Theme Of Characterization In A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

In fictional literature characterization is vital as it forms reader empathy enabling a story to seem realistic. In fiction authors use different types of characteristics to tell their stories such as round, flat, or dynamic which then mold into either a protagonist, antagonist, or secondary character. These characters have different roles they fulfill in the work of literature. For example, an antagonist is a character that represents a force or obstacle in which the protagonist, the main character, must overcome. The antagonist is generally viewed as “the bad guy” and his/her purpose is to create the climax of the story or introduce the author’s theme. The antagonist does not always have to be “bad” at first and the protagonist does not always have to be character. For example, in Nathaniel Hawthorn’s short story, “The Birth-Mark”, the protagonist

The use of setting in this story is to portray Miss Emily Grierson as incapable of coping with life and the emotions it entails. Emily’s house plays an important role in the story’s setting as it, like Emily, represents the town’s tragic past. At one point in time, the house was one of the nicest in town. However, the story takes place once the house is decrepit. Faulkner cleverly writes the story so that the reