The ending to “A Rose for Emily” hits like a punchline to a bad joke. William Faulkner is known for pulling at the moral implications of history and people’s interpretations. He believed that politics and religion reclude to provide order and peace and instead complicate and create enemies, in addition to society’s judgment, and harsh statements. In many of Faulkner’s stories, the characters come upon challenges that prevented them from realizing their potential or their place in the world. His short story “A Rose for Emily” aligns perfectly with his views. The story’s theme and secretive narrator create the auto secrecy and uniqueness to the story.
The encasing theme of the story allows the reader to level and better understand the author’s position from within. Faulkner’s examination of the power of death through Emily is his way of showing his opinion of corruption of the human mind. As death hovers over “A Rose for Emily,” the narrator’s exclamation of her death at the start of the story through the portrayal of Emily’s haunted life. The storyteller compares her to a suffocated lady, a bloated and pale figure cleared out as well long within the water. Within the same portrayal, he alludes to her little, save skeleton—she is essentially dead on her feet. Her strange relationship to the dead bodies of the men she has loved is uncovered to begin with when her father passes on. Slaughtering Homer was her way to ensure that she was able to keep him close her. Emily and Homer’s twisted marriage uncovers Emily’s aggravating endeavor to combine life and passing. Her fixation and the community’s assumptions were proven after her death along with revealing the biggest secret of all – her necrophilia. Concluding that Emily’s behavior portrays Faulkner’s twisted thoughts on the subject of death.
Narration style varies from author to author, it is what gives the story its individuality. “A Rose for Emily” is Faulkner’s experiment of a new approach to storytelling. One of the strategies that Faulkner utilized to create “A Rose for Emily’ was his application of an anonymous storyteller whose relationship to Emily and whose part in the life of the town is to some degree equivocal. Still, the reader cannot stop to be struck by the way in which the storyteller tells the story of the unusual Miss Emily, always utilizing the word “we’ to portray the sentiments of the townspeople and their doubts of her. The storyteller talks some of the time for the men of Jefferson, in some cases for the ladies, and regularly for both. It too ranges three eras mentioned in the story, counting the era of Miss Emily’s father, Miss Emily’s era, and the ‘more up to date era,’ made up of the children of Miss Emily’s counterparts. The storyteller is lovely difficult on the primary two eras, and it’s simple to see how their treatment of Miss Emily may have driven to her destruction. This loans the story to a degree a revealing feeling.
William Faulkner is known as one of the best authors of all time. His exclusive approach to expressing his own beliefs in a way that feels naturalistic and self-evaluating. “A Rose for Emily” was his recollection with a spin of his modernized opinions about a necrophilic woman who killed her husband to be closer to him. His theme of how powerful death is on one person is the underlying lesson he was trying to portray. Faulkner’s take on narration is one that revolutionized the role of the narrator allowing him to take so many positions yet still staying unknown. These styles give “A Rose For Emily” the nostalgia and individualism that it’s known for today.
Hide
Show More
Despite how unfairly our society has always viewed and treated people who suffer from mental health issues, as well as the social stigma that comes with this diagnosis or undiagnosed ailment, the truth is that these very individuals who are labeled “mentally ill” can be geniuses at projecting through their writings an understanding to the reader of the mind and society, and how the world appears through the lens in which they view life. According to Edvard Munch, a master...
5 Pages
2264 Words
“An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn’t know why they choose him and he’s usually too busy to wonder why.” William Faulkner talks about demons in the previous quotation, specifically the demons of an artist. Artist and/or writers are often faced with the biggest demon of all- isolation. Can isolation and loneliness be reflected among artists pieces of work? In both “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner himself, and in “ The Death of Marat...
5 Pages
2134 Words
In the short story A Rose for Emily the author William Faulkner focuses on the recent change in the old south throughout the whole story. The short story goes through the life of Emily Grierson, an older woman from the south, and reflects how she is after her father’s death. The setting in A Rose for Emily is William Faulkner’s idea of post-common war Jefferson a community in the south of the United States. Faulkner’s utilization of this specific timespan...
2 Pages
841 Words
In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner tells a story that revolves around the life and death of Emily Grierson. Miss Emily is an elderly lady who is secluded from the rest of the town. Her overbearing father died around thirty years ago and since his death, she has not been able to find her own ground. Due to this, Grierson got stuck in her own timeframe. So much so that she kept her deceased father’s body for a short...
3 Pages
1445 Words
The story is about the death of town’s old isolated woman, the very last surviving individual who had confronted the American South by the American Civil War. She had the recollections within her of the era of white power and black oppression. The prejudice given to her by her father had a bad influence on her entire life, the town people of Mississippi collect for the funeral of Miss Emily, cold and reclusive 74 years old spinster Lester to town...
