A Rose For Emily Grierson Research Paper

The non-linear chronology of the story, with the addition of several major time lapses, makes it more difficult to put together an accurate timeline. Without a timeline, the significant events in the story are unclear and do not seem relevant because they cannot be put in the context of a murder. Moreover, Faulkner creates an unreliable narrator by having the narrator lie in their telling of the story. The story begins with Emily’s funeral, “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral” (Faulkner, p. 145). Thus, the narrator knew Emily had murdered Homer, “They waited until Miss Emily was decently in the ground before they opened [the door]…

He then goes on to describe how “Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily’s father had loaned money to the town, which the town, as a matter of business preferred this way of repayment.” Remitting Miss Emily’s taxes was a

The final reason as to why I believe Emily killed Homer is that she does not want to lose the most important person in her life a second time. When Emily's father, the most important and most influential person in her life, dies, Emily keeps the corpse in her house. The day after he dies all of the ladies come over to Emily's to offer their condolences. "Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead." Emily could not let go of him, so she keeps his dead body in her house. This same thing happens with Homer. Once she knows that Homer is the one, she poisons him with arsenic and then leaves him in the upstairs bedroom. When the townspeople find Homer's body, they make quite an interesting find. "Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair."

When Miss Emily’s father passed away she began to start acting out. Emily is stuburned like her father, who refuses to change. Although her father had lots of money, he only left Miss Emily the home. Soon the town started asking Miss Emily to pay her taxes. But, she refused to do so. Colonel Sartoris, the mayor of the town, planned to not make Miss Emily pay taxes on her house, “Not that Miss Emily would have accepted charity” (452), trying not to make it seem like Colonel Sartoris was offering her charity. He made up an imaginary loan from her father to the town

During the conversation Miss Emily tells the men “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (31). Colonel Sartoris has been dead for almost ten years. Emily’s behavior not only shows mental instability but also that she may be delusional and confused.

When the new generation came to power they sent Miss Emily a tax statement every year hoping that she would pay it; they even tried visiting with her to explain that there were never any payments or deal done with the town for her to be tax-free. She didn’t care because once upon a time she was told she didn’t have taxes. She would still dismiss this fact and acted as if she were above all in the town.

One of the largest cultural revolutions in history occurred after the American Civil War, completely changing the lives of those who lived in the southern United States. Despite the improvements to society these revolutions bring, some people will reject these changes by clinging to their outdated ideologies. In his short story “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner focuses on the life and death of Miss Emily Grierson, an aging woman who loathes all forms of change. Throughout the story, Faulkner presents Miss Grierson as the last person to embrace the antebellum culture through her rejection of posantbellum changes, references to antebellum society, and description of the town’s thoughts and feelings toward Miss Grierson. Each time Miss Grierson faces changes, she refuses to accept them, reinforcing the idea that she rejects modern ideas and retraction from reality. When the city asks Miss Grierson to pay taxes, she quickly dismisses the city’s patient pleas by telling the council at her house, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (section I, paragraph 12). She commands the council to see a deceased mayor, reinforcing Miss Grierson’s detachment from the present. Later, Miss Grierson solely refuses to allow the post office to “fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox” when the town receives free mail service. Since she is accustomed to the antebellum society and cannot adjust to postbellum improvements, she rejects the new mail system. After

Miss Emily was an important character in the town of Jefferson. For some people she represented the old days when her family had a reputation and was highly respected. On the other hand, “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town…” (Faulkner), for other she was a burden to the city. After political changes her exemption from paying taxes become an issue. Her status didn’t mean anything anymore and she was supposed to be treated like everybody else. However, the fact that she was the last member of the great family made her someone special and after few attempts of sending her tax notices, even a new generation of towns officials decided to let

Since many of the members of the older generation have retired or have died, the younger generation wanted her to pay her taxes because there was nothing written down that said that she was exempt from paying them.  When the younger generation asked her to pay her taxes, Emily said that Colonel Sartoris had told her she had not taxes to pay in Jefferson.  The problem as that Colonel Sartoris has been dead for ten years.  Even though he was dead, the "Colonel had given his word, and according to traditional view, his word knew no death.  It is the past pitted against the present-the past with its social decorum, the present with everything set down in 'the books'"(Rodriguez 1).

Emily Grierson is to be tried as guilty for the murder of Homer Barron. Witnesses have given the readers sufficient accounts of Miss Emily’s behavior to cause belief in her committing murder of the first degree. “First degree murder is found when the defendant intends to kill and does so with premeditation and deliberation” (Criminal Law Murder Model). The victim, having been found locked away in the house of Miss Emily (327), is the basis of prosecution for the accused. Emily Grierson will be found guilty of murder because she premeditated her crime, was psychologically unstable, and attempted to conceal her crime.

When the Board of Aldermen visited Miss Emily about the taxes she refused to pay,

As the story continues, Faulkner beings to describe Miss Emily as a woman who has stayed true to her customs and strong ties to her family. Her family is much respected in her town, it is shown through an expected greeting. Miss Emily is also free from paying any taxes because Colonel Sartoris revoked her taxes after the death of her father. On page 1 Paragraph 8, she is asked by the city authorities to pay her taxes she owes and

suggests that Homer Barron is a fun loving person. While, Emily comes out of the house very few times, and is never seen having fun with people. When Emily proposed Homer Barron for marriage, Homer refuses to marry Emily, as he did not wanted to overtaken by time and become dull as Emily would have wished. Thus, Emily poisons Homer Barron and killed him and kept him forever with her.

When everyone had though Miss Emily had found love, he disappears. She seemed to be very happy with him. They would ride around town in a Buggy. His name was Homer Barron. In the story it doesn’t imply that they were an actual couple. As we discussed in class Homer might even have been homosexual. If this or anything else was the cases were Homer couldn’t be with Miss Emily her desperation for that companion made her do an outrageous passionate act. She murders him to keep him with her forever. I think she thinks she has finally found someone she doesn’t want to let go. She feels like she needs this and doesn’t realize that it is out of this world. She doesn’t recognize that she has lost her mind. By not only living but sleeping with a dead corpse.

“A Rose for Emily” is a Southern Gothic short story written by William Faulkner. The main character, Miss Emily Grierson, has a story and personality that can be analyzed from many different viewpoints. Focusing more on the psychological perspective, Miss Emily is very erratic and idiosyncratic in behavior. She isolates herself in her home and locks up her house to prevent anyone from coming in. Her home hides many secrets, but the one that stands out the most is the corpse of Homer Barron, Miss Emily’s lover. For years, Miss Emily has lived and slept with the corpse, which was unknown for many years by all the townspeople. After this is discovered, Miss Emily’s mental health and stability became the main topic of interest to both the townspeople and the readers of this story.