SHORT STORY LITERARY ANALYSIS PAPER PLAN: INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH In William Falkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” Falkner presents the theme of many of his popular works: the representation of the influence of tradition’s longevity versus change in the perspective of society as it grows. “A Rose for Emily” is centered on few encounters, and the perspective that influence them, occur between the townsfolk and the outsider Ms. Emily. These encounters occurred when the ever progressing and changing town of Jackson, Mississippi and the traditions of said growing town coming into conflict in “A Rose for Emily”. Each perspective of the encounters created two distinct different perspectives of, or approaches to, the traditions and what can and cannot ‘fit’ into the modernization of society. Falkner engages these …show more content…
Emily MSD2: Townsman MSD3: Townswomen BP2 Plan TS: As an extension of Falkner’s use of multidimensional characterizations, Falkner uses symbolism in many ways during the tale in order to improve and express the power and longevity of social traditions. MSD1: Town itself is on the brink of newer modern technologies, roads, and homes—YET the town has maintained long-term respect and dignity for the traditional areas. MSD2: Townsfolk do not pressure her actions: do not question the poison, do not question the lack of mail-box, do not pressure her cleaning, NOR when she refuses her taxes. MSD3: Neighbors don’t pressure Ms. Emily, but rather pity her which is reflected in their attempts to use newer changes and adapt them to Ms. Emily’s particular methodology (instead of making her deal with the embarrassment that a WOMAN would be known of her stature, they sneak stuff to take away the scent without harming her dignity…) BP 3 Plan TS: Generally, the subtle individual perspectives create an overall group-social expectancy; this expectance allows Falkner’s character and symbolic attributes throughout this story work to fully express and reiterate the
Falkner's story is about the last breaths of the antebellum south. The narrator of the story describes Miss Emily this way: "Alive Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town"¦" (50). The town of Jefferson is at caught between the future and the past, the diminishing glory of the Grierson home is juxtaposed by a modern, more commercial future. The town had not even taxed Miss Emily's property due to some forgotten arrangement, yet when "the next generation, with its more modern ideas, became mayors, councilman and aldermen, this arrangement created some dissatisfaction." (50). The depth of this struggle is revealed in the fact that though the city leaders served Miss Emily with a tax bill, she chose to ignore it, and they chose to do nothing in response. These issues affirm the town's collective
Through this examination of the differences between past and present, wrong and right, and North and South, by Ray West Jr., the different viewpoints and conflicts that appear throughout “A Rose for Emily” are deeply analyzed. West’s critical assessment divides the characters based on who represents the old ways and who represents the changing times. However, the story shows the South’s fervent desire to keep their lifestyle the same. Emily attempted to hold her love for Homer like the South attempted to hold its love for gentile days before the Civil War. West’s asserts that Emily’s fall from grace symbolizes the South’s fall. The deterioration of Emily and the South during reconstruction parallels the slow deterioration of Emily’s house.
In both short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning” both written by William Faulkner, the point of view is one of the areas where the two stories bare a similarity. This point of view allows the reader ample time to analyze the various clues provided by the narrator, to discover the final outcome. In addition, the use of clues, or foreshadowing is another similarity found in both stories. Although, the point of view and the use of foreshadowing is similar, the delivery of these elements are not. In ‘’A Rose for Emily” the narrator uses a first-person-plural (community/group) point of view in which those telling the story have a limited perspective compared to “ Barn Burning” where a third-person individual (ten year old boy) point
Change causes a person to do things out of the norm. It is common for people to fear change. Most people although afraid will accept the changes and adapt to it. Others will control that change unwilling to adhere to the new and unfamiliar way of things. Many are stuck in the past, in the traditions that guide their lives. Emily Grierson is a product of the Old South, rich in traditions and set in her ways. The New south means change; traditions are lost and replaced with new customs. Even though afraid of change Emily will control the changes in her life, the loss of her father, the respect of the town, and even the reality of her own life in “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner.
For starters, the story is set in a town that is described as being very isolated. However, the isolation is a quality that the characters or the story value. This small town lacks the diversity that big cities have which means that things tend to stay the same. Social change was either very rare, or non-existent. Even when speaking about matters as grave as the death of Miss Emily's father, and the death of Miss Emily, childish gossip ran wild through the town.
