Theme And Symbolism In A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is a story that uses flashbacks to foreshadow a surprise ending. The story begins with the death of a prominent old woman, Emily, and finishes with the startling discovery that Emily as been sleeping with the corpse of her lover, whom she murdered, for the past forty years. The middle of the story is told in flashbacks by a narrator who seems to represent the collective memory of an entire town. Within these flashbacks, which jump in time from ten years past to forty years past, are hidden clues which prepare the reader for the unexpected ending, such as hints of Emily's insanity, her odd behavior concerning the deaths of loved ones, and the evidence that the

In the beginning, the audience gets a glimpse of the house belonging to Miss Emily. The exterior of the house was beautiful, but aging. When it was first built in the post-civil war era, it was lovely. However, after revolution and change, Miss Emily’s home was the last standing house on the block. This is vital to the story because it paints a picture for the reader’s mind. The interior of the house was dusty and unclean after the change. This demonstrates how cooped up Miss Emily truly is. She never

William Faulkner uses imagery to represent Miss Grierson’s confrontation to change by vividly describing her appearance. With the description given of Emily, readers might conclude that it symbolizes her inability to change. He describes

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.

“Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 1). Emily, a member of the town’s elite class, relied upon her father when growing up and after his death, she refused to pay her taxes, stating that her father contributed much to society. But it was evident that she didn’t pay them because of a lack of maturity - financially and socially. When she was younger she pushes herself onto Homer Barron, a Northerner with no interest in marriage. Throughout the story, Emily is conflicted over societal change, and clings to her privileged manner even after finding herself in poverty. Yet, she becomes involved with a man from a lower social class, and a Northerner as well - hinting that he has different beliefs and values. The townspeople, however, believe the relationship it too modern when there is a possibility they are having physical relations despite not being serious about marriage. The community’s inability to commit to progress, contribute to the confused Emily’s decision. In A Rose for Emily, Faulkner uses the symbolism of Emily’s house and her hair to demonstrate her emotional instability and physical deterioration, illustrating the outcome of his story.

Faulkner uses simile here: “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough…” (30).This imagery was used to ascertain Miss Emily as a washed up relic of some long ago time. This, in turn, symbolizes the way that she still clings to and tries to live a way of life which has long been surpassed by the ever changing forward march of time and more modern ways of thinking.

When a person has only been taught dysfunctional love, it is all too often that this is the only kind of love they will ever experience. In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner explores an unorthodox relationship between an aristocratic southern lady named Miss Emily Grierson, and a blue-collar northern fellow named Homer Barron. The narrator, who likely represents the townspeople, describes Miss Emily’s unusual father in detail. Because of this illuminating description, the reader is able to begin to understand the strange dynamic Mr. Grierson and his daughter share. The story reveals how an over-controlling parent can negatively

As an author establishes the characters he simultaneously attempts to develop the theme of the story. An author uses various elements such as point of view, the setting, and symbols to work toward the expression of one central idea. In looking at "A Rose for Emily." a short story by William Faulkner, it is evident that Faulkner successfully carries one main idea throughout the piece, the idea of being isolated from society.

In William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose For Emily”, there are a few themes and symbols that are the most significant. The main character, Emily Grierson, is used to display the struggle against change while trying to keep old traditions alive. Emily’s house is a perfect symbol of old traditions. The theme of death is also displayed, as death seems to just follow Emily throughout her life. At the end of the short story, something as simple as a piece of long, gray hair becomes a huge symbol of the story, answering many questions for the community and, of course, the readers.

William Faulkner has done a wonderful work in his essay “A Rose for Emily.” Faulkner uses symbols, settings, character development, and other literary devices to express the life of Emily and the behavior of the people of Jefferson town towards her. By reading the essay, the audience cannot really figure out who the narrator is. It seems like the narrator can be the town’s collective voice. The fact that the narrator uses collective pronoun we supports the theory that the narrator is describing the life of “Miss Emily” on behalf of the townspeople. Faulkner has used the flashback device in his essay to make it more interesting. The story begins with the portrayal of Emily’s funeral and it moves to her past and at the end the readers realize that the funeral is a flashback as well. The story starts with the death of Miss Emily when he was seventy-four years old and it takes us back when she is a young and attractive girl.

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.

Most of the time, an object can represent multiple things. In the United States the Bald eagle represents freedom. It symbolizes freedom, because of its long life, great strength and majestic looks. Our soldiers fight for our freedom today. Symbolism explains an object more clearly and it goes beyond the meaning. Colors can also be a symbol. The United States flag has three colors and they all represent something different. White represents purity and innocence. Red stands for hardiness and valor. Blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice. If the flag is flown half-staff it represents respect, mourning, or distress.

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

William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily” which is a story about an old pauper whose life is turned upside down after the death of her father. Faulkner uses a lot of symbolism in this story to give a glimpse into the mysterious life of Miss Emily Grierson. Things such as the rose itself, which is a symbol of love for which she is searching for throughout the story. Another one being her hair which is a symbol of the rise and decline of her sexual maturity. And last, the Grierson home is a symbol of her state of mind and mental stability. These symbols enforce the key theme of the story which is the power of death and the hold it takes on the lives of many. Emily’s behaviors and stubborn way of thinking and living are important to the story, showing how death can take hold of a person’s life and consume it completely.