Symbolism In A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

While one of the most traditional interpretations of “A Rose for Emily” is the variety of meanings for the “rose” presented in the title and how the “rose” fits in with the story. Laura Getty states in her article many varied perspectives that many could ponder when identifying what the “rose” stands for. She states many possible theories that depict what the “rose” means, including theories of other writers that help support her own theory and also that adds another way that most might not consider at first. Most of the interpretations of the rose are all focused on the “internal elements” (Getty 231) rather than the actual rose itself. Getty theorizes about certain characters, buildings, anything that symbolizes a rose in the story as

Symbolism that “A Rose for Emily” displays is Miss Emily’s taxes that represent death. First is the death of her father. The taxes are a

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses imagery and symbolism to both illustrate and strengthen the most prevalent theme; Emily’s resistance to change. William Faulkner seems to reveal this theme through multiple descriptions of Miss Grierson’s actions, appearance, and her home. Throughout the short story it is obvious that Emily has a hard time letting go of her past, she seems to be holding onto every bit of her past. Readers see this shown in several ways, some more obvious than others.

William Faulkner paints a tragic tale about the inevitability of change and the futility of attempting to stop it in "A Rose for Emily". This story is about a lonely upper-class woman struggling with life and traditions in the Old South. Besides effective uses of literary techniques, such as symbolism and a first plural-person narrative style, Faulkner succeeds in creating a suspenseful and mysterious story by the use of foreshadowing, which gives a powerful description about death and the tragic struggle of the main character, Miss Emily. In general the use of foreshadowing often relates to events in a story, and few are attempted to describe character. Faulkner has effectively

William Faulkner once said, The article describes the fate of a southern town after the American Civil War. As the patriarch of the family, Emily's father leaned heavily to maintain the rank and dignity so he drove all the courtship to love Emily and deprived her of her right to happiness. After the death of her father, Emily fell in love with a foreman northerner that was building the railway for the town. But Emily still did not get rid of the shackles of family dignity and her father's influence on her approach. When she found that Homer Barron had no intention to marry her, she poisoned him with arsenic. Since then, Emily closed herself in the old house, and lived with his dead father for 40 years, until she died. The town residents found the secret at the funeral of Emily. William Faulkner is a pivotal figure in the history of American literature, known as the head of the Southern Renaissance and the leader of the Southern literature. "A Rose for Emily" is Faulkner's most classic short story. In this novel, Faulkner used a symbolic, like rose, Emily and the shadow of father, to reveal the contradictions and conflicts between the American old-age cultural minds and the northern industrial civilization after the civil war. He shaped a fallen southern aristocratic lady “Emily “in the tragedy of personal and social, realistic and traditional tragedy.

Although the story may just sound like a gruesome tale of a woman with necrophilia, there can be other meanings found through symbolism. A symbol creates a direct, meaningful connection between a specific object, scene, character, or action. In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily can be seen as a

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses symbolism, imagery, simile and tone. Faulkner uses these elements to lead his characters to an epiphany of letting go of out-dated traditions and customs. The resistance to change and loneliness are prominent themes within “A Rose for Emily”. Faulkner uses “A Rose for Emily” to caution his readers that things are not always what they appear to be.

William Faulkner used a great deal of symbolism in this story. His use of symbolism captivated the reader until the shocking end of the story. Some of the symbolism was blatant while some was vague and disguised. While Faulkner’s use of the color white in this story wasn’t obvious at first it soon becomes clear that the color white represents innocence and youth. The Grierson house was white and when Miss Emily was a young girl she wore white dresses as opposed to the black attire she wore in her latter years. This represents the innocence of Miss Emily before she becomes a victim of herself and her refusal to change. The yellow color of the wheels of the buggy Miss Emily and

In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," a series of interconnected events collectively represent a single theme in the story. Symbolism is the integral factor involved in understanding the theme. "A Rose for Emily's" dominant theme is the search for love and security, a basic human need which can be met unfavorably in equivocal environments. Faulkner's use of symbolism profoundly develops the theme of the story, bringing to light the issues of morality that arise from a young woman's struggle to find love.

When asked about the meaning behind the title , A Rose for Emily, Faulkner never literally stated an answer. However Emily’s peculiar inability to let things go after they are dead suggests a possible reason for the title. It is not unheard of for one to preserve a rose in a closed book. Similarly, Emily preserved the body of Homer Barron in her house for years after his death. Homer was Emily’s rose. He was the happiness and hope that Emily had closed herself off from for such a long part of her life, of course she would want to keep that as long as she could.

Also these items can reflect the strong symbolism in it. Faulkner used a rose, but De Maupassant used the necklace to represent the main character’s emotions in two items. The difference in those symbols is that a rose has only appeared on the title but the necklace is the whole flow of the story. Faulkner leaves the reader to interpret the rose’s symbolic meaning. The rose is usually a powerful symbol of love, it always has been, and portrays an everlasting beauty. Moreover, the rose has been used for centuries to illustrate an eternal type of love and faithfulness. Therefore, readers can infer the meaning that the rose present in the title, and portray it to Emily that she does not have love in her life. The necklace, however it is the important items that lead to the climax of the story. It is pretty but worthless, shows the awareness of appearance and real world. Also, the fake necklace shows Mathilde’s desire to be something she is not.

The main symbolism running throughout A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, is the theme of how important it is to let go of the past. Miss Emily clings to the past and does not want to be independent. The Old South is becoming the new South and she cannot move forward. The residents of the South did not all give in to change just because they lost the Civil War. In A Rose for Emily time marches on leaving Miss Emily behind as she stubbornly refuses to progress into a new era. In the story, symbolism is used to give more details than the author actually gives to the reader. Symbolism helps to indicate how Emily was once innocent but later changes, how her hair, house, and lifestyle, helped to show her resistance to change. The story is not

Prompted by its ambiguity, when William Faulkner was asked to explain the symbolic nature of the rose, he responded by stating that it was “Just a ‘Rose for Emily’ – That’s all” (Towner & Carothers, p. 67). This implies that the rose is merely a gesture of kindness to a pitiable character and nothing more. For those not comfortable with Faulkner’s response, perhaps the only other clue lies in the final page where a secret room reveals “faded rose colored” curtains and “rose shaded lights” (Faulkner, p.674). It may be that Faulkner used the rose to tie the beginning of the story with its end. While the rose in the title may or may not be symbolic, what it actually represents appears to be left open to interpretation.

There were many interpretations of A Rose for Emily. The short film made by Chubbuck in 1983 is one of the most famous versions. While the movie sticks to the text in main aspects, there are significant differences. Emily’s image is one of them. Faulkner described her as “a small, fat woman… looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue”. The movie showed a more decent image of a “last South aristocrat”; Emily even was not totally grey, as the text highlighted. It could be explained by the fact Anjelica Huston was the best actress among women who applied to the role or by director’s attempt to create a better image of the character.

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner tells the story of an sad and lonely lady, stuck in her time. Because her father died, she never fully recovered from it and was not able to find herself. Emily’s house was in the past was considered elegant and was built on the best street in town in the 1870’s. Now the house is old and an unattractive building to the neighborhood. People in her town begin to bad mouth her because of her lost soul. Homer Barron, an employee of a construction company, begins to begins to date Emily. The townspeople do not seem ecstatic about this, because they think she is doing it out of being lonely and depressed since her father died. Later on, she