thesis statement a rose for emily

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A Rose for Emily

William faulkner, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The Post Civil-War South

Before the American Civil War (known as the “antebellum South”), the South’s economy relied on the agricultural output of plantations, large farms owned by wealthy Southern whites who exploited black slave labor to keep operating costs as low as possible. By its very nature, plantation life gave rise to a rigid social hierarchy—one in which wealthy white farmers were treated like aristocrats, middle-class and poor whites like commoners, and blacks like property. Along with this…

Tradition vs. Progress

Even as white Southerners in the short story cling to their pre-Civil War traditions, ideals, and institutions, the world around them is quickly changing. Agriculture is being supplanted by industry, and aristocratic neighborhoods with their proud plantation-style houses like the Grierson’s are being encroached upon by less grandiose but more economically practical garages and cotton gins. Likewise, the post- Sartoris generation of authorities in Jefferson—those men who belong to the Board of Aldermen that governs…

Patriarchal Authority and Control

Members of Jefferson’s Board of Alderman, whether old and gallant and nostalgic for the Old South like Sartoris or young and business-like such as the newer generation of authorities, all have something in common: they are all male and govern over—and to the exclusion of—women. Faulkner foregrounds this dynamic when he has his narrator recall Sartoris’s law requiring all black women to wear their aprons in public, and dramatizes it in Miss Emily’s relationships with…

Time and Narrative

“A Rose for Emily” is not a linear story, where the first event treated brings about the next, and so on—rather, it is nonlinear, jumping back and forth in time. However, there is a method to this temporal madness: the story opens with Miss Emily’s funeral, then goes back in time, slowly revealing the central events of Miss Emily’s life, before going back forward in time to the funeral. There, in the story’s final scene…

Gossip, Social Conventions, and Judgment

“A Rose for Emily” is narrated by a plural “we” voice, which stands in for the memory of the collective town. In this way, the story can be read as the town’s collective, nostalgically tinged, darkly disturbed memory. And yet that collective voice has a darker edge than a simple collective memory. Because of that collective narrator, “A Rose for Emily” is also a collection of town gossip centering on Miss Emily , generated by…

The South is Wilting | An analysis on A Rose for Emily

In 1860 the American South seceded from the Union to preserve their Southern way of life this consequently caused the American Civil War. After years of fighting, the South lost the Civil War and fell into the Reconstruction era lasting from the mid to late 1800s, stripping the South of everything but their proud Southern heritage. In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” he uses his text as a metaphor for the South’s struggle to abandon their traditions for modernity during the Reconstruction era through the life of Miss Emily Grierson. Using themes of control, isolation, and attachment, Faulkner draws from his old Southern roots to illuminate the turmoil the South faced as they tried to prolong their way of life when everything else was out of their control. In the clash between modernity and traditions, Emily’s traditional neighbors control her attempts to evolve into a modern woman turning her private life into the public. The outside forces controlling Emily’s life ultimately push her to insanity and death as she also tries to preserve her way of life through one of the only things she can control: isolation.

Similar to the South during the Reconstruction era, Emily’s way of life is continually stripped away by outside forces until she decides to resist and control her own life. After the horrors of the Civil War, the federal government imposes reconstruction to rebuild the South and modernize its regressive traditions. At the beginning of reconstruction, the old generation of Southerners resisted modernization and clung to their traditions. However, as the era progressed, a new generation of Southerners took control of the modernization and adapted the region to create a New South and expand on their traditions. Being the last of a long line of Southern aristocrats, Miss Emily represents the end of the old generation and is a relic of her time. Similar to Miss Emily, the author descended from a long line of southern aristocrats and used his upbringing in Reconstruction-era Mississippi for the story. Faulkner’s background helps him draw parallels to the townspeople stopping Emily from modernizing to the South, stopping reconstruction from completely modernizing their home.

Due to her family’s high status, Emily is born into the life of a southern belle, which is a well-off woman who is confined to oppressive gender roles, and her value is based on her beauty and femininity. Under gender roles, southern belle’s are controlled by the men in their life and the critical eye of other high society women whose judgments of each other work to control their reputation and how the rest sees them of society. After the death of EMily’s father, the belle abandons gentry for a reconstructionist life like the new generation of Southerners. With her newfound freedom, Emily begins to evolve into a modern woman, and starts with finding a suitor that she approves of. Although her father was gone there were still people who wanted to keep Emily from evolving. Without knowing anything about her life, Emily’s generation or the old generation of Southerners continually works to control Emily’s personal life. Employing the help of the local priest and Emily’s distinct cousins in Alabama, the ladies of the town work hard to keep Emily in line and maintain the image of an idyllic Southern town.

When the ladies of the town notice how out of character Emily is, they work to stop her from ruining her status of being a “disgrace to the town” (Faulkner 1072) by modernizing and marrying a Yankee. These women want to stop Emily from being “a bad example to the young people” (Faulkner 1072) by giving them the idea to modernize instead of conforming to Jefferson’s traditional agenda. After the Civil War, this old generation of Southern ladies never returned to their way of life before reconstruction. However, groups such as the Daughters of the Confederacy (Hunter 1) used the next generation of Southerners to keep the fantasy of Antebellum South alive. These groups funded Confederate memorial statues, created museums, and educated their children with their skewed views. By controlling modern figures such as Emily, the old generation was able to shield the new generation of Southerners from reconstructionist ideas and created policies that fought modernization. Even though Emily resisted being controlled by her generation and married the Northerner, it came at a price. Emily lives out the rest of her life in isolation, serving a symbolic life sentence for not conforming to Southern society’s norms. Ultimately, by extracting herself from society, Emily loses all control over how the townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi, view her, leaving herself vulnerable to the harsh judgments chronicled throughout the story.

