A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

"A Rose for Emily" is a short story written by William Faulkner. This story takes place in Faulkner 's fictional city, Jefferson, Mississippi, in Yoknapatawpha County. "Young Goodman Brown" is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This story takes place during the 17th century and discusses the Puritan belief that all of humanity exists in a state of corruption, except those who are fortunately born into a state of grace.

William Faulkner wrote “A Rose for Emily” to showcase the changes in society. Faulkner’s story is about Emily Grierson, a southern woman, who is watched upon by the towns’ people of Jefferson from her earlier days until her death. Emily is a stubborn woman because she refuses to listen to the warnings about Homer, a northern man, she claims she does not have to pay her taxes, and leaves her father’s dead body in the house for three days. Emily also becomes secluded over the years only having two people in her life Tobe, her servant and Homer, her lover. The town’s people began to become suspicious when an awful smell was coming from Emily’s house. When Emily died, the people of the town went into her house, and they found the decayed body of Homer. William Faulkner comments that, “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” This is a direct reflection on how Emily lives her life because she does not want let go of her past, just like the south not wanting to let go of their tradtion. A decline of the south is the theme of the story and it is shown by the use of characters, conflicts, and symbols.

People often stick to tradition, but does that mean tradition is proper? Throughout time, many things in life change, but sometimes things stay preserved. The past is the past and cannot be altered, but things can become spoiled, whether by nature or by man. Gender representation has come a long way in the past few hundred years. To this day life is still not equal for either group. The genders have portrayed for millenniums certain duties and created imageries people associate with both, and will not go away overnight or in a century, possibly not even in a millennium. These typical obligations have become preserved by literature throughout history. One such narrative is “A Rose for Emily”, written by William Faulkner in 1930. There

William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily” begins and ends with death. The death of Miss Emily Grierson, the main character in the short story that takes on the role of a person with an abnormal personality. The narrator tells the tale of Miss Emily’s life following her departure at age seventy four. Although, Miss Emily lived a long life she remained secluded for decades without any human contact. Miss Emily’s mental health is certainly a questionable matter considering the life she leads in this fictional short story. “Human beings have enormous potential to strive toward a higher plane of emotional life” (Brenton 2). With this being said individuals who encounter chronic stress and lack the basic human relationships compromise their mental health. By examining Miss Emily’s mental status, behavior, interactions and personal relationships, it is possible she would have been diagnosed with a form of mental illness according to today’s standards.

“It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.” With these words, American author William Faulkner described the duty of an author in his Noble Prize acceptance speech. Under further examination of Faulkner’s works, one would expect to find that he followed his own job description. However, two of his most well-known short stories seem to be contradicting. Neither “A Rose for Emily” nor “Barn Burning” is uplifting because the protagonists struggle with their communities, loyalty to their fathers, and death.

In "A Rose for Emily", William Faulkner tells the story of an old and lonely lady stuck in her own timeframe. Her controlling father died some thirty years ago and she has never quite found her own ground. Her house has become the most hideous looking home on the once most select street in the city. Previously elegant and white with scrolled balconies, it was now encroached with dust and decay. The people in Miss Emily 's city gossip about her and pity her lost soul. She soon begins dating a young bachelor by the name of Homer Barron, whom is part of the construction company paving sidewalks on her street. They begin taking buggy rides together, and townspeople talk more, and pity Miss Emily more. Things change quickly though, as Miss Emily is seen less with Homer, and is witnessed purchasing arsenic from the local drug store. Eventually no more is seen of Homer, and Miss Emily dies at age seventy-four. After Miss Emily 's death the townspeople breakdown her upstairs room that had been sealed shut for some forty years. They find Homer 's dead decaying body, an imprint of another body beside it, and a single grey strand of hair. "A Rose for Emily" tells the story of tradition versus nontraditional and old versus new, which is brought to light through the story 's plot, characters, and setting. Right the beginning of the story it is clear that it will be about old versus new. The writer begins by describing Miss Emily

A major theme in “A Rose for Emily” is traditions versus change. Faulkner uses Emily, the main character in his narrative, to convey the fight that Emily put up for trying to preserve customs in the face of widespread and drastic changes that happens in her hometown of Jefferson. Jefferson is currently experiencing change and accepting more modern ideas or worldly possessions. Emily has a hard time accepting this new generation of people and ideas. An example of a new idea is having to pay taxes. The younger generation accepts this while Emily does not. It is hard for her to see her hometown embrace a more modern and commercial future instead of traditions. “Alive, Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town, dating from that day in 1894 when Colonel Sartoris, the mayor…remitted her taxes” (Faulkner 794). When Faulkner said that “Emily had been a tradition” he was describing her as set in her ways and unwilling to compromise her beliefs in keeping traditional values even though there was change occurring in her community. One of the changes the community experienced

