Short Story 'The Absence Of Emily'

While rereading the story, I was searching for additional clues that would give me more insight on the death of the man on the bed. First time around I had my suspicions about the outcome more or so, but after knowing how the story ended I was more attentive the second time I read it. One detail of the narrative that stood out to me was Miss Emily’s mental state. I believe she had some type of mental disease. It sounds like her father was a very harsh man and did not want any man close to her; that most have been very difficult. Another detail that stood out the first time and was definitely on my mind the second time, was the smell that emanated from the house. I thought that the overpowering smell was a red flag and that something was not

When Miss Emily refuses to respond to a government letter regarding her taxes the Board of Alderman comes to visit her. When she comes in she is cold to the gentlemen, showing her lack of social skills which in many cases is a factor in mental Illness. Also before Miss Emily makes the guests leave she tells the, that if they still think she has taxes they need to "see Colonel Sartoris," (Faulkner 149) who has been dead ten years. This statement by Miss Emily could be seen as her minds unwillingness to live in the present. Her mind belives what it wants which is also the case after her fathers death. We see in the book that after her father’s death and her subsequent breakdown, Miss Emily was “sick for a long time." This could mean the state that Miss Emily refused to believe her father was gone. Right after the death of her father, the ladies of the town come to Miss Emily’s home to offer their condolences, and they observe that she had “no trace of grief on her face” (Faulkner 151). The inability to either feel or demonstrate appropriate emotion, is a classic symptom of mental illness. More explicitly, Miss Emily insisted to the visitors that “her father was not dead” (Faulkner 151). For this reason, Miss Emily would not let anyone remove her father's body until three days after her father should have been buried. Finally the third day “she broke down” and let the townspeople remove the body quickly

The term "death" refers to someone who is dying or had been killed, basically someone who is at the end of their life. But, to Miss Emily, "death" has a different meaning. "Death" to Miss Emily is when someone is still living their life, even though they are skeletons. Miss Emily keeps dead bodies because she does not ever see death for what it is. She does not think they are dead. In "A Rose for Emily", the theme of control is shown through Emily's interaction with her father in her youth, as well as in Emily's controlling of death.

Similar themes of death, mental health, and isolation are portrayed through characters’ internal and external conflicts within the short story, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and the novel, “The Last of the Crazy People” by Timothy Findley. Together these themes illustrate how traumatic experiences can result in an inability to function within society and a stigma impacting their overall wellbeing. These actions and behaviours are explored through Emily and Jessica, who both experience depression and struggle with their ability to function within society, without gaining negative attention from their peers.

When Albert turns around to leave, his butler, Brewster, was at the door and stated that he didn’t know Albert played piano. Albert starts to shake and sweat nervously and answers a little bit urgently, Albert states, “Brewster, there are a lot of things you don’t know about me and never will” (3). This statement adds suspense to the story because it urges the reader to think that Albert actually did kill Emily, hence building up suspense for when the truth is revealed and the reader finds out Albert was just acting, making “The Absence of Emily” a truly great mystery

The short story “I Stand Here Ironing” (1961) by Tillie Olsen is a touching narration of a mother trying to understand and at the same time justifying her daughter’s conduct. Frye interprets the story as a “meditation of a mother reconstructing her daughter’s past in an attempt to express present behavior” (Frye 287). An unnamed person has brought attention and concern to her mother expressing, “‘She’s a youngster who needs help and whom I’m deeply interested in helping’” (Olsen 290). Emily is a nineteen-year-old complex girl who is atypical, both physically and in personality.

The artwork being analyzed is called Nameless and Friendless and it was completed in 1857 by Emily Mary Osborn. The artwork was most likely created in England, where she was from. The media is oil paints on canvas, rather than the wood that was usually used. It is currently on display in Tate, Britain.

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.

The first instance occurs with the death of her father. Mr. Grierson died, leaving Miss Emily alone with the house and his body to dispose of (325). Miss Emily did not take care of either the house or the deceased body of her father (325). When the authorities came, she greeted them as if nothing was wrong, and with “no trace of grief in her face” (325). The town even reportedly said that they “hardly ever see her at all” after Mr. Grierson died and Miss Emily’s companion had left her (324). Emily’s tendencies to never leave her house and to keep her father’s dead body show signs of instability. Miss Emily publicly displayed an unstable psyche when she told the men who came to collect her taxes to refer to a man who had been dead for nearly ten years (324). A woman who expresses these psychological abnormalities must be examined closely when she is as closely related to the crime as Emily. Not only did her behavior concern others, it made them suspicious. Miss Emily also tried to cover up her crime in the end.

Characterization refers to the techniques a writer uses to develop characters in the story. In the story ‘A Rose for Emily’, William Faulkner uses characterization to reveal the character of Miss Emily Grierson, the main role. Faulkner’s use of language foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. He expresses the content of her character through physical descriptions, through her act, words, and feeling, through the narrator’s direct comments about the character’s nature, and through the actions, words and feelings of the other characters. Faulkner also uses the characterization to examine the theme of the story. His

Desperation for love arising from detachment can lead to extreme measures and destructive actions as exhibited by the tumultuous relationships of Miss Emily in William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily” (rpt. in Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 9th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2006] 556). Miss Emily is confined from society for the majority of her life by her father, so after he has died, she longs for relations that ironically her longing destroys. The despondency and obsession exuded throughout the story portray the predicament at hand.

In responding to Emily’s statement that her file “Says it all”, First, I would acknowledge that I am aware she has been receiving treatment for several years. among psychiatric disorders (Be izario, 2017). Some of the questions I would ask is, how long she has been feeling this way. Does she feel like hurting herself, how many hours of sleep do you get, do you have unintentional weight loss or gain, during the last month have you often been bothered by having little While expressing the fact that although her file may contain detailed information with her past treatment, I would like to hear from her on what she thinks her problem is. Explaining to her after we identify her current concerns we can work on mutually define goals to achieve measurable outcomes. After by giving me a detailed description of what she feel is her current problem will allow me to better help her and give me a better understanding of who she is. I would also ask Emily what she

"A Rose for Emily" is a wonderful short story written by William Faulkner. It begins with at the end of Miss Emily’s life and told from an unknown person who most probably would be the voice of the town. Emily Grierson is a protagonist in this story and the life of her used as an allegory about the changes of a South town in Jefferson after the civil war, early 1900's. Beginning from the title, William Faulkner uses symbolism such as house, Miss Emily as a “monument “, her hair, Homer Barron, and even Emily’s “rose” to expresses the passing of time and the changes. The central theme of the story is decay in the town, the house, and in Miss Emily herself. It shows the way in which we all grow old and decay and there is nothing permanent

The short story A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner first comes off as a disturbing story. When you realize that Miss Emily Grierson, who is the main character in this story, kills the man she’s though to be in love with, all you can really think is that she’s crazy. I think the conflict in the story is Miss Emily not being able to find love. With her father not giving her a chance to date, thinking that there was no one good enough for her. Then, the only man she has been able to love dies, which is her father. Once she has fallen “in love”, she murders her lover. Miss Emily’s necessity for love has caused her to be unable to distinguish fantasy with reality.

In the story “A Rose for Emily” we look into the depths of the demented mind of Miss Emily Grierson. Born and raised during the mid-1800’s in the fictional city of Jefferson, Mississippi in the fictional county of Yoknapatawha. The story begins in its present time of approximately 1934 A.D. at her funeral and courses back through her life to the many points of tragedy she endured.