Spending her early years isolated away from everyone in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi but her father no one really knows anything about Emily or her life, resulting in the misjudgements of the local townspeople. As Emily got older, she began to emerge into society, but quickly went back to isolation when she was criticized for not conforming with others. When Emily felt that she had lost almost all control over her life to the outside world, she took charge over one of the last aspects of her life where no one would control her. Lacking the ability to evolve without the critical eye of her generation, Emily isolates herself inside her home, allowing herself to be the only one to control her life instead of the outside world. Now free from the outside world, Emily finally has control to make her own choices within isolation but now in control she chooses not to control her life. Instead allowing everything around her to die, including the modern woman inside her which marks the end of her life leaving her with nothing to do but grow old in solitude. Emily’s grand home which used to be the model of classic Southern architecture and a representation of the past that the old generation longs for, turned into “an eyesore among eyesores,” (Faulkner 1066) consumed with the smell of Emily’s rotting husband. In her isolation, Emily’s life and everything around her begins to rot as the past is revealed to be not as great as it seems.

Clinging to a life they barely know; the old generation is attached to the past throughout the story. Retelling their idea of the lost cause of the Confederacy as if it were good old days, across the South to fight modernization. The townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi work within their best interests to bring back the past and raise the next generation to live in a time centuries before them. Interested in the life of a woman they do not know; the old generation involves themselves in the personal life of Miss Emily Grierson to stop her from modernizing. Both groups attached to their own ideas, causing conflict which ends with both sticking to their own ideas. Both tightly clinging to their ideals without any space for adaptation, leads to severe consequences such as insanity by having no allies or obsession of pushing one’s agenda and pushing others to the side. The attachment of traditions led to the South’s struggle with Reconstruction and ultimate destruction of other people through hurtful policies such as Jim Crow. Evolution is needed to loosen the grip of one idea for future advancement that can occur, but due to the importance of preservation the South was isolated from the rest of America’s advancements. Making their situation similar to Emily’s as those in the South try to modernize while the townspeople represent the rest of the South who work to prevent the success of Reconstruction. Ultimately choosing to kill the idea of ever advancing without possibility of changing and symbolically rotting into the ugliness of the Jim Crow era.

Narrated by those who knew Miss Emily the least, the townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi, recall their life through their critical lenses and speculation. As a product of her generation, Emily tries to evolve and break the oppressed Southern Belles’ trend, defined by superficial qualities. Emily’s story is a metaphor for the South’s constant battle due to the Reconstruction-era as they protected their traditions and defeated modernizing forces. Faulkner places all the worst aspects of reconstructionist south in Emily’s character. Highlighting the individuals who controlled the South’s narrative to preserve their traditions alongside their agenda, those who shut themselves into isolation to avoid judgments for modernizing, and the region’s attachment to a distant memory of Antebellum South. Ultimately the Reconstruction era engaged the South in another Civil War, as the majority fought off modernization and the minority faced a silent battle to any hope of a reformed South. With a region fighting against itself, it is easy to understand why Faulkner wrote “A Rose for Emily,” as an “an irrevocable tragedy” (Jelliffe 1) with citizens fighting against the advancement of their home to preserve their comfortable life. There is nothing you can do to stop this tragedy but pity and offer a rose to the neglected South out of pity of what the region could be instead of how it grew to be. 

Works Cited

A Rose for Emily. Directed by Lyndon Cubbuck. Performances by Anjelica Husto, John Randolph and John Carradine. Chubbuck Production Company, 1983.

Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” McDougal Littell Literature: American Literature . Ed. Applebee et al. 6th ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2008. 1064-1077.

Gone with the Wind. Directed by Victor Fleming. Performances by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, Selznick International Pictures, 1939.

Google Images for free and fair use.

Hunter, Alex. “Why ‘A Rose for Emily’ is a representation of Reconstruction South.” Medium. 2018. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@alexhunter365/why-a-rose-for-emily-is-a-representation-of-reconstruction-south-46c4b31978c8

Jelliffe, Robert. “Faulkner at Nagano.” Tokyo: Kenkyusha Ltd., 1956. Retrived from http://admin.faulkner.edu/admin/websites/cwarmack/William%20Faulkner%20speaks%20on.pdf

Oneclick. “Blooming Rose Flower || Time-Lapse Movie.” Youtube. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0TcPkdVsK8

A Rose for Emily

33 pages • 1 hour read

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Summary and Study Guide

Summary: “a rose for emily”.

Published in 1930, “A Rose for Emily” is one of American author William Faulkner’s most popular short stories and was his first to appear in a national magazine. Like many of Faulkner’s other works, “A Rose for Emily” takes place in the fictional town of Jefferson, which is based on Faulkner’s hometown of Oxford, Mississippi. Through the titular character Emily Grierson , Faulkner explores the complex relationships between individuals and society in the American South, and the tensions between tradition and change that marked the Reconstruction era. The story is representative of Faulkner’s Southern Gothic style and features themes such as The Reconstruction Era and the Decline of the Old South , Challenging Early 20th-Century Southern Gender Roles , and The Dangers of Social Isolation .

This study guide is based on the 2012 Modern Library edition of the Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner.

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Content Warning : The source text contains depictions of intimate partner violence and racist language. This study guide obscures Faulkner’s use of racial slurs, which were common in both his time and in the story’s period.

“A Rose for Emily” is narrated in the first-person plural from the perspective of Jefferson’s townspeople. The story takes place in the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War. Faulkner relies on a nonlinear narrative structure; the collective narrative voice moves back and forth in a series of flashbacks and recounts Emily’s life from multiple points in time.

