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Examples Of Mental Illness In A Rose For Emily

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The story I chose was A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, and the first time I read it I was not looking for significant details. I was more in shock and stunned from the ending to dwell on small details. Then I read it again and started to notice some small, seemly insignificant details that foreshadowed the ending of the story. One can also see how the town views Miss Emily, treating her as an object rather than a person. This can lead to a sort of feeling of isolation and loneliness with no one to talk to, leading into some of her mental illness. One thing to notice in A Rose for Emily is the sort of underlying sense that Emily may have a mental illness. She has rather disturbed and crazy behaviors that leave the town wondering about what she was up to. One example of Emily showing her mental ill behaviors is when she refused to acknowledge her father’s death. She kept him in the house for 3 days, refusing to admit that he was dead. “…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. She did that for three days, with the minister calling on her and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body.” (Faulkner). She had lived with her deceased father in her house without a bother; she even resisted the people that were trying to help her. It seems as this may be her first sign of mental illness, and foreshadowing for the way she reacts to problems in the future.

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