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Symbolism In A Rose For Emily

Decent Essays

Symbolism is the use of an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. It's often used by writers to represent a hidden message or a hint in a story. The short Stories " A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner and "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker are great examples of the use of symbolism. In "A Rose for Emily" Faulkner uses symbolism to create a Story about a woman called Emily whose life is surrounded by mysteries, especially after the death of her father and the disappearance of her beloved Homer. Falkner uses symbolism to hide several messages through the Story which, in my opinion, sounds very morbid as things happen. In "Everyday Use," Alice Walker symbolizes her messages through a beautiful detailed story where Mrs. Johnson also …show more content…

Emily herself is also considered a symbol. She has a great admiration for her father for her father who have always protect her from everything, specially from men. After he passes way Emily doesn't want to accept his death and becoming completely isolated on her house refusing any kind of change around her. Emily grows older and has a "sort of tragic and serene"(227) appearance. Her obsession of keep the same life style she used to have when her father was alive makes Emily set her own rules in Town. She wants to keep a verbal agreement her father had excusing her from paying taxes, refuses the modernization on mail, and keeps her "old fashioned" world inside of her house while the world outside is changing. Emily tries to keep the same "status" of the high society group she used to belong. Her attempt to stay in the past represents the decline of this social group, the representation of an "old society" refusing the new, the modernization, the technology. The symbols help the author of " A Rose for Emily" address the message of we can't avoid the changes around us. The world is in constant changing and we have to follow it. In " Every Day Use", Alice Walker also uses several symbols to transmit her message to the readers. Living in a rural area, Mrs. Johnson cleans her yard to the arrival of her daughter Dee who's coming to visit her from city. On the first paragraph she prepares the yard carefully and describes the yard carefully. "A

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