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The story opens with the death of 74-year-old Emily Grierson, the last member of a once-respected Southern aristocratic family who fell from grace after the Civil War. The townspeople attend Emily’s funeral out of a sense of duty and curiosity, and the funeral becomes an opportunity for them to reflect on the curious details of her life. The narrator describes Emily as a “hereditary obligation upon the town” (48). Unlike the other residents of Jefferson, Emily did not pay local taxes. After her father’s death in 1894, she continued to live in a large, empty plantation house gone to seed since the Civil War. At the time, Colonel Sartoris , the mayor of the town, unofficially remitted Emily taxes out of sympathy for her unworldliness. He claimed that Emily’s father loaned the town money, which accounts for the tax remittance. Emily was survived only by an African American servant named Tobe and estranged kin in Alabama.

About 40 years later and a decade after the colonel’s death, the new political administration—“the next generation, with its more modern ideas” (48)—attempted to formalize its relationship with Emily and her estate to collect on taxes. When representatives visited her, her home “smelled of dust and disuse—a close, dank smell” (49). Emily, believing Colonel Sartoris to still to be alive, claimed, “I have no taxes in Jefferson” (49). Emily stubbornly held to the former mayor’s promise that, because of her father’s position, she wouldn’t have to pay taxes. The town representatives were therefore “vanquished,” unable to make Emily see reason.

The story then moves further back in time, and the narrators recount Emily’s upbringing as the only daughter of a wealthy and controlling man. Emily’s father forbade her from socializing with the young men of Jefferson, who he thought were “not quite good enough” (51) for a Grierson woman. As a result, Emily became increasingly isolated from the rest of the town and was unmarried when her father died. After her father’s death, Emily’s behavior became increasingly erratic. She denied the truth of his passing and barricaded his body in their home for three days before finally allowing officials to bury him. Although her father left her their decaying family home, she had no money and, as a 30-year-old unmarried woman, very few prospects. The townsfolk speculate about her haughty loneliness and the fact that all her local suitors were turned away without consideration. Many in the town believe that her attachment to her father kept her alone.

Despite her isolation, Emily remained a subject of fascination and horror among the residents of Jefferson. Two incidents in particular caused fierce speculation and gossip. The first was Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron . Soon after Emily’s period of reclusive mourning, a charming Northerner named Homer Barron came to town, working as a foreman for public infrastructure work. Emily and Homer were seen together “on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy” (52). Emily picked out a few men’s implements (such as a nightshirt and monogrammed toiletries) and brought them into her home, even though Homer had admitted that he was “not a marrying man” (54). In addition, Homer admitted that “he liked men” (52) and was known to spend time with young unmarried men in Jefferson. The news of Emily’s potential romance generated debate among the townsfolk. Some were unhappy to see a well-born Southern lady like Emily with a Northern day laborer, while others were amused to observe the new lack of social standing such a match represented. The town ladies petitioned the Baptist minister to intervene. After an unsuccessful attempt to confront Emily, the minister never returned to the Grierson home. Determined, the minister’s wife wrote to Emily’s cousins in Alabama. However, despite the town’s disapproval, Emily continued to spend time and money on Homer, and the people of Jefferson accepted that the two would eventually marry.

Emily’s estranged cousins from Alabama came to visit her, and during this visit, Emily convinced the local druggist to provide her with arsenic. The druggist asked her how she intended to use the poison, noting her legal obligation to divulge this information. When Emily did not answer, he gave her the poison and wrote “For rats” on the box. Many in the town determined that she planned to kill herself to avoid the shame of her romantic mismatch and suggested that her suicide “would be the best thing” (54). One day, however, without any “public blowing-off” (52), Homer disappeared. After the cousins’ departure, Emily was left alone in her decaying house once again, triggering the second troubling incident.

After Homer’s disappearance, Emily refused to accept any visitors to the house. A strange smell began to disturb her neighbors, who complained to Judge Stevens, Jefferson’s elderly mayor. Stevens dismissed the odor, attributing it to Tobe’s negligence. When the smell persisted, the townspeople were forced to take extreme covert measures to eliminate the odor without offending Emily’s perceived feminine sensibilities. Four Jefferson boardmen snuck onto her property in the middle of the night and scattered lime, a strong chemical powder that they believed would destroy any odor-causing materials. As they crept away from the house, they looked up and saw Emily in the window, “her upright torso motionless as that of an idol” (51). The smell eventually dissipated, and Emily’s isolation continued.

Much time passed, with Emily becoming more reclusive and her hair turning an “iron-gray” shade. Years after Homer’s disappearance, Emily opened her home to give lessons in china painting. However, her principal point of human contact was with Tobe, who grew “old and stooped” with the passage of time: “He talked to no one, probably not even to her, for his voice had grown harsh and rusty, as if from disuse” (58). Eventually, the newer generation of Jefferson took over, and there was no longer any interest in Emily’s archaic tutelage. She became so wholly removed that when the town offered her a mailbox number, she refused to be a part of the newly adopted postal delivery service.

The climax of the story comes after Emily’s death, when the townspeople are finally able to enter her home and investigate. Tobe lets in the visitors and then quickly disappears, never to be seen again. After the burial, the townspeople explore the house, including the room in the “region above stairs which no one had seen in forty years, and which would have to be forced” (58). Inside a room “furnished as for a bridal” (58), they find the skeletal remains of Homer Barron. In this rose-colored tomb, the townspeople observe Homer’s decomposed nightshirt, which is barely distinguishable from the rotted bed. The implication is that Emily murdered Homer with arsenic and kept his body in her house for four decades. Upon closer inspection, the visitors discover signs of cohabitation: “a long strand of iron-gray hair” (59) on the bed’s second pillow, suggesting that Emily slept next to Homer’s decaying body.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — A Rose For Emily

Essays on A Rose for Emily

A rose for emily analysis essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: deciphering the enigma of emily grierson: a character analysis in "a rose for emily".

