“A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner focuses on the sorrowful life of Miss Emily Grierson in the town of Jefferson. Emily has lived a life of solitude in her once white house. She tried to live the most fulfilling life possible but was held down. She tried to keep her life and land private, but always had those passersby watching her life as if it was a television show. Miss Grierson was a woman who was seen as somewhat of a problem to the town of Jefferson. She was also seen as somewhat of a pity. Miss Emily Grierson is opposed by her own father and the town of Jefferson never really having the opportunity to live a happy life.
How To Raise a Murderer
What kind of socialization could create a person who is capable of murdering someone and then living with the corpse as if nothing had ever happened? Could this style of upbringing have set the fate of Emily long before she could even change it? Some might say oh it is just the craziness coming out because, “remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy,” indicates that there is a strong chance she is too. (Faulkner 12) William Faulkner exhibits through his short story, “A Rose for Emily,” how an overprotected life can set someone up for failure through the use of theme, conflict, and setting.
William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily is a dreary short story told of a traditional woman surrounded by death living in an ever-changing town. Emily’s funeral is the opening paragraph in A Rose for Emily to help introduce the background of the town’s perception of the curiosity known as Emily. Faulkner introduces Emily by stating “She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue.” (323) The sorrow of the main character in A Rose for Emily is illustrated by the reaffirmation of death throughout the story and how it seems to follow her in life by her resistance to change.
“A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner is about a strange middle-aged woman, raised in the south with a deep-rooted Southern upbringing. Emily portrays the antagonist in “A Rose for Emily” because she refuses to accept that the world is changing all around her. Emily is haunted by her past and becomes a prisoner of her mind, body, and soul. She refuses to accept the changing times in her life and the world we live. Emily continues to carry herself in a very dignified manner where she lives, even when her world is collapsing in front of her. Emily’s way of life is different from most; however, when traumatizing events take place in a person’s life you can easily lose your mind. In this short story, we will see hurt, despair, death, and how Emily becomes a prisoner in your own home.
A Rose for Emily is set in a small southern town, in which Emily’s cottage is seen as “an eyesore among eyesores”. This metaphor also describes Emily who is seen as “a body long submerged in motionless water.” In the story, written by William Faulkner, this lady’s life is shown through the eyes of the town. Miss Emily Grierson is a peculiar character, withdrawn from society with symptoms indicating mental illness. Her influence on the community was significant, though she was a very independent character.
William Faulkners “A Rose for Emily” initially seemed depressing alongside curious as it opened starting with a woman, Emily Grierson, having died. For a time the plot was confusing initially, it felt as though her exemption from taxes was the main issue, the story then began depicting the townsfolk complaining about some odor from her home. Eventually, the conflict became clear with the quote “And that was the last we saw of Homer Barron” (466) a nod towards his demise. The character Emily is a disturbing woman who hid her deceased father for three days, killed a man to keep him as hers eternally. Emily returned to solitude after obtaining her ever loving husband eventually succumbing to an illness. This story moves from upsetting to outright
The main character in the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner is Emily Grierson. She lives in Jefferson Mississippi, in a fictional county called Yoknapatawpha County. The people of Yoknapatawpha saw Miss Emily as "a small, fat woman" who was very cold, distant, and lived in her past. Her home "was 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...”. She lived in a little community that was changing and becoming more modern unlike her house. Her house, as Faulkner describes, "...smelled of dust and disuse-a close, dank smell"; "it was furnished in heavy, leather-covered furniture". The look of Emily’s home bothered Emily’s community along with many other things about her. Emily has a "hereditary obligation upon the town". She is from a family of wealth that brought tradition to Yoknapatawpha County. When the town started making modern changes fitting into the next generation Emily became stubborn and showed this by refusing to pay taxes to her county. Emily repeats, "I have no taxes in Jefferson" four times before dismissing the deputation. Thomas Robert Argiro, the author of a critical essay called “Miss Emily After Dark” states that, “[Emily]… struggles with personal grief, a restricted social life, socio-economic decline, and romantic misfortune…” (par.2). Miss Emily is misunderstood by the townspeople and is resistant to the changes around her as well in her life.
Ulf Kirchdorfer, "A Rose for Emily: Will the Real Mother Please Stand Up?” ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews, 10/2016, Volume 29, Issue 4, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0895769X.2016.1222578
The men in A Rose for Emily, a short story, are superior to the women in the short story. The women didn’t have much say so in anything. The men were in control of everything. Miss Emily Grierson’s father controlled everything of Miss Emily’s life. He would not let Miss. Emily talk to any boys, so when her father died she did not know what to do. I quote, “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.
Argiro analyze that A Rose for Emily is mostly filled with the town gossiping about Emily who they know nothing about. The town would have assumptions about Emily’s life. Eventually, he went on to talk about how the community is surrounded by a persistent rumor. Then he discussed about how there is an affair with the main character with Homer Barron. Overall he discussed that there are many scandals. In which, he later discuss about how emily’s tradition for not paying the taxes that are required in the town discontinue.