As I Lay Dying Grotesque Analysis

In the short story A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, readers are immersed in the narrative of a supposed town member who describes the impact that the recent death of an old woman has had upon their small community. In the narrative, readers are taken on a journey through the life of Miss Emily, an old, lonely woman who is seemingly frozen in her own timeframe. As the story unfolds, readers learn about the various tragedies Emily encountered in her lifetime such as the sudden death of her controlling father as well as her alienation from other family members that leaves her utterly alone following his death. Audiences also learn about events that happened throughout Emily’s life that both molded her as a person and aided in shaping her reputation around the town. From her controversial relationship with a construction worker named Homer Barron to her suspicious purchase of arsenic at the local drug store, there is no question that Emily lived under the constant scrutiny of her fellow townspeople. After reading the initial sentences, it can be concurred that this story doesn’t simply describe the life of an old, questionably insane woman, but also the story of the age-old battle between old and new. Through symbolism and an artful arrangement of the events described, Faulkner is able to meticulously weave a tale of the clash between newer and older generations’ views and standards.

“At last they could pity Emily” (453) or at least that is what the community thought they could do when Emily lost her father and became “humanized” (453). Emily is one of the most prominent people of her time and is even recognized through a story all written about her. This analytical essay of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner without doubt, uses symbolism to portray change and decay throughout the story by using Emily’s home, Mr. Grierson, and herself.

In “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily Grierson live a life of quiet turmoil. Her entire life has revolved around an inexplicable loneliness mostly characterized by the harsh abandonment of death. The most vital imagery utilized by Faulkner demonstrates Miss Emily’s mental condition. She, being self-improsened within the confines of her home, is the human embodiment of her house; Faulkner describes it as “... stubborn an coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps--an eyesore among eyesores.” (Faulkner 308).

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a very chilling story that opens with a brief first-person account of the funeral of Emily Grierson who is an old widow. Her father died when Emily was about thirty and she refused to accept that he was dead for three days. Mr. Grierson choked Emily’s social ability. After a life of having potential husbands rejected by her father, she spends time after his death with a newcomer, Homer Barron who is a northern laborer. Emily buys arsenic from a shop in town for no

Faulkner’s use of southern gothic writing style helps the reader build a mental depiction of Miss Emily. When the town sent their ambassadors to discuss the taxes that were owed, Faulkner described Miss Emily as “bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water” (2182). This description gives the reader the sense that the character is not well. Faulkner’s description that Miss Emily looked bloated achieves the desired effect on the reader to show how hideous she appears. This graphic description, combined with the author’s depressing description of the parlor (2182), makes the reader think of death. The reader gets the sense of being in a funeral parlor which helps to strengthen Faulkner’s narrative.

William Faulkner has done a wonderful work in his essay “A Rose for Emily.” Faulkner uses symbols, settings, character development, and other literary devices to express the life of Emily and the behavior of the people of Jefferson town towards her. By reading the essay, the audience cannot really figure out who the narrator is. It seems like the narrator can be the town’s collective voice. The fact that the narrator uses collective pronoun we supports the theory that the narrator is describing the life of “Miss Emily” on behalf of the townspeople. Faulkner has used the flashback device in his essay to make it more interesting. The story begins with the portrayal of Emily’s funeral and it moves to her past and at the end the readers realize that the funeral is a flashback as well. The story starts with the death of Miss Emily when he was seventy-four years old and it takes us back when she is a young and attractive girl.

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a complicated and controversial tale that, since its publication in 1930, challenges social norms. The story is about the unfortunate life of an aristocratic woman, Miss Emily Grierson, whose decrepit demeanor and eccentric behavior make her the town’s subject of scrutiny. After a series of odd events, Miss Emily dies and, upon her death, the townspeople discover that her seclusion led her to harness the heinous powers of arsenic to murder Homer Barron, the lover that attempted to desert her. Miss Emily kills Homer Barron because the town’s incessant gossiping, recognition of her gender, and acute awareness of her status create a toxic environment of isolation that drives her to insanity and, ultimately,

Exploration of the reality of mortality: how a book was banned for being human According to a study conducted by the national adolescent and young adult health information center, “In a poll of 1,000 high school juniors and seniors, 90% indicated that they had experienced the death of a loved one.” (nahic.ucsf.edu/downloads/Mortality.pdf). The depiction of loss and the grieving process involved in the loss of a loved one is rare in high schools, where it could be most beneficial. “As I Lay Dying” is one of the few novels that depict the varying and realistic effects of loss.

William Faulkner began writing As I Lay Dying, his self-proclaimed “tour-de-force”, on October 25, 1929, the day after the stock markets crashed. As I Lay Dying is a piece of literature that exemplifies the beginning of the Modernism movement. At this point, traditional literary conventions and practices were boring and dated, and writers like Faulkner experimented with new writing techniques. The avant-guard methods and techniques are seen in As I Lay Dying with its fickle and sometimes vacillate plot, the constant shift in narrative voice, and ambiguous timeline, as well as in the stream of consciousness passages

William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying explores the meaning of different point of views, and reminds us that everything is in the eye of the beholder. Much of the novel alternates between fifteen characters whom deliver interior monologues with varying degrees of emotional intensity and coherence. Through these passages, we are able to piece together the story of Addie Bundren’s death and the journey the family undergoes to bury her. In the essay, I will argue that Faulkner used the Faulkner presents the versions of reality and makes us question the truth behind the word, sane.

William Faulkner’s, As I Lay Dying, is a story of the Bundren family making their way to Jefferson to bury Addie Bundren. Along the way they come across many problems that delay their journey. Fifteen different characters narrate providing different viewpoints of the events that occur. Cash’s communication evolves from action to language when he becomes unable to act.

A suspenseful tale of tradition versus change is told with the help of literary elements in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. Foreshadowing and symbolism develop Emily’s tragic fate in a way the reader is exposed to how deeply death and sociatal change have effected Miss Emily. Faulkner displays how effective these elements are for a short story to truly have an impact on the

To fit the Category of a book with a parent to child conflict I picked the book As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. I took this topic a bit differently as written above. I wrote about the relationships between the family members relating back to the mother and conflicts the family faces to please the mother. The book itself covers this topic pretty well- the mother of the family, Addie, passes away leaving the family to grant her burial wishes. The story is told in the perspective of the people that knew her, especially her direct family. Even Addie narrates the story in the beginning before she passed.

A Rose for Emily, written by William Faulkner, is an interpretation of Emily’s life story unveiling her history, experience, and relationships thereby disclosing the major concepts of tradition, secrecy, and time. Tradition is an elemental concept considering the Southern American history that significantly contributes to the characterization of Emily, an ambiguous though commemorated character, all of which influence her interactions with the townspeople. The theme of secrecy is seen throughout the story by which Faulkner establishes through mood, Emily’s character and relationships, and even the implicit meaning of the title. Time is an important motif that compliments themes of tradition and history by which Faulkner intentionally emphasizes

When hearing the same story told by different narrators, why are they not exactly the same? They are not the same because when people tell stories they have different points of views with different opinions and details. The novel, As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, takes place during the 1920’s in Mississippi and surrounds the Bundren family. The story is told by 15 different narrators as the Bundren family makes it to Jefferson, Mississippi to bury the mother of the family, Addie Bundren, while the characters deal with their own interests and conflicts. Due to the 15 different characters telling the story, each section can recount the same event differently