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Character Analysis A Rose For Emily

Decent Essays

In the short story, “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, his main character Miss Emily Grierson is presented as a lonely and sane individual. Throughout the story, she begins to show signs of mental instability. She loses her father in the story which begins her deterioration of sanity. Emily Grierson suffers emotionally due to her father’s moral code, pressure from town folks, and unrequited love. Faulkner presents the story through a narrator’s voice instead of first person. The narrator tells of how the town folk believed the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily her father thought. It is believed that Miss Emily turned down so many of the young men because of her father’s moral code; the town folks thought of him as a puppetmaster pulling the strings behind the scene in Emily’s life. He kept her inside and gave Miss Emily very few decisions she could make entirely on her own. This isolation caused her to feel trapped, but it was the only thing she knew. Furthermore, he drove away all the young men in Emily’s life which combined with the fact that she was usually isolated showed her father’s controlling effect on her throughout his time alive. When he died, Miss Emily’s sanity crumbled away as clearly presented in the story. Also in the story, the narrator speaks tells of how the town ladies attempted to offer their condolences and aid to Emily; but, they were met at the door

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