A Rose For Emily Analysis

In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” the speaker gives specific details involving the setting. He shares with us the crucial information to understand the story’s true value. In the story, the setting helps the readers comprehend when and where to place exactly why some things in the story happen for a reason and to make it a vivid adventure. Symbolism also plays a part in making the story one to remember. In “A Rose for Emily,” the setting and symbols both act as vital roles by describing important items that symbolize a greater meaning and placing the time period in which it is set.

     In the short story A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner there is a very interesting character. Her Name is Emily Grierson and she is a rich southern gentile. All her life it seems that she was raised at a standard that was above the rest. By living such a secluded and controlled life it set her up for the happenings in her future.

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.

Furthermore, Miss Emily’s hair is one of the symbols, shortly after her father’s death Emily cuts her hair that could possibly symbolize the freedom for her as breaking away from her father's control "When we saw her again, her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl..." (212). Also, as Emily grows older her hair changes into “iron-gray, like the hair of an active man” (214). That hair colour changing symbolizes the time, we realize time first by Emily's hair, and then her hair has turned "a vigorous iron-gray” (214) when she disappears into her house.

Throughout life people face many hardships, including life and death, letting go is such a hard thing for these people to do. In the story, A Rose for Emily, Faulkner writes about love and the effect it can have on a person . Faulkner writes about how Miss Emily loses her father and he is the only person she has in her life. Later in the story, Homer Barron came to their town to fix the streets. People begin seeing Miss Emily and Homer together and believe that they are going to get married. The time comes for Homer to leave and it was believed that Miss Emily will kill herself if she loses another person she loves. Homer disappears and Emily never exits the house, all everyone sees is the

Change causes a person to do things out of the norm. It is common for people to fear change. Most people although afraid will accept the changes and adapt to it. Others will control that change unwilling to adhere to the new and unfamiliar way of things. Many are stuck in the past, in the traditions that guide their lives. Emily Grierson is a product of the Old South, rich in traditions and set in her ways. The New south means change; traditions are lost and replaced with new customs. Even though afraid of change Emily will control the changes in her life, the loss of her father, the respect of the town, and even the reality of her own life in “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner.

In Milinda Schwab’s A Watch for Emily, Schwab expresses that several scholars have attempted to uncover the confusing chronology of the short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. Yet none of these scholars have addressed this one specific item, the watch found in Miss Emily’s pocket as she is introduced to the readers, Schwab finds this to be troubling and highly significant. Schwab goes on to express how the watch’s placement is Miss Emily’s extreme example of her need to control change, and to keep time in her pocket (216). Schwab backs this up by relating and explaining how the watch’s placement is

William Faulkner is a well-known author, whose writing belongs in the Realism era in the American Literary Canon. His writing was influence by his Southern upbringing, often setting his stories in the fictional Southern town, Yoknapatawpha County. “A Rose for Emily” was one of Faulkner’s first published pieces and displays many of the now signature characteristics of Faulkner’s writing. The short story provides commentary through the use of many symbols. In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily”, the author uses the townspeople as a representation of societal expectations and judgments, Emily and her house as symbols for the past, and Homer’s corpse as a physical representation of the fear of loneliness.

In "A Rose for Emily", a woman (for whom the story is named) confines herself in her somewhat large house in a small town during the early half of the twentieth century. For the most part, in order to understand the entirety of the story, it is vital to understand the setting and how each character develops it, and,or, interacts with it.

one's personal control”(Schwab 215) then one might come to the realization that Miss Emily is even trying to control time. “The watch's placement in her pocket, its unusually loud ticking, and the chain to which it is attached illustrate both her attempts to control the passage

In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, Emily is a woman out of time. Faulkner creates both a temporal and spatial setting for the story, allowing it to be in two dimensions: the old times and the modern times. Emily lives somewhere in between those two periods of time. Even though she is an outcast, she is still influenced by the culture and traditions in her society.

The story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner would be drastically different if it was written from the point of view of Miss Emily. Her intentions and thoughts would be more pronounced, and because of this, the ending of the story may not come as such a shock. In addition, Miss Emily would be less distanced from the audience, and they would be able to understand her character in a way that the townspeople could not. Miss Emily being the narrator would immensely change the reader’s perception of the story’s ending and her character.

“A Rose For Emily” starts off with Miss Emily Grierson’s funeral, how the whole town is there. The story then goes on to describe her house, that is to be described of as a big squarish frame house. The house had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies. This then leads the author to go into detail of emily's childhood. One example that the author brings up that shows how her life was is how she spent time shut out from society. The story then ends with brief detail of how she spent her times in the lower levels of her home, how she loves dead bodies. Overall, these key details within the story leave the reader to have mixed ideas, emotions.

This passage, although several lines in length, consists of only two sentences. The first is very brief, consisting of only seven words. As this sentence relates to Emily's cousins, it is also reflective of her relationship with her extended family: it exists, but to a degree that is barely worth mentioning. The second sentence is far lengthier, relates to the townsfolk and her father, and as such is useful in elaborating on her tortuous relationships with these people. It is a compound sentence, dealing with many discrete ideas at once. There is the funeral and the compulsive, socially driven reaction of the townsfolk to all attend. Next, there is the element of progress (“bought flowers,” where once people would have brought cut flowers from their own gardens) as compared to Emily's passing being representative of a bygone era. The very old men continue this theme of a bygone era, although they were in fact older than Emily (“...as if she had been a contemporary of theirs...”), and are also reflective of Emily's failed attempts at relationships with men, as well as the infinite influence of her father upon her life. And, of course, there is the element of time, which pervades the entire story, and is

A clock has a life span like a human; eventually they both break down and their time stops. Born with expiration dates the human mind eventually will run out of time. William Faulkner presents the concept of time and its effect on the human condition in his short story “A Rose for Emily”. His main character Emily is left alone when the only man, her father, who controlled her world dies. Unable to accept the fact of his death Emily undergoes a state of depression, which shields herself from society and makes her unable to face reality. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” reveals the terrible consequences when humans attempt to make time stand still.