Miss Emily Use Of Fear

In the end, with her death, which is where the story begins, Miss Emily is the talk of the town. Not because people truly mourn her, but because people are curious about the life she had lived in secret, in her big house, for all those years. People pitied her, it was as had been left alone in the world and seemed to have wished it that way.

Emily’s Downward Spiral: An Analysis of “A Rose for Emily” In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” the main character of the story is Miss Emily Grierson. To analyze and examine her character, it is almost impossible not to look at the psychological aspect of it. Through the narrative of

In addition to the impact of her family on her mental state, it is also through the relationship Miss Emily has with her community, that helps to foreshadow the fateful ending. It is through the words and actions of the community that this relationship is shown, such as how they even distance themselves from her. In the beginning of the story in Act I, Faulkner describes Miss Emily’s position in the town as “a sort of hereditary obligation”. Since the death of her father, the town is aware of the struggle she is having while being alone, so that is why they see her

“After her father’s death she went out very little, after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all” (Faulkner 805). Miss Emily was an interesting character that is commonly associated with death and isolation. According to Willow D. Crystal, William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" suggests that

Criticism from the townspeople caused Emily to go insane. What did Emily ever do to the townspeople? They were always criticizing her in how she was to who she dated. She was already in a struggle with herself, the environment and all those who surrounded her. The society was forcing her to stray in her role of “noblesse oblige.” When Emily’s father died the “people were glad…they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone…she had become humanized.” Townspeople were jealous that she always had money and her life was set good unlike them. Not knowing the struggle she was going through they made it worse for her by criticizing. She

Another thing that might have contributed to Miss Emily’s motive was all of the gossip about her. In the small town of Jefferson, there was an abundant amount of gossip. Miss Emily was a main topic of that town gossip. When Miss Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron began, many of the townspeople looked down on the relationship. Scherting asserted that “Miss Emily’s conduct during the time baffled the people of Jefferson” (401). At this time the women were held to certain standards. Miss Emily was meeting none of the standards that the time

Upon reading William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” one discovers several colorful characters, including one Miss Emily Grierson of Jefferson, Mississippi. Readers uncover her quirks and specific character traits as seen through the eyes of the townspeople who are highly interested in the goings-on in her life. Miss Emily Grierson

The information that we do have about Miss Emily's genuinely mysterious life was obtained through her prying neighbors. They did everything possible, without disrespect, to find out more about her. They knew where she had been, with whom, and when. The secrecy of Miss Emily's life fascinated everyone that knew her. The more that time went on and the more that neighbors pried, the less Miss Emily appeared until soon she was hardly seen at all and let no one into her home. Even at Miss Emily's funeral the whole town came to satisfy some of their curiosity. Miss Emily seemed to enjoy being secretive and did her best to be so.

Gabi Kuhn 4B 11/13/12 1) What is the point of view of the story? The point of view of the story is a third person. The amount of information the reader knows would be somewhat that of a typical townsperson, since we do not find out right away what is really going

The townspeople often gossip and whisper about her, and there are many things they do not know about Miss Emily. They whisper, “‘Do you suppose it’s really so?’ they said to one another. ‘Of course it is. What else could…’” (Faulkner 4). There are many more examples of the townspeople making assumptions about Miss Emily, because she is a complete shut-in and speaks to quite literally nobody. Throughout the entire story, there is almost a veil between Miss Emily and the rest of the townspeople and the reader. It is only somewhat dropped at the end of the story, when the murder and body are discovered. Nobody really even knows Miss Emily’s feelings and emotion. The reader only knows her actions, and that is not enough to assume most of her feelings. However, if the story was written in the first person point of view of Miss Emily, by the very nature of the narration, the reader would be clued into every emotion that passed through her mind. This way, they would be able to understand her, and maybe why she did the things she did, like staying confined within the walls of her home for most of her life. This may also make the ending more predictable. Instead of the reader’s initial reaction being shock, horror, and disgust, it may now be a grim reality that only slightly shakes the reader. Miss

Emily's father suppressed all of her inner desires. He kept her down to the point that she was not allowed to grow and change with the things around her. When “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated…only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps” (Rose 217). Even when he died, she was still unable to get accustom to the changes around her. The traditions that her and her father continued to participate in even when others stopped, were also a way that her father kept her under his thumb. The people of the town helped in

Emily's stubbornness that prevented the city authorities from searching the house foreshadows the that Emily is hiding something . After all if she had nothing to hide, she would have allowed the search around her house, yet, she refused to allow her house to be searched or herself to be interviewed to completion. Emily interjects and cuts off her search: “I have no taxes in Jefferson. Iobe!” the negro appeared, “Show these gentlemen out” Emily limits the info that she gives to the searchers of her house.

The author uses historical context to show the town as a symbol of the new South. “Even though Miss Emily was a child during the Civil War, she represents to generations past and present the old Deep South of the Delta cotton-plantation aristocracy. She is a visible holdover into the modern South of a bygone era of romance, chivalry, and the Lost Cause.” (Madden). Emily functions as a foil of the town in which she is living, while the town has been evolving to a newer south. She is stuck in her old southern ways even as the town is changing around her likewise it creates a conflict between the town and Emily because of the fact that the town is trying to get her to accept that things are changing. For example when Emily’s father died, she was in denial and the town was trying to get her to let go of her father and let him be buried. “Additionally, Faulkner’s own personal experiences with

Emily had depression and was dealing with it in her own way by closing herself off. Looks could be very deceiving and in this case, Emily surprised the town when she died. The townspeople realized that there was more to her than they thought and were quick to judge.

Everybody in town feels sorry for Emily when her father passes away. When Emily decides to isolate herself, the town automatically assumes that she is up to something without giving her a chance. Throughout the entire story, the townspeople are whispering and repeatedly saying “Poor Emily”. They label her as “crazy” as soon as they feel she was acting abnormal. Every action that is taken by Emily creates a reaction from the townspeople. “So, the next day we all said, ‘she will kill herself’, and we said it would be the best thing” (Faulkner 85). The town gives off the impression that they despise Miss Emily, they lead the readers to believe that Emily is doing some type of harm to the community. Mr. Grierson supports the town financially and physically. When the mayor exempts her from paying taxes it starts a conflict between Emily and the town of Jefferson. Since Emily has special privileges, the townspeople are now unsatisfied. Jealousy and hatred plays a major role in why the town feels and acts the way they do towards Emily.