Thesis Statement: This analysis essay delves into the complex character of Emily Grierson in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," examining her psychological state, her interactions with the townspeople, and the symbolism surrounding her home.

• Introduction
• The Isolation of Emily Grierson: A Glimpse into Her Psyche
• The Townspeople's Perception of Emily: Gossip and Speculation
• The Symbolism of Emily's House: Decay and Timelessness
• Emily's Relationships: Her Father, Homer Barron, and the Tax Collector
• The Climax: The Shocking Discovery in Emily's Bedroom
• Analysis of the Narrator's Perspective: The Town as a Character
• Conclusion: Unraveling the Layers of Emily Grierson's Tragic Tale

Essay Title 2: A Study of Southern Gothic Elements in "A Rose for Emily"

Thesis Statement: This analysis essay explores the Southern Gothic elements present in "A Rose for Emily," including themes of decay, isolation, and the macabre, as well as Faulkner's portrayal of the post-Civil War South.

• Southern Gothic Literature: Characteristics and Themes
• Deciphering Decay: The Deterioration of Emily's House and Reputation
• Isolation as a Theme: Emily's Seclusion from Society
• The Macabre Element: Emily's Disturbing Secret
• Faulkner's Commentary on the Post-Civil War South
• Analysis of Symbolism: The Rose, the Watch, and the Gray Hair
• Conclusion: Faulkner's Contribution to the Southern Gothic Tradition

Essay Title 3: Narration and Time in "A Rose for Emily": A Close Examination

Thesis Statement: This analysis essay focuses on the narrative structure and the theme of time in "A Rose for Emily," highlighting the nonlinear storytelling technique, the use of foreshadowing, and the impact of time on Emily's character.

• The Unconventional Narrative Style: Faulkner's Nonlinear Approach
• Foreshadowing and Time Shifting: Hints at Emily's Fate
• Emily's Character Arc: How Time Shapes Her Transformation
• The Town's Memories: Recollections of Emily's Past
• The Conclusion: The Ultimate Revelation of Emily's Fate
• Analysis of the Story's Impact: A Reflection on Time and Memory
• Conclusion: Time as a Central Theme in Faulkner's Masterpiece

Prompt Examples for "A Rose for Emily" Essays

Emily grierson: a complex character.

Examine the character of Emily Grierson in "A Rose for Emily." How does her complex personality and her actions throughout the story contribute to the overall themes of the narrative? Analyze the factors that shape her behavior and isolation.

Southern Gothic Elements

Discuss the use of Southern Gothic elements in the story. How does William Faulkner create a sense of decay, decayed aristocracy, and eerie atmosphere in the town of Jefferson? Explore the role of the setting in the narrative.

Isolation and Loneliness

Explore the themes of isolation and loneliness in "A Rose for Emily." How are these themes reflected in Emily's life and relationships? Discuss the consequences of her isolation and her inability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Narrative Structure and Point of View

Analyze the narrative structure and point of view used in the story. How does the first-person plural perspective of the town's collective voice impact the reader's understanding of Emily's life and the events surrounding her?

The Symbolism of the Rose

Discuss the symbolism of the rose in the title and throughout the story. What does the rose represent, and how does it relate to Emily's character and her relationship with the town? Explore the significance of the rose as a symbol of love and decay.

Tradition vs. Change

Examine the conflict between tradition and change in "A Rose for Emily." How does the town's resistance to change and its adherence to Southern traditions impact Emily's life and her ultimate fate? Discuss the tension between the past and the present.

A Rose for Emily Setting Analysis

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"A Rose for Emily" Literary Devices

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Review of "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

William faulkner’s view of refusal and despair evident in the life of emily, the life of miss emily grierson in "a rose for emily" by william faulkner, comparison of culture and transformation as depicted in "a rose for emily" by william faulkner, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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The Long Life Story of Emily Grierson in "A Rose for Emily"

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April 30, 1930

William Faulkner

Short Story

Emily Grierson, Mr. Grierson, Judge Stevens, Homer Barron, Tobe, Colonel Sartoris

The story is based on the author's explorations of isolation and the mental illnesses.

It deals with isolation, privacy, anger, mental instability, and the conflict between the past and the present. The symbol of rose speaks about love, romance, and seeking love through the total lock down.

As the book is made of constant flashbacks to the past, the symbol of rose is like an irony of dreaming through the lens of taxes, challenges, payments that must be paid. The moral lesson of this short story is wearing the rose colored glasses and the dangers that always come along.

The story revolves around Emily and her father who keeps her isolated from suitors, keeping her life under control until her death. She struggles with the loss, madness, and isolation, which drives Emily to take the life of a person (Homer Barron) who was planning to marry her.

• A Rose for Emily is the first story that has been published by the author in the major magazine.
• William Faulkner always referred to his writing as the "Ghost Story".
• The narrator's personality is never revealed in the story, which has added more emotion to it.
• Faulkner was a high school dropout.
• William Faulkner wanted to be a pilot in World War I, yet he was rejected for his small size.
• He was always more focused on becoming a poet and wrote more poetry than prose.
• Emily's part has been based on author's cousin Mary Louise Nelson.
• “All the past is not a diminishing road but, instead, a huge meadow which no winter ever quite touches, divided from them now by the narrow bottle-neck of the most recent decade of years.”
• “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant— a combined gardener and cook— had seen in at least ten years.”
• “We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will.”
• “They rose when she entered— a small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head. Her skeleton was small and spare; perhaps that was why what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her. 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 as they moved from one face to another while the visitors stated their errand.”
• “So the next day we all said, “She will kill herself”; and we said it would be the best thing.”

