William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

In “A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner, the main character Emily Grierson is stuck living in the past within the isolated reality that she’s been forced into and that she herself created. Throughout the story, a major theme, (meaning what the story is about) is Emily’s resistance to change which leads to isolation. This Faulkner classic shows us how Emily became isolated because of her families, community and tradition.

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.

Is there any case in which a murderer would be justified in killing? What if the murderer suffered from a severe form of mental illness? In William Faulkner chilling short story called A Rose for Emily, we see a character who murders her lover, but was it her fault? Emily had been mentally unstable for a long time and her family had a long history of suffering from mental illnesses as well, but at the end of the day there is no justification for murder. Some of the most notorious serial killers and murderers have suffered from one form or another of mental illness. People like Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer all suffered from some form of mental illness ("Dangerous Minds: Mental Illnesses of Infamous Criminals"). Although there is an understanding on how a person with mental illness is more susceptible to commit violent crimes, it is still wrong. In a study it was found that “no significant difference in the rates of violence among people with mental illness and other people living in the same neighborhood” (Publications). Emily killed Homer due to lack of morality caused by a combination of terrible parenting and a system that put her above the law. The relationship she had with her father was a distinct one, he pushed her into a little bottle and never let her out. She wasn’t allowed to be a person, but instead a trapped soul yearning for attention and love. The town in which she lived, held her on this pedestal that separated her from the rest of the

In the story “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner, the author talks about a life of a woman and the town she lived in.

There are many instances where Emily resists change, unable to let go of the Southern, antebellum lifestyle she grew up with. This creates a contrast between Emily and the rest of the town, which is progressing and modernizing as time goes by. Emily’s traditional nature puts an emphasis on her representation of the past. She actively resists modernization, choosing to reply to the mayor’s offer to call with a letter “on paper of an archaic shape, [written with] thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink” (Faulkner 1). Emily’s actions represent the past and an inability to let go of it. She is stuck in the past, unwilling to accept the change that the future brings. Emily and her house are the last glimpses of the past in her town; as the town progresses, her house stood unmoving, “lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons” (Faulkner 1). The house continues to display the style of the past, despite the decay and progression of style. Emily and her house represent the past, when her house was new and in style. Emily’s resistance to change and longing for the past is appropriate, considering her age and upbringing. She is an older woman, who grew up during the Civil War era in the South. The reason the South fought in the Civil War was to protect their lifestyle at all costs. The South was unwilling to change, stubbornly clinging to the antebellum way of life. This philosophy shaped the

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.

Emily’s house is also a symbol of decay. Faulkner even goes so far as to describe it as an “eyesore among eyesores” (Faulkner, 317). The house used to be of great grandeur with lavish decorations, spires and cupolas, scrolled balconies, and on the most select street in the city. It now has become dilapidated and rotted with decay.

Emily’s house is a symbol of the idea that holding onto the past in the midst of constant change can lead to madness. The house is described with “a big, squarish frame... decorated with cupolas and spires and

Faulkner uses the smell of Miss Emily’s home throughout the story to foreshadow Homers atrocious fate. For thirty years, Miss Emily has kept Homers body in the bedroom upstairs that was shut off from everyone else. Because of this, it gave her

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” everything becomes clear after Emily, a local woman in the town, died. William Faulkner knew conditions like Emily’s were real and he wanted to express those conditions in his story. Her life would have been much better if she had been raised differently. Emily grew up with the disadvantage of having a cruel, selfish father, only thinking about is own comfort, preventing her from living life like an ordinary girl. After her death the town finally went to her house to try and find answers. They remembered various situations from her life and how unfortunate and sad her life was. The short story jumps between flashbacks and the present. The reader

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily Grierson is the main character who represents the old values and traditions of pre-Civil War who is faced with the new values and traditions that challenge everything she has ever known. The very first description we get of Emily is the reason people attend her funeral: “the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (Faulkner 168) which immediately gives the reader an idea of her being from a past time. Her family’s home is the last remaining building from the town Emily grew up in because “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood” (Faulkner 168). The first major example of Emily’s inability to conform with the new traditions is the revoking of Colonel Sartoris’s tax deal. The old tradition pitied her after her father’s death, but the new tradition didn’t value this and sent her a tax notice every year to which she always sent back. When the sheriff visits to collect the taxes, Emily insists that he needs to talk to Colonel Sartoris who has been dead for 10 years. This delusion shows that Emily is unable to come to terms with the end of the old values. In section II of the story, Emily is trapped as being the last of the Griersons due to her father’s death before he chose a suitor for her. The town “believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner 170) and this combined with the old tradition of the

In part one of the short story Faulkner introduces the house as, “... a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies,” (Faulkner). Describing what the house used to is very important for understand the travesties that occurred after. Emily used to wealthy young lady who was once the complete opposite of how she turned out to be. She lived with her father, who she had an unhealthy relationship with.. When her father died once of the first strange events that occured while this was Emily not letting go of his corpse for three days, “We did not say she was crazy then… We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have cling to that which had robbed her, as people will.” (Faulkner). The townspeople were convinced this wasn’t a normal act but were able to come up with explanation as to why she wouldn’t let go of her father’s corpse. Also, implying the fact that her father was possessive towards her and wouldn’t let her see other men. After his death Emily would go out often and this was when her life went downhill, or more so than it

Emily’s house seems to be very symbolic in this story. Emily’s house is like the monument. The only remaining symbol or emblem of a dying world of the southern high class. “Only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores” (Faulkner). Emily’s house was all that was left after her father’s death. As the story goes on a lot changes happen, the street and neighborhood were once looking spotless, people were wealthy and privileged. “Only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores” (Faulkner). The house was his endurance and preservation of the town but now it’s just above the cotton waggons. The society is changing so the old values are out of place. Emily’s house in my opinion represents Death, mystery and mental illness because of the up stairs room where she preserved the body of the man she didn’t allow to leave her. “One room in that

There are many ways to read a piece of writing. A reader could take the work at face value, investigate and ponder ideas introduced, or closely examine each minuscule detail in the writing. In order to fully enjoy William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” readers must do the latter. Faulkner is a witty writer; some symbols are less obvious than others in his writing. To fully appreciate and obtain full meaning of the text readers must pay attention to his symbols and how they contribute to the greater theme. William Faulkner uses symbolization in “A Rose for Emily” to develop a theme of personal struggle. Emily faces many personal struggles: her relationship with the townspeople, her struggle to remain unchanging in a modernizing town, her

William Faulkner grew up in Mississippi and had a good understanding and knowledge of major historical events in the South, some of which he lived through (Murphy). The 1920’s to 1950’s were a time when segregation and discrimination were common and violence was an everyday occurrence. It was also a time when Faulkner wrote most of his stories. These problems are often evident and reflected in his writing. His stories explored the racial divide happening during this troubling period of American history and the previous years, and are also unique partly because of his writing style and the close personal similarities he held with many characters in these stories. These stories took place in his fictional Yoknapatawpha County, a town similar