Literary Analysis Of William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

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Analysis of “A Rose for Emily”
“A Rose for Emily” reveals several literary dynamics worth analyzing. Faulkner wrote this short story in a nonlinear fashion, with an untraditional plot structure. The author uses unique symbolism, foreshadowing and narration to create suspense and mystery to an otherwise mundane story. Faulkner uses an interesting method to tell a dark and disturbing story, about a woman’s struggle to find love, and her resort to necrophilia when that love is threatened.
“A Rose for Emily” takes place right after the Civil War, and throughout the Industrialization Period. Faulkner uses a fictitious town located somewhere in the South, called Jefferson as the setting for Emily’s story.
The story is about Emily Grierson’s struggle …show more content…

Emily’s father kept her from having intimacy experiences with another man. Emily’s relationship problems eventually lead to her killing her prospective husband and holding on to the decaying body until she herself passes away.
William Faulkner’s short story is unique, as in it does not follow traditional story-telling plot structure. “A Rose for Emily” is broken up into five segments, which do not actually coincide with the chronological order the events take place. The first segment of the story plays the role of both exposition and resolution.
Playing the role of exposition, the first segment introduces Emily Grierson, and how the community collectively views her more of an object of interest, than as a person. To Jefferson, Emily was a representation of the community’s traditional values, a monument, untouched by modernization. While introducing Emily through her funeral, the narrator gives the history of Emily and her Family, explaining how the family became idolized, and the center of gossip. The first segment also presents itself as the resolution. It does this by telling the outcome of the story, Emily’s death. Faulkner tells how the story is going to end before the story is told. It was an unusual way to present the resolution within Faulkner’s …show more content…

The story is told through one individual’s perceptions of what is happening, by watching Emily for several years. The narrator is always speculating about what is happening, without actually knowing. This narration style adds to the mystery of the story, because of the lack of credibility the narrator possesses. Emily’s story is different if the narrator changed. Despite all the narrator’s speculations of Emily, the narrator never speculates the truth of Emily’s

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