty years to when her father passed and that’s when Emily began to live for herself and met Homer Barron. The towns people began to interfere out of jealousy but always stated that it was them having pity on Emily and got her upper class family involved with the socially unacceptable relationship; the reader at this point has received the conflict. The reader receives clues throughout the second flashback to conclude that Emily has killed Homer out of fear; this is where Faulkner provided us with the climax. Years pass and nothing really goes on at the Grierson house which raises the mystery of what is going on behind closed doors; the falling action of the story. Upon Emily’s death the ladies of the town enter her home and discover Homer’s corpse in a shut off bedroom upstairs with one piece of Emily’s hair on the pillow next to him; bringing the story to an end and giving the reader the denouement.
In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily Grierson holds on to the past with a grip of death. Miss Emily seems to reside in her own world, untarnished by the present time around her, maintaining her homestead as it was when her father was alive. Miss Emily’s father, the manservant, the townspeople, and even the house she lives in, shows that she remains stuck in the past incapable and perhaps reluctant to face the present.
As Faulkner begins “A Rose for Emily” with death of Emily, he both immediately and intentionally obscures the chronology of the short story to create a level of distance between the reader and the story and to capture the reader’s attention. Typically, the reader builds a relationship with each character in the story because the reader goes on a journey with the character. In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner “weaves together the events of Emily’s life” is no particular order disrupting the journey for the reader (Burg, Boyle and Lang 378). Instead, Faulkner creates a mandatory alternate route for the reader. He “sends the reader on a dizzying voyage by referring to specific moments in time that have no central referent, and thus the weaves the past into the present, the present into the past. “Since the reader is denied this connection with the characters, the na...
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.
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.
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.
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.