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Character analysis of Emily
Character analysis of Emily
Post american civil war and its changes
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Extra Credit Unit One Essay William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" is an written as an example of a post-Civil War era Southern lifestyle. Faulkner illustration the lifestyle through the element of characteristic. Miss. Emily’s life, house and relationship represent as examples of the North vs. South. Miss. Emily Grierson grew up in an environment that was dominated by her father, and his old southern ways. “Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner .)Her reputation with the town people show that she is stuck in the past, and she refuses to look forward to the future as they all have. After Emily’s father dies, Colonel Sartoris grants her the right to not pay taxes ever again. When the new south forms, they go to her to pay her taxes, but she refuses because she is still set on living by the rules of Colonel Sartoris’ generation. She lives in the town as she always has, and she never moved on as the rest of the town has. Also, Miss. Emily's house is mentioned as representation on the old south. As the other houses in the neighborhood had improved, and “Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay” (Faulkner .) The setting of the house shows that she is still stuck in her old way. It becomes an eyesore in the neighborhood, and it reminds the …show more content…
Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron. Homer is considered an outsider to anyone from the South. His character represents the new modern era that Miss. Emily does not. The ladies of the town “said, ‘Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner’” (Faulkner .) Homer is considered a step-down for Emily, because she portrays as high class. For Emily to go out with him, it is considered as a rebellion for her to do so. Eventually when Homer does not want to marry her, it can be connected to the North and South rivalry. Just to get her way, Miss. Emily kills
William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" is perhaps his most famous and most anthologized short story. From the moment it was first published in 1930, this story has been analyzed and criticized by both published critics and the causal reader. The well known Literary critic and author Harold Bloom suggest that the story is so captivating because of Faulkner’s use of literary techniques such as "sophisticated structure, with compelling characterization, and plot" (14). Through his creative ability to use such techniques he is able to weave an intriguing story full of symbolism, contrasts, and moral worth. The story is brief, yet it covers almost seventy five years in the life of a spinster named Emily Grierson. Faulkner develops the character Miss Emily and the events in her life to not only tell a rich and shocking story, but to also portray his view on the South’s plight after the Civil War. Miss Emily becomes the canvas in which he paints the customs and traditions of the Old South or antebellum era. The story “A Rose For Emily” becomes symbolic of the plight of the South as it struggles to face change with Miss Emily becoming the tragic heroin of the Old South.
In the story "A Rose for Emily," the author, William Faulkner, recounts the life of a woman from an elite family in the Deep South. Emily Grierson is an eccentric spinster who goes through her life searching for love and security. Due to her relationship with her father, and the intrusiveness of the townspeople in her life, she is unable to get away from her past. Arising from a young woman's search for love, the use of symbolism profoundly develops the theme, therefore, bringing to light the issues of morality.
Throughout cultural changes and extreme events such as the Great Depression and World War I, “A Rose for Emily” turned out to be a twisted version of the normal cheerful stories that are read. The real-world events that occurred greatly influenced topics of the time. Faulkner was able to produce a demented story that lies on the roots of the Great Depression and World War I.
Miss Emily is compared to her house in many different ways. Descriptions of the decaying house symbolize Miss Emily's physical and emotional decay, and as well as her mental problems. The representation between herself and her house is shown through constant neglect and unappreciation. In one point that Faulkner makes, the house is described to be stubborn and unrelenting, as Miss Emily is also portrayed on many occasions. Examples of her stubbornness is not letting the "new guard" attach metal numbers above her door when the town began to receive free mail service, when she refuses to believe that her father is dead, and refuses to pay her taxes. Just as the house seems to reject progress and updating, so does Miss Emily, until both of them become decaying symbols of their dying generation. Miss Emily also represents the "Old South". Her southern heritage and points of view are represented through her actions. Her stubbornness and unrelenting attitude are very strong characteristics of the Southern heritage. She refused to believe that the times were changing and refused to change into the new society. The Southern heritage is also represented through Miss Emily's strict and repetitive ways. The story basically addresses the changes in the South after the Civil War. Miss Emily is considered a "monument" of Southern manners and an ideal of past values. The Old South generations were deteriorating very rapidly by changing traditions, and as well as mannerisms. When Miss Emily died, her and her house both become symbols of their dying generation.
Faulkner writes “A Rose for Emily” in the view of a memory, the people of the towns’ memory. The story goes back and forth like memories do and the reader is not exactly told whom the narrator is. This style of writing contributes to the notions Faulkner gives off during the story about Miss Emily’s past, present, and her refusal to modernize with the rest of her town. The town of Jefferson is at a turning point, embracing the more modern future while still at the edge of the past. Garages and cotton gins are replacing the elegant southern homes. Miss Emily herself is a living southern tradition. She stays the same over the years despite many changes in her community. Even though Miss Emily is a living monument, she is also seen as a burden to the town. Refusing to have numbers affixed to the side of her house when the town receives modern mail service and not paying her taxes, she is out of touch with reality. The younger generation of leaders brings in Homer’s company to pave the sidewalks. The past is not a faint glimmer but an ever-present, idealized realm. Emily’s morbid bridal ...
