Is Faulkner's Emily A Victim Or A Murderer?

First, in “A Rose for Emily”, Mrs. Emily is seen as a lonely old women, whose loneliness started at a young age. One of the main

In “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner, the townspeople view Emily as an outcast and burden in their conservative southern community. With Emily being the last member of the entire Grierson family, the townspeople think of her as a type of “fallen monument,” who is nothing more than “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 75). Since Emily’s family was once so well-respected in the community, the town sees her as the disappointment who has fallen from her former graces, and become secluded from the town. Because of her family’s role in the town’s past, the townspeople know that they must keep Emily around, however, they do not feel the need to include her in the community, merely because

Initially after the loss of her father Emily Grierson refuses to let go of him and the influence he has over her in “A Rose for Emily”. Emily’s father was a big part of her existence he was the only man in her life. For years he had ran off suitor that had called upon Emily. Once he was gone it is hard for her to adapt to life without him. She refuses to believe that he is dead telling the ladies of the town “that her father was not dead” (101). She had been very close to her father and without him her live would not be the same. She never leaves the house she stays secluded from the town. By remaining alone she will not have to face the fact that any change has taken place.

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.

In the story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner the main character is Miss. Emily Grierson. She lived with her father in a small town, where you knew everything about everyone. It’s safe to say that Emily suffers from some mental health problems. She can’t seem to grasp the concept of death easily, and may have had some control issues.

“A Rose for Emily” is the sad tale of a typical southern woman who did not take the typical southern woman path. With the death of her father she did not follow the path of planning a funeral or telling family. The town was at a loss to find a way to handle this death. “Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly.” This event alone characterizes the story with the isolation, the grotesque, and decay of her morals. Faulkner is just getting started with Emily but has given us the symbolism with society looking in on the aging home, unpaid taxes, and death. Next, we have the addition of Homer Barron, who has come to town temporarily for work. She is smiting for this tall dark handsome northerner. Faulkner himself does not hide another small hint about Homer not liking women. But things appear to be as though marriage is a possibility between the two and then that appears to be another blow that further isolates Emily. Eccentric Emily then ages with her black hair growing grayer and community curiosity growing over the decay foul smelling home. Days after her passing when members of the community enter the home we discover that Emily may have in fact been more southern lady saving

The Build-up and Resolution of “A Rose for Emily” While reading "A Rose for Emily" I experienced many emotions. Some of them include sadness, confusion, and ultimately, shock. William Faulkner does a wonderful job at taking the reader on an emotional roller coaster. Miss Emily's character changes constantly throughout the story.

At the surface, Emily seems unsympathetic, however, “A Rose for Emily” slowly crafts her into a woman who has lived a sad reclusive life who rejects the upcoming modern age. In the short story, Emily’s father has rejected potential husbands which leaves Emily isolated. Her isolation is cemented when her father dies. Ultimately, Emily is sympathetic character due to her refusal to accept her father’s death after the funeral. In fact, she denies her father’s death for three days. The refusal to accept her father’s death surfaces when Emily tells the leaders of the town to speak to her deceased father a decade after his death. Her behavior shows shows that she is in denial which makes the reader sympathize with her actions. Emily also begins to

I found William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” to be interesting and different. Although Faulkner presents time in a confusing matter, I still enjoyed the way he portrays Miss Emily; in such a way that I have never read in any other book. Miss Emily is introduced as “having been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a heredity obligation on the town.” She comes from a family that has money and have always thought highly of themselves. Miss Emily’s father had driven away all the young suiters and deprived her from finding love and marrying. Essentially, leading Miss Emily to become an emotionless and ill woman who needs counseling.

Emily lived a very lonely life filled with odd events. She faced criticism and judgment from her fellow town members for not fitting in and keeping to herself. As a result, Emily encountered quite a few internal struggles. “A Rose for Emily” has characteristics that relate to the day to day lives of every human.

Throughout this story Emily has always showed signs that she did not want to be like everyone in society. The lens that was presented in the story was sociological because it affected the way she participated in the public. In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, conflict is created when individuals do not fulfill their role in society, which is shown when Emily never participated in the community; this created an issue because she completed no roles in society.

In "A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner depicts the story of an old, lonely, lady stuck in her own little world. After her controlling father died, Emily has found it difficult to find her place in the world. Her house has slowly become the most hideous looking home on the once most select street in the city. While it once was elegant, and white with scrolled balconies, it is now encroached with filth and disgust. The townspeople in Miss Emily's city worry about her lost soul, and fill their time speaking ill of her. Eventually, Emily begins dating a young man named, Homer Barron, who works for the construction company paving sidewalks on her street. Homer and Emily begin spending time together, which in turn makes the townspeople gossip more, and

“A rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, tells us the story of a women Emily’s life after her father’s death. This story happened during the end of 18th century, when Old South noble began to fall. Emily in this article is not a real person but a symbol of the Old South.

In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily is born to an upper-class family, and is an only child of her father. Emily is denied of her most basic and primal need of being with a man, “none of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such” (Faulkner 000). Her father runs off all the suitors, “… a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip” (Faulkner 000). She is completely isolated and caged in the grand house by her father's dominant behavior. Emily stands behind her father and blocked off the exit to the outside world. Just like her physical body, her emotions are entrapped. She is past thirty years of age, and she has not had a chance to express her desire to marry a man and have a family. Never was it mentioned in the story, that Emily steps out of the house before the death of her father. After her father dies, Emily finds a man whom she intends to marry according to tradition. Miss Emily is forced to give a name to her relationship with Homer Baron. However, when Miss Emily realizes that Homer Baron was going to desert her, she poisons him and maintains “marital life” with his corpse for forty

Emily Grierson is a curious character from the very beginning of the story. Readers soon learn that her peculiarities come from being raised by a controlling father who never let his daughter marry. The book also mentions a great-aunt who “had gone completely crazy,” so her oddities seem to be something that runs in the family (Johnson, 559). After her father’s death, Emily lives a secluded life with only her servant, Tobe, going in and out of the house. Townspeople write her a letter each year concerning taxes, but they are never given a reply. When Emily meets Homer, her boyfriend, everyone in town assumes they will one day marry. However, Homer soon disappears and is never heard from again. At this point in the story, readers assume that Homer no longer wanted to date Emily and ran away. By the end of Faulkner’s story, readers are presented with even more questions about Emily after learning that she killed Homer and kept his body so that they could be together. This murder is just one chilling element of “A Rose for Emily.”