Tradition controls the actions of both the town and Emily herself. “A Rose for Emily” captures the importance tradition holds for her Southern community. The Civil War was an issue of lifestyle. Southerners hung to the lifestyle they had, with the slaves. Tradition was the reason Emily didn’t pay her taxes. Her father was aristocracy and paid no taxes , therefore , Emily refused. When the slavery era passed, the South fell, the lifestyle was torn apart and the economy changed. Old-time families, like Emilie’s, lost their position with their
One of the largest cultural revolutions in history occurred after the American Civil War, completely changing the lives of those who lived in the southern United States. Despite the improvements to society these revolutions bring, some people will reject these changes by clinging to their outdated ideologies. In his short story “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner focuses on the life and death of Miss Emily Grierson, an aging woman who loathes all forms of change. Throughout the story, Faulkner presents Miss Grierson as the last person to embrace the antebellum culture through her rejection of posantbellum changes, references to antebellum society, and description of the town’s thoughts and feelings toward Miss Grierson. Each time Miss Grierson faces changes, she refuses to accept them, reinforcing the idea that she rejects modern ideas and retraction from reality. When the city asks Miss Grierson to pay taxes, she quickly dismisses the city’s patient pleas by telling the council at her house, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (section I, paragraph 12). She commands the council to see a deceased mayor, reinforcing Miss Grierson’s detachment from the present. Later, Miss Grierson solely refuses to allow the post office to “fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox” when the town receives free mail service. Since she is accustomed to the antebellum society and cannot adjust to postbellum improvements, she rejects the new mail system. After
William Faulkner is a well-known author, whose writing belongs in the Realism era in the American Literary Canon. His writing was influence by his Southern upbringing, often setting his stories in the fictional Southern town, Yoknapatawpha County. “A Rose for Emily” was one of Faulkner’s first published pieces and displays many of the now signature characteristics of Faulkner’s writing. The short story provides commentary through the use of many symbols. In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily”, the author uses the townspeople as a representation of societal expectations and judgments, Emily and her house as symbols for the past, and Homer’s corpse as a physical representation of the fear of loneliness.
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
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.
The representation of something in symbolic form or the attribution of symbolic meaning or character to something. ’Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another to give it an entirely different meaning that is a much deeper and more significant’’. In a ‘’Rose for Emily’’ starts off were the people are in Emily’s funeral they describe her as the women she was a fallen monument. A number of personality and intent can be an indication of much larger plot in a rose for Emily by William Faulkner. She was I person that when she want something she would gated. A number of personality and intent can be an indication of much larger plot in a rose for Emily by William Faulkner. She was I person that when she want something she would gated. Emily was a person that represent monument the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument. She was a woman mostly out curiosity and mental problem. She was most of her life by herself. (1215).The homer barons in rose for Emily recreate the rose. Homer was a dark man who Emily wanted to marry him. But homer was bisexual and Emily didn’t know that. Emily father she treed her and believed no man was good enough for her to marry. He was in control of her never let her go outside their house. “Miss Emily’s father had loaned money to the town, which the town as a matter of business, preferred this way of repaying. (1215) the town people would talk about Emily on her back. The
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story, believed to be one of the author’s best works, that depicts a very interesting outsider perspective, a first person plural narration, of the events of a very intriguing character’s life, Miss Emily. As a figure of speech, the town is personified and used as a collective noun, but it also assembles a unique independent personality of its own generated by all the voices that echo behind it – it can be at times judgmental, curious, cruel and indecisive, but sometimes comforting, caring and attentive. Communities, cities or places in general are often long-lasting and tend to serve as home for many generations over time, while accumulating a history of their own. In “A Rose for Emily” the
Her entire life has been based on southern tradition implemented by the old generation, all of her decisions in life have been made in order to correctly conform to that tradition. If she conforms to modern standards, she loses all of the power and respect that was entitled to her. So, she does not conform, she gets rid of the new generation in order to keep herself sequested away from modern change. She protects herself from them so she can continue to live in denial that any change is necessary. For Miss Emily modern chage is unwanted and tradition is used to justify her denial. Miss Emily allows southern tradition to fester within herself, “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallied hue” (220). She is barely living. Miss Emily no longer ventures outside, she is a walking corpse dwelling within a mousoleum structured to keep her rooted in southern tradition. She may have died of natural causes but it was not free of suffering. Miss Emily was slowly dying because she sequested heself away from any modern changes like paying her taxes. She cut herself off from the rest of the world in order to conform to tradition. Miss Emily’s slow march towards death is the same march the older generation faces. Just as Miss Emily refuses to give up her status and entitlement so do the older generation. Modern laws will be establish to blur the lines
I. Thesis Statement: A Rose for Emily is a story of the envy harbored by the citizens in reaction to Miss Emily’s pride, reclusiveness, and heritage.
As an image of decrepit grandeur, Miss Emily’s house is used to symbolize Miss Emily’s character herself, the historical setting in which the story takes place, and some of the story’s central themes. Described as “a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorates with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies” (Faulkner 1), the house is ornate and grand in design, even being located on what was once an exclusive street in Jefferson. However, over time, it had become dilapidated and unkempt, with the interior being dark and full of dust, possessing “a close, dank smell” (Faulkner 1). Similarly, Miss Emily was once a young lady of high standing, opulent in her own ways, but slowly aged and lost her grandeur, becoming “a small, fat woman” (Faulkner 1) whose hair was turning grayer as the days went by. Much like her home, Miss Emily was losing her charm over time, showing that her character was stubbornly grasping on to the idea that she still retained an image of splendor she no longer possessed, all while isolating herself from the rest of the town.