“A Rose for Emily”, written by William Faulkner in 1931, follows a series of peculiar events in Miss Emily Griersons life. Written in third person limited, Faulkner utilizes flashbacks to tell of the period between the death of Emily’s father and her own passing. Split into five short sections, the story starts out with the townspeople of Jefferson remembering Emily’s legacy and how each new generation of government officials dealt with the issue of her taxes. Moving on, the narrator describes the gradual downfall of Emily Grierson, due to complaints that begin to arise of a bad odor around her house. In the third section of this short story, the people of Jefferson begin to pity Emily for her involvement with a man beneath her social status, Homer Barron. Towards the end of this section, the community is convinced that she has gone crazy, following her purchase of arsenic from a pharmacist. At this point, there has been speculation that Emily would marry Homer, but he eventually disappears. The story closes with not only Emily’s aged body being found in her house, but the corpse of Homer being discovered in one of her upstairs rooms. Throughout this whole narrative, the name of the author is never revealed, but Faulkner leaves clues for the reader to make assumptions on who this person is that knows Emily Griersons story so well. In “A Rose for Emily,” although it is never directly

In the story, taxes symbolize death. The death of her father can be symbolized by the cancellation of Miss Emily’s taxes. It also symbolizes Mr. Grierson’s control, even from the grave, over Miss Emily. Upon her father’s death the mayor at the time created an elaborate story to protect Miss Emily from having to pay taxes. This lie was created due to chivalry and sexism. It is chivalrous as the cancellation of her taxes allows her to continue to live in her father’s house. It was sexist because it was impossible for Miss Emily to work and financially support herself. “When the next generation…became mayors and aldermen, this arrangement created some dissatisfaction,” taxes once again symbolize death, but this time of an older way of life (Faulkner). By showing up to claim her taxes, the town folks are informing her that her role has changed; she is no longer helpless and needs to pay the IRS just like any other citizen. Miss Emily, of course, keeps modern ideas from

In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, Faulkner conveys the issue of involving trying to maintain traditional values and control in a society that is facing a change that is radical and widespread. In this story, Emily is seen as timeless figure that contradicts a society that is trying to build up a more efficient, modern lifestyle.

Miss Emily Grierson, the main character in the strange short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner. It would be best to examine her in a mental capacity as well as the circumstances that may affect her. Throughout the story, Miss Emily’s unpredictable and eccentric behavior becomes unusual, and the reader, like the townspeople in the story, is left to speculate how Miss Emily has spent years living and sleeping with the body of Homer Barron.

The short, gothic story, “A Rose for Emily” is written by William Faulkner. The barbaric tale began with its ending, which is the death of the main character Emily Grierson. Miss Emily lived most of her life in a mysterious manner, which caused the people in town to reach a level of curiosity to learn more about this exceptional individual. Without any doubts, Faulkner story would not have been so significant if it weren’t for the countless usage of literary elements. Faulkner used foreshadowing, symbolism, and flash backs to create an intense climax that severed as the heart of a Southern gothic. Faulkner used the setting as a source of clarification on how and why loneliness settled in Emily’s life that included a strange past, a lack of

In a small town one of the unwritten rules seems to be that you tend to know everyone in it. This is true in any small town in America. Faulkner begins his tale (via narrator of which we never know the identity) of Miss Emily Grierson’s home with a vivid description of where the events take place and the townspeople 's reaction.

William Faulkner begins his short story, “A Rose for Emily” with the funeral of the main character, Emily Grierson (30). Emily is a quiet woman. It is said that nobody has been in her house for ten years, excluding her servant (30). Supposedly, her house used to be the best one around. The town also has a different connection with Miss Grierson. She is the only person in the town who is not forced to pay taxes. For years the town neither makes her pay, nor harasses her with tax notification letters to pay her taxes, until now. The younger generations who work hard and remain loyal taxpayers are not thrilled by this and decide to visit Emily in an attempt to get her to pay her debt. They try to get her to believe the old plan will not work

The story is divided into five sections. In section I, the narrator recalls the time of Emily Grierson’s death and how the entire town attended her funeral in her home, which no stranger had entered for more than ten years. In a once-elegant, upscale neighborhood, Emily’s house is the last vestige of the grandeur of a lost era. Colonel Sartoris, the town’s previous mayor, had suspended Emily’s tax responsibilities to the town after her father’s death, justifying the action by claiming that Mr. Grierson had once lent the community a significant sum. As new town leaders take over, they make unsuccessful attempts to get Emily to resume payments. When members of the Board of Aldermen pay her a visit, in the dusty and antiquated parlor, Emily reasserts the fact that she is not required to pay taxes in Jefferson and that the officials should talk to Colonel Sartoris about the matter. However, at that point he has been dead for almost a decade. She asks her servant, Tobe, to show the men out.