The main impact of the "A Rose for Emily" story is isolation and being overly focused on a single person. The role of Miss Emily's insanity is given through the sheltered life that has been created by her father.

A Rose for Emily is an allegorical writing, which is why it can be used for essay writing when dealing with the topics of isolation, relationship between past and the present, being in control of someone else, and ignoring the problems. It also speaks of wearing the rose glasses, which is partially the reason why the rose for Emily has a double meaning in terms of symbolism.

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“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner: Analysis

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, published in 1930, quickly captivated readers for its setting, characters and thematic strands.

Introduction: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Table of Contents

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, published in 1930, quickly captivated readers for its setting, characters and thematic strands. Set in the fictional Mississippi town of Jefferson, the story centers on Emily Grierson, a mysterious Southern belle whose life and death become an obsession for the townspeople. Faulkner’s masterful use of non-linear storytelling explores themes of tradition, societal change, and the decay of the Old South, solidifying “A Rose for Emily” as a lasting contribution to American literature.

Main Events in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

• Emily faces her father’s death; her actions shock the community. Emily’s denial of her father’s passing leads her to keep his body within her home for three days, and upon finally releasing the body for burial, she descends into a life of isolation.
• Years later, Emily challenges the established order. When town officials attempt to collect taxes, Emily not only refuses but insists the town remains indebted to her. Her defiance is mirrored in her seclusion; she rarely ventures from her home, a notable exception being her unsettling purchase of arsenic.
• A new generation questions Emily’s past as a mysterious romance unfolds. Intrigued by her enigmatic history, the town’s youth fixate on her relationship with Homer Barron, a Northern laborer. Their frequent sightings together incite whispers of an engagement.
• Emily’s arsenic purchase fuels the townspeople’s fears. Her acquisition of the poison strengthens their belief that she intends suicide, yet no tragedy occurs, and her withdrawn existence continues.
• Homer’s disappearance ignites speculation, while a disturbing odor emerges. When Homer vanishes, the townspeople’s suspicions swirl. Emily remains unmoved by his absence, but a foul smell from her property raises further alarm.
• Emily’s death unveils a horrifying truth. Upon her passing, the townspeople infiltrate her home and stumble upon a gruesome secret: Emily had preserved Homer’s corpse and slept beside it for years.
• A flashback illuminates Emily’s isolation. The narrative returns to the night of her father’s death, exposing his relentless interference in her romantic life, ultimately leading to her desolate existence.
• The townspeople’s actions offer a twisted form of closure. Their decision to bury Homer within Emily’s home implies a warped sense of fulfillment for her, as if she’d finally obtained the companionship she desperately craved.
• A haunting image lingers. The story concludes with the chilling visual of a single gray hair on the pillow beside Homer’s remains, suggesting Emily’s disturbing intimacy persisted even beyond his death.
• The haunting finale prompts contemplation. The story’s final line – “Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair” – forces the reader to grapple with the complexities of Emily’s character and the story’s central themes.

Characterization in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Major characters, minor characters, major themes in “a rose for emily” by william faulkner.

• The Destructive Nature of Isolation:

·  Emily’s Self-Imposed Seclusion: After her father’s death, Emily becomes a recluse, cutting herself off from the outside world.

• The Consequences of Isolation: Emily’s isolation leads to a warped perception of reality, contributing to her psychological decline and a horrifying secret.

·  The Clash of Tradition vs. Change

• Emily as a Symbol of the Old South: Emily clings fiercely to the traditions and values of the past, represented by her decaying mansion and her resistance to change.
• Homer Barron as a Symbol of Progress: Homer, a Northern laborer, represents modernity and change that threaten Emily’s traditional world.
• The Town’s Ambivalence: The townspeople are caught between a fading past and an uncertain future, reflected in their conflicting attitudes towards Emily.

·  The Fading Glory of the American South

• The Decaying Grierson Mansion: The once-grand house symbolizes the decline of the Old South and its aristocratic families.
• Emily’s Resistance to Change: Emily’s insistence on maintaining the status quo mirrors the larger social struggle between tradition and progress in the post-Civil War South.

·  The Illusion of Control

• Mr. Grierson’s Influence: Emily’s father exerts extreme control over her life, preventing her from marrying and contributing to her isolation.
• Emily’s Desperate Measures: Emily’s actions with Homer reveal a twisted desire to control love and death, ultimately leading to a horrifying discovery.

·  The Unreliability of Memory and Perception

• The Non-Linear Narrative: The story’s fragmented timeline blurs the lines between past and present, mirroring the town’s unreliable memory of events.
• The Townspeople’s Bias: The collective narrator filters events through their own prejudices and limited understanding of Emily, leaving the truth obscured.

Writing Style in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

·  Non-linear Narrative: Faulkner disrupts the traditional flow of time with flashbacks and forward jumps. Examples:

• The story starts with Emily’s funeral, then flashes back to her relationship with her father.
• Details about Homer are revealed in fragments, heightening the mystery of his fate.

·  Multiple Narrators and Shifting Points of View: The collective “we” of the townspeople narrates the story, offering a limited perspective. Examples:

• The townspeople speculate about Emily’s purchase of arsenic, drawing their own assumptions.
• Their interpretation of events might contrast with the reality of Emily’s motivations.

·  Vivid, Poetic Language: Faulkner uses striking imagery to evoke a sense of gothic decay and despair. Examples:

• Descriptions of the Grierson mansion as “stubborn and coquettish” and smelling of “dust and disuse.”
• Emily’s appearance is likened to “a body long submerged in motionless water.”

