Death And Isolation In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

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In William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, the story follows Emily Grierson’s life after her father passes away. After her father’s death, Emily is stuck in a delusional state where time has stopped for her. In the town of Jefferson, time is progressing forward. Due to the difference in mental state between Emily and the town, a rift is created between the two. There exist two entities: Emily and the town. The distinction between the two causes Emily to be isolated. Due to being ostracized in the town, Emily denies and clings onto those who were close to her. Through the use of various literary devices, Faulkner is able to convey themes of change in the south, death and isolation. During the life of Emily’s father, he was pardoned from paying …show more content…

Time stopped for her. She could not open up and interact with the new generation. When there was a stench radiating off Emily’s home, many members of the community came to complain to the mayor about it. First, “A neighbor, a woman, complained to the mayor” (II). Soon after, he received two more complaints. Each one had a problem with the stench, but never approached Emily about it. Instead they turned to the mayor to solve the problem. The town was too afraid to accuse a lady like Emily for the terrible odor. Instead, the town decided to spread lime all over the yard at a time they believed Emily would not be awake. Faulkner uses this event to characterize the town as being separate from Emily. They are too afraid to approach Emily that they end up isolating her. No one wanted to overstep the bounds of not treating her as an Aristocrat that is above everyone else. As seen with the city officials asking her to pay the taxes, even when she was confronted, she denied the taxes she was obligated to pay as being part of the town. After the Homer’s disappearance, “for almost six months she did not appear on the streets” (V). Even her servant does not interact with Emily much. “He talked to no one, probably not even to her, for his voice had grown harsh and rusty, as if from disuse” (V). She was so afraid of losing Homer that she went and killed him

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