3 Pages
1206 Words
Get a unique paper that meets your instructions
800+ verified writers
can handle your paper.
place order
Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner are well-known for their Southern Gothic style of writing. Their short stories like “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, ”A Rose for Emily”, and ”Good Country People” feature many elements that are characteristic of this genre of literature. Southern Gothic Literature was introduced early in the 20th century and eventually grew in great popularity. The genre stemmed from the Gothic and American gothic writing styles. Southern Gothic literature focuses on the social issues and...
4 Pages
1750 Words
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is an amazing short fiction. This short story tells the story of a woman who fails to live up her high reputation and fitting in a community where almost everyone knows each other business. “A Rose for Emily,” tells the story about a lonely old woman name, Miss Emily Grierson, living a life void of all love and affection. William Faulkner uses certain techniques to create suspense and to explore some contemporary issues...
1 Page
634 Words
The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner depicts the underrepresentation of women in a small-town Jefferson where everyone respects Emily Grierson due to her aristocratic origin and disrespect her behind her back. The men of the town think that a woman like Emily with high-status should not marry a man like Homer who belongs to a northern society having low-status in the community. Townspeople think that the women can be of high-status yet cannot be above the...
4 Pages
1881 Words
While reading “A Rose for Emily” and “Barn Burning” both by William Faulkner, I noticed there are several similarities and several differences in the fathers’ of Miss Emily Grierson and Sarty Snopes. Both stories took place in Mississippi after The Civil War ended. The stories do explain some of the main characters childhood. However, “A Rose for Emily” is more of a flashback to her childhood periodically throughout the story. In “Barn Burning” we witness Abner’s, the father’s, actions and...
2 Pages
1078 Words
In the short story ‘Sweat’ by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character Delia is a hardworking woman who does tremendous manual labor as a washerwoman for white folks. Delia has been in an abusive marriage with her husband Sykes for fifteen years, and he enjoys treating her the way that he does. Sykes doesn’t like that Delia works for white people. Sykes decides to play a trick on Delia by using her fear of snakes. He decides to get a...
2 Pages
815 Words
Abstract: Romanticism was an artistic literary musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period. From 1800 to 1850 romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. It was partly a reaction to the industrial revolution, the aristocratic social and political norms of...
6 Pages
2579 Words
Modernism is an interesting genre of literature as it is presented not only through the themes and subjects of a text but also in the actual way in which it was written. Indeed, the focal point of any modernist work of fiction is a clash of the traditions and innovations, the subjectivity vs objectivity of reality, and the biases which deny the existence of the objective truth. But it is also a genre that goes against the tradition in its...
2 Pages
701 Words
A narrator is one of the most important elements of any literary work, as he, she, or they are the voice that not only shares the story with the reader, but also conveys their thoughts, opinions, and details to make the story more understandable. What is a narrator, exactly? According to the Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, a narrator is “one who tells a story”. There are three different points of view that can be used in narrating a story. When...
2 Pages
1116 Words
“Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer” This line from the short story A Rose for Emily is in reference to the view point of the people of Jefferson when they see Emily Grierson, a lady from the upper class, falling in love with a man from the working class. The story brings to light the tragedy that unfolds in the town of Jefferson due to its class conscious society. Since class and...
3 Pages
1267 Words
The author of this piece is trying to uncover WHO the utterer specifically is. the first analysis within the article is whether or not the utterer could be a man or girl. Nebeker is incontestable however throughout the story, the utterer shifts from person to person insistently and use words as “we” and “they” with the aim of conveyancing the time and setting of the plot. within the broadest sense, the article explains, however, a majority of people might believe...
2 Pages
937 Words
Inequality headlines the media every day: racism, skin color discrimination, sexual preference, and gender. Women from the past, present, and future have been fighting against inequality. The Feminist Movement developed based on their battle for their right to be equal to males. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, the theme of gender equality can be seen through the townsfolk’s patriarchal mindsets, Emily’s struggle to survive in this society, and how the lack of equality against women lead to Emily...
2 Pages
987 Words
There are various reasons for sending and receiving roses. Certainly, they are not only used to express sympathy and love, but they are even more present in events of tragedy and sorrow. Moreover, A thorny rose needs a special way to deal with it. In William Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily” the word “rose” rarely appears but an attempt to interpret it helps readers have a deep understanding of the story. The rose is a symbol of death, it is...
1 Page
585 Words
The irony is a literary technique that and in our every story, it is used very well. In The Wall, there is situational irony. When the prosecution occurs and they all sentenced to death. Pablo Ibietta starts to think that life is meaningless and existing does not make any sense for him. Then he decides to fool their guardians and wants to have fun before gone. He tells guardians that Ramon Grill is hiding in the graveyard, but when he...