·  Atmosphere of Foreboding Faulkner crafts a palpable feeling of dread and unease, foreshadowing the macabre ending. Examples:

• The townspeople’s observations of a strange smell surrounding Emily’s house.
• Emily’s purchase of arsenic hints at a potentially sinister purpose.

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Questions and thesis statements about “a rose for emily” by william faulkner.

1. The Theme of Isolation in “A Rose for Emily”

• Strong focus: This topic is directly tied to one of the story’s central themes.
• Character-centered: By analyzing Emily, you can explore how her isolation develops and its consequences.
• How does the town contribute to her isolation?
• Is her isolation entirely negative, or does it offer something to her as well?

2. The Role of Gender in “A Rose for Emily”

• Relevant critique: Gender expectations are a powerful force in the story.
• Potential for depth: This can be connected to broader themes like Southern womanhood, power dynamics, and societal change.
• How do the townspeople’s expectations of women both trap and, oddly, protect Emily?
• Explore other female figures in the story (even minor ones) as a contrast.

3. The Use of Symbolism in “A Rose for Emily”

• Rich with symbolism: The story is layered with meaningful symbols.
• Allows for close analysis: Focusing on specific symbols can enhance your exploration of the key themes.
• Look beyond obvious symbols to less-discussed ones (hair, dust, etc.).
• How do the symbols interact or contradict each other?

4. The Narrative Structure of “A Rose for Emily”

• Unique aspect of the story: Faulkner’s structure is a key element of its impact.
• Connects form to meaning: Analyzing how the narrative is structured helps reveal deeper layers of meaning.
• How does the fragmented timeline influence our understanding of Emily?
• What effect does the collective narrator (“we”) have?

5. The Role of Death in “A Rose for Emily”

• Powerful motif: Death is ever-present in this story.
• Explores multiple facets: This topic could focus on literal deaths, metaphorical deaths (of the Old South), or Emily’s relationship to mortality.
• How does Emily’s connection to death differ from the townspeople’s?
• Does death represent an escape for Emily, or something else?

Short Question-Answer “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Literary works similar to “a rose for emily” by william faulkner.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman:

• Shared Themes: Both stories explore the psychological deterioration of women due to isolation and confinement. The protagonists descend into fragmented mental states as a result of their restricted circumstances.
• Stylistic Similarities: Gilman and Faulkner employ first-person narration that grows increasingly unreliable, offering the reader a distorted view of events that mirrors the character’s fracturing psyche.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe:

• Shared Themes: The decaying mansions in both stories serve as stark symbols of isolation, psychological decline, and the crumbling of old legacies. The themes of death and decay pervade both narratives.
• Stylistic Similarities: Poe and Faulkner are renowned Southern Gothic authors, sharing a talent for creating a haunting atmosphere, exploring macabre settings, and incorporating elements of the supernatural.

“ A Good Man Is Hard to Find ” by Flannery O’Connor:

• Shared Themes: Both O’Connor and Faulkner expose the darker aspects of the South, questioning notions of morality and human nature. Their characters—The Misfit and Emily Grierson—offer enigmatic psychological profiles, inviting speculation about their hidden motives.
• Stylistic Similarities: Both writers portray grotesque scenarios with an air of detachment, forcing the reader to confront unsettling moral implications.

“ The Lottery ” by Shirley Jackson:

• Shared Themes: Both stories challenge the idealization of small-town life, revealing the horrors that can lie beneath the surface of tradition and conformity.
• Stylistic Similarities: Jackson and Faulkner build suspense with matter-of-fact prose that contrasts with the disturbing events, culminating in chilling twists.

“Winesburg, Ohio” by Sherwood Anderson:

• Shared Themes: This interconnected collection of short stories explores the complexities of small-town life, mirroring Faulkner’s focus on themes of loneliness, isolation, and the universal desire for connection.
• Stylistic Similarities: Both authors use fragmented structures and multiple perspectives to construct complex portrayals of their characters and the communities they inhabit.

Suggested Readings: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Scholarly Articles

• Bloom, Harold. “Introduction.” Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: A Rose for Emily, New Edition, edited by Harold Bloom, Chelsea House Publishers, 2008, pp. 1–9.
• Justus, James H. “The Narrator in ‘A Rose for Emily.'” Journal of Narrative Technique, vol. 1, no. 3, 1971, pp. 195-209. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30225170.
• Polk, Noel. “The Narrative Strategy of ‘A Rose for Emily.'” Modern Language Studies, vol. 13, no. 4, 1983, pp. 3-11. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3194650

Books of Literary Criticism

• Brooks, Cleanth. William Faulkner: Toward Yoknapatawpha and Beyond. Yale University Press, 1978.
• Millgate, Michael. The Achievement of William Faulkner. Random House, 1963.
• Tuck, Dorothy. Faulkner’s Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi, 1980.
• SparkNotes: A Rose for Emily. SparkNotes Editors. 2002. https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/a-rose-for-emily/
• CliffsNotes: A Rose for Emily. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/faulkners-short-stories/summary-and-analysis-a-rose-for-emily/section-i
• The William Faulkner Project https://english.olemiss.edu/faulkner-in-america-kathryn-mckee/

Related posts:

• “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams
• “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison
• “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce: Analysis
• “The Lady with the Little Dog” by Anton Chekhov: Analysis

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A Rose for Emily Theme Essay

This essay delves into the themes of William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” It explores the central themes of isolation, the resistance to change, and the decay of the Old South. The piece examines how Emily Grierson’s character and her actions reflect the broader societal shifts occurring in the post-Civil War South. It also analyzes the narrative structure and Faulkner’s use of symbolism, particularly the decaying house, to reinforce the themes of stagnation and the inescapable nature of change. The essay offers insights into Faulkner’s critique of Southern traditions and the damaging effects of clinging to the past. You can also find more related free essay samples at PapersOwl about A Rose For Emily.