Along with the passing of her father Emily is then allowed the freedom to finally think for herself and then comes Homer Barron, a man whose Emily’s father would have disapproved of if he was still alive. As Donald Akers stated that Emily dating a northerner as a, “reasonable, explanation for her relationship with Homer would be that is her way of rebelling against her dead father. During his lifetime, her father prevented her from having an “acceptable” suitor. Thus, she rebels by associating with a man her father would have considered a pariah: a Yankee day-laborer” (“A Rose for Emily”). That excerpt suggests since Homer was a Yankee, it was completely against the Griersons legacy to marry a northern man having the post Civil War mentality, so Homer would have never been the perfect suitor for Emily. Regardless to say Emily quickly fell in love with Homer and she couldn’t bare the humiliation of Homer leaving her since he was not the marrying type. Within all of the things happening around Emily and all of the mixed internal feelings Emily repressed throughout the years, especially not having many
William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily tells a story of a young woman who is violated by her father’s strict mentality. After being the only man in her life Emily’s father dies and she finds it hard to let go. Like her father Emily possesses a stubborn outlook towards life, and she refused to change. While having this attitude about life Emily practically secluded herself from society for the remainder of her life. She was alone for the very first time and her reaction to this situation was solitude.
In “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, Emily Geierson is a woman that faces many difficulties throughout her lifetime. Emily Geierson was once a cheerful and bright lady who turned mysterious and dark through a serious of tragic events. The lost of the two men, whom she loved, left Emily devastated and in denial. Faulkner used these difficulties to define Emily’s fascinating character that is revealed throughout the short story. William Faulkner uses characterization in “A Rose for Emily”, to illustrate Miss Emily as a stubborn, overly attached, and introverted woman.
In Faulkner’s tale “A Rose for Emily” there are many historical elements throughout the story; Faulkner uses them to give an authentic feel to the story and to add to the setting. A recurring theme that I found was reference to the reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. The setting of the South after their demise in the Civil War adds character to the story and to the characters. The attitudes people had and the way people treated Emily with respect was a tradition of the “Old South” that is presented throughout this tale.
The rise and industrialization of the South began with the end of the Civil War. This aided in the transition from Old to New South, from a time of poverty and slave labor to a more progressive time. The decline of the Old South was often unaccepted and ignored by southerners as they tried to cling to their past ways. Faulkner highlights the cultural shift from Old to New South through character relationships and personalities in his short stories “A Rose for Emily,” “That Evening Sun,” and “Red Leaves.” The main character in William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily,” Miss Emily, is a representation of the Old South.
In the story “A Rose for Emily,” written by William Falkner there is a lady who goes by the name of “Emily.” In Jefferson Emily lived in an old square frame house with her father and servant, Tobe. In the story Emily father basically robs her of her life by being overprotective and running and not letting her interact with other people. Because of her father being over protective of her and feeling as if no one was good enough for her, Emily did not have the opportunity to get to know anyone other than her father and Tobe. When her father dies she lead herself to believed he was not, she did so for three days.
In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” he uses many literary elements to portray the life of Emily and the town of Jefferson. The theme of the past versus the present is in a sense the story of Miss Emily’s life. Miss Emily is the representation of the Old South versus the New South, mainly because of her inability to interact with the present or come to terms with reality. Holding onto the past and rejecting change into the present led Miss Emily into a life of isolation and mental issues.
The symbolic relationship between the house and Emily’s physical condition is vividly represented during the story. At first the Grierson house was built to impress: “It was a big, squarish frame house that once had been white…set on what had been the most select street” (787). The house progressively changes and is described as full of dust and has an indescribable odor: “It smelled of disuse- a close, dank smell… when the negro opened the blinds of one window, a faint dust rose (788). The house description is a perfect representation of how Emily ages during the story. As years went by, her figure transformed into even more bountiful proportions and her youthful strands of hair began to gray: “She had grown fat and her hair was gray…it grew grayer and grayer until it attained an even pepper and salt iron gray” (794). Both the Grierson house and Miss Emily lost their splendor.
In "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner's use of setting and characterization foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. His use of metaphors prepares the reader for the bittersweet ending. A theme of respectability and the loss of, is threaded throughout the story. Appropriately, the story begins with death, flashes back to the past and hints towards the demise of a woman and the traditions of the past she personifies. Faulkner has carefully crafted a multi-layered masterpiece, and he uses setting, characterization, and theme to move it along.
On April 1865 General Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia and the American Civil War came to an end. This marked the beginning of the reconstruction era and a time when the northern social structure began to have major influences on southern societies. The South, however, struggled to retain the social structure they once took for granted in the Antebellum period. In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner uses the towns people, Miss Emily, and Miss Emily’s home to show the pervading idealistic society of the old south, within the reformative society of the New South.