1 Page
583 Words
Psychological criticism is an approach to literary criticism that interprets writings, authors, and readers through a psychological lens. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, Emily Grierson is a lonely old woman faced with death, and her actions to satisfy her immense desire to retain her ‘love’ show psychological issues. The story is broken into five different sections in which at each point the narrator switches points of view. The chronological order of the story deceives the reader’s perception of...
2 Pages
996 Words
A Rose for Emily is a short story by William Faulkner. Throughout this story about murder, Faulkner uses many symbols to represent a theme about leaving or breaking traditions. Among these symbols are the crayon portrait of Miss Emily’s father, Emily’s house, and the long strand of iron-gray hair that found on the pillow next to Homer’s body. In the first chapter of the story, Faulkner states “On a tarnished gilt easel before the fireplace stood a crayon portrait of...
1 Page
544 Words
In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily”, Emily was a forlorn lady that experiences a lot to discover love. Emily’s father dies when she’s thirty, at that point a man named Homer arrives at town who Emily winds up falling in love with. Roses have various implications, “red, the lover’s rose signifies enduring passion. White, humility and innocence; yellow, expressing friendship and joy. [While] pink gratitude, appreciation and, admiration; orange, enthusiasm and, desire. White lilac and purple roses...
1 Page
402 Words
In criticizing the story using a formal approach, another reading of ‘Emily Rose’ was made. I started reading this article because I had already decided to use a formal approach. The story of ‘Emily’s Rose’ is written in the first person or as a member of the community. The images Faulkner presents in this story run the former South Stadium. Languages such as tradition generation and type of genetic obligation contribute to the ancient meaning of the South. The story...
2 Pages
907 Words
Before reading Williams Faulkner’s gothic story, I imagined the story a little less on the spooky side. “A Rose for Emily” may as well be able a troubled young woman who was kept inside most of her life until her twenties. Because of her lack of being out in public and not having a suitor, she believed she was above everyone, along with her growing loneliness. After her father passed, there are signs that she maybe be necrophiliac, due to...
2 Pages
837 Words
In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” we read from a unique narration point of view method by William Faulkner. The story is about an eccentric women who is rejected by society for the fact that she lives in the past. The main character is Emily from a collective point of view from many sources in which it makes it an unreliable narrator who throughout the story the narrator only has a partial point of view which lets the...
2 Pages
991 Words
To a young girl, her father will always be an essential part of her. To a father, their daughter will always be considered his little girl. In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, Emily Grierson is neither considered a friend or a foe towards the townspeople. Due to the relationship Emily had with her father, his actions had quite an impact on Emily’s outcomes such as turning her socially unbalanced and unfit to make bonds with individuals. Emily depended...
1 Page
666 Words
Often in Literature, parents abuse their power against their children. Such abuse could lead their children to feel isolated and alienated. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird Bob Ewell abuses his children to an extent that they become isolated from the community. The purpose of this essay is to consider how perpetrators of isolation control their victims in To Kill A Mockingbird, Rose For Emily, and Gathering Blue. Bob Ewell, Mr. Grierson, and Jamison all use both physical and...
3 Pages
1202 Words
In the story ‘A Rose for Emily’ major themes include death, isolation, and the decline of the Old South. Of these, death takes the cake, with the skeleton in Emily’s bed reflecting the decay and corruption of the Old South. Imprisonment and destruction are two important aspects of the story as well. Meanwhile, the style and techniques throughout the story help to get a comprehensive idea of what old southern towns were like in this era. An example of Southern...
2 Pages
774 Words
The idea of class systems has been around forever and with these classes come expectations for those within them. The short story “A Rose for Emily,” was written by William Faulkner. The main character that the story follows is Miss Emily Grierson. This story is about a woman who lives in Jefferson Mississippi during the 1930’s. Her father always protected her very closely but, after his passing she spirals out of control. The people in the town are curious of...
3 Pages
1257 Words
Often when one is brought up believing that their status in life is above others, one could resist change presuming it might compromise their higher standard in society. Miss Emily Grierson was born in a traditional era where families that had money lived in big elaborate homes (Faulkner 308). These families were considered self-made aristocrats and often thought themselves above the standards of their counterparts. Most often people that lived in the era that Miss Emily lived in only had...
2 Pages
841 Words
In order to truly understand and appreciate a story, it needs to be taken and profoundly analyzed, different aspects need to be considered like settings, the time it is supposed to be taking place in, the location, even the writer plays a big role. Here comparing and contrasting the stories ‘A Rose for Emily’ by William Faulkner and ‘Everyday Use’ by Alice Walker, ‘A rose for Emily’ is written by William Faulkner in the form of a short story where...
3 Pages
1474 Words