How it works

Deep in the labyrinth of literary artistry, William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” stands as a testament to the power of theme in molding character and story. The narrative unfolds in a Southern town, and through it, we step into the shoes of Emily Grierson, a woman confined within the iron bars of tradition, secluded from society’s vibrant hum, and entwined with death’s cold grip. This essay aims to unearth the profound layers of Faulkner’s tale, shedding light on how the themes of tradition versus change, social isolation, and death become the lifeblood of Emily’s character, casting long, introspective shadows on the canvas of the American South.

• 1 Tradition vs. Change
• 2 Social Isolation
• 3 Theme of Death
• 4 Love and Obsession
• 5 The Confluence of Themes and its Representation of the Southern Gothic Genre
• 6 Societal Commentary
• 7 Conclusion

Tradition vs. Change

Tradition versus change sets the background of “A Rose for Emily.” The story portrays the town of Jefferson, stuck between holding onto the old and embracing the new. Emily Grierson embodies this struggle, living in a decaying house reminiscent of a bygone era.

Evidence of this struggle is clear in the town’s interactions with Emily. When the new council tries to make Emily pay her taxes, they are met with defiance. She clings to Colonel Sartoris’s promise, made 30 years earlier, that she is exempt from taxes – a promise the new generation knows nothing about. This clash mirrors the town’s struggle, teetering on the edge of change but held back by deep-seated tradition.

Emily’s inability to accept change deepens the sense of mystery surrounding her. It shapes her life and contributes significantly to the story’s eerie atmosphere.

Social Isolation

Another potent theme in “A Rose for Emily” is social isolation. From the story’s onset, Emily is a figure of intrigue and pity. She lives alone, with only a servant for company, cut off from the rest of the world.

Her isolation is self-imposed and inflicted by her town. When Emily’s father dies, the town treats her with a curious mix of sympathy and satisfaction, glad that she’s been knocked down to “their level.” Yet, Emily’s aloofness only grows. She rarely ventures outside, and the inside of her house remains a mystery to the townsfolk.

The story portrays Emily’s isolation as tragic. It is her separation from society that ultimately leads to her demise, laying bare the harsh effects of solitude on the human psyche.

Theme of Death

Death is a constant in Emily’s life, another theme that Faulkner masterfully weaves into the narrative. Emily’s father’s death leaves her alone, and her suitor, Homer Baron’s disappearance—later revealed as a murder—makes her a figure of sympathy and suspicion.

Emily’s relationship with death is unusual and alarming. She refuses to acknowledge her father’s death initially, and later, it is revealed she has kept Homer’s body in her house. This unnatural acceptance of death adds a grim layer to Emily’s character.

The death theme also steers the story to its shocking conclusion. When Emily dies, the townsfolk discover Homer’s skeletal remains in her bedroom, cementing the gruesome truth of Emily’s twisted reality.

Love and Obsession

Love and Obsession emerge as a striking theme. Emily Grierson’s romantic endeavor with Homer Barron, a Northern laborer, paints a poignant picture of her desperate yearning for affection and companionship, a stark contrast to her secluded life. However, Emily’s love transcends into the domain of obsession, as Homer’s unwillingness to marry her triggers a drastic response in Emily. She purchases arsenic, and the town speculates a likely suicide, oblivious to the shocking outcome. When Emily’s life draws to a close, the gruesome revelation of Homer’s decayed body in a bridal suite shatters the town’s perception of Emily’s solitude. Her obsession had taken a dark turn as she chose to keep Homer’s corpse, signifying an attempt to cling to her love, even in death. The scenario unveils Emily’s profound loneliness and obsessive love that blur the lines between the living and the dead.

The Confluence of Themes and its Representation of the Southern Gothic Genre

The themes of tradition versus change, social isolation, and death don’t exist in isolation. They feed off each other, creating the tense atmosphere that pervades the story. Together, they make “A Rose for Emily” a representation of the Southern Gothic genre, characterized by its exploration of deeply flawed characters, decaying settings, and grotesque situations.

Faulkner uses these themes not just to tell a story but also to reflect on the American South’s societal norms. The struggle between tradition and change, the tragic outcome of social isolation, and the macabre fixation with death all serve as a commentary on the region’s culture during the time.

Societal Commentary

William Faulkner, a master of societal analysis, cleverly employs the themes of “A Rose for Emily” to critique the societal norms of the American South. The stony battle between tradition and change is not merely a character trait of Emily Grierson but reflects the collective resistance of a region hesitant to embrace the new. The reluctance to shed old habits and customs is a critical comment on a society clinging to its past glory, afraid of the future’s uncertainties.

Furthermore, Emily’s tragic isolation is not a singular event but a mirror reflecting the collective mindset. The town’s judgmental attitude towards Emily and their failure to intervene during her descent into madness reflect a society where gossip thrives over empathy.

The macabre presence of death, the grotesque acceptance of it by Emily, and the community’s muted response are powerful commentary on society’s apathy. The shocking reveal of Homer’s corpse in Emily’s bedroom underscores a culture desensitized to death’s finality, seemingly more intrigued by the spectacle than horrified by the tragedy.

In essence, the societal commentary embedded in “A Rose for Emily” extends beyond the tale of Emily Grierson. Faulkner lays bare the cultural psyche of the American South, weaving a powerful critique of its values and norms within the tapestry of his narrative.

In conclusion, “A Rose for Emily” tells the tragic story of a woman stuck in time, isolated from society, and living with death. Through the themes of tradition versus change, social isolation, death, and love, Faulkner paints a haunting picture of Emily Grierson and, by extension, the society she lives in.

Working in unison, these themes create a chilling narrative filled with suspense and surprise. They contribute to the Southern Gothic genre and critique the American South’s society during the period. “A Rose for Emily” remains a testament to Faulkner’s ability to weave complex themes into an unforgettable tale.

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The Symbolism of ‘A Rose for Emily’ Explained

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘A Rose for Emily’ is one of the most widely studied American short stories of the twentieth century, but the subtle narrative style and William Faulkner’s use of symbolism are often difficult to interpret. Starting with the ‘rose’ in the story’s title, the text is rich with symbols whose significance can only be determined through careful analysis.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most prominent symbols and images in ‘A Rose for Emily’ and explore how – and why – Faulkner uses them in his short masterpiece of Southern Gothic literature.

Emily’s House.

The narrator of ‘A Rose for Emily’ tells us that Miss Emily’s house was the only old house left in the street, and that ‘garages and cotton gins’ had sprung up and replaced the other houses that had once stood alongside Emily’s dwelling.

Emily’s house, then, symbolises the Old South, which is (literally) decaying and dying out. And replacing the pastoral homeliness of the old, post-war South is the new industrial America: cotton and gasoline are now the way the townspeople make their money. The new industrial South is replacing the older, simpler bucolic South.

The Locked Room.

But it is worth remembering that ‘A Rose for Emily’ is, at bottom, a Gothic story: an example of the subgenre known as Southern Gothic literature, which is associated with writers like Flannery O’Connor, Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, and Faulkner himself.

And if Emily’s house symbolises a kind of modern, urban equivalent to the secluded Gothic castle in classic Gothic horror novels, then the locked room in the house’s attic is a kind of inversion of the crypt harbouring a dark secret beneath the castle. The room does indeed contain a terrible secret which will only be revealed at the end of the story, once Emily herself is dead and the townsfolk can gain access to the house.

But as well as being a narrative device, the locked room is also another symbol for Miss Emily’s determination to cling to the past (of which more below). She sets up the room as a bridal chamber for a wedding that will never take place, and then keeps her would-be groom – or his corpse, at any rate – inside the room, a symbol of her reluctance to let go of her romantic bond with him.

Emily Herself.

Miss Emily Grierson is herself a symbol of this faded glory of the South: a land that had been defeated militarily in the Civil War and whose old ways were being ousted by the new, industrial, mechanical age (those cotton wagons and garages selling gasoline for motorcars).

At the beginning of ‘A Rose for Emily’, the narrator describes her as a ‘monument’ for whom the men of the town have a kind of ‘respectful affection’. She has endured in the town during a time when many new generations have grown up and taken over the running of Jefferson. She remains largely unchanged; her death symbolises the death of another piece of that old world.

Why does Faulkner title his story ‘A Rose for Emily’? No roses appear in the story itself, although the attic room which features at the end of the story, the would-be bridal chamber in which Homer Barron’s body rots, is described as having valance curtains of a faded rose colour and rose-shaded lights.

Note that the curtains are ‘a faded rose colour’, not only because they have been in the attic room for decades (since Emily planned to marry, and then ended up murdering, Homer), but because they symbolise the faded dreams of sexual fulfilment and marital love which Emily, through her engagement to Homer Barron, had entertained.

But these rose-coloured details convey more than Emily’s thwarted sense of womanhood and romantic love.

William Faulkner himself provided us with a clue, and suggested, in an interview he gave at the University of Virginia, that Emily deserved to be given a rose as a ‘gesture’ or ‘salute’ because of all of the torment she had endured: at the hands of her father, perhaps at the hands of Homer as well, and as a result of the townsfolk treating her like an outsider. A rose is a decidedly romantic gift, one which a man might give to a lady as a mark of admiration or respect.

Indeed, roses are rich in symbolism : they are associated with love and romance, but also with an overly romantic view of the past, as in the phrase ‘rose-tinted spectacles’. ‘A Rose for Emily’ is a story about a woman who is, in a sense, trapped in the past: she is reluctant to give up the dead body of her father when he dies, and she is unwilling to let Homer leave her, being prepared to kill him in order to keep him in her life.

For the next few decades, she keeps him in the attic chamber so she can, in effect, arrest the passage of time and keep him close to her.

So the ‘rose’ for Emily also symbolises the romance of the Old South: a land of idealism and tradition, looking back to a feudal European past of the Middle Ages (as Mark Twain pointed out , it was Sir Walter Scott’s medieval romance Ivanhoe , more than Uncle Tom’s Cabin , that was really the book that caused the Civil War).

Emily’s Hair.

When the rotting body of Homer Barron is discovered in the bedroom of Emily’s house, the narrator observes that the pillow next to the body showed signs of an indentation, suggesting that Emily had been in the habit of lying next to the body with her head resting on the pillow next to his head (although not everyone believes this theory). One lock of her iron-grey hair is found on the pillow, confirming this.

The hair is described as iron -grey, symbolising the iron tenacity of Emily in keeping Homer close to her – in death, if that’s what it took (and it clearly did take that). The ‘iron’ is appropriate, since Emily is a character who is seen to be clinging to other things: to her father’s body when he dies (she is reluctant to give it up to the ministers for burial), to Homer when he rejects her, and, most of all, to a past that no longer exists.

The lock of her hair is also a symbol of Emily’s strange tenderness towards Homer – a man she killed in an act of mad, obsessive love. But Emily’s hair is significant throughout the story: earlier, the narrator told her that she cut her hair short after her father died.

This can be interpreted as a declaration of her independence – one cannot imagine her father letting her wear her hair in such an unladylike fashion – but as with so many of the details in the story, her actual motives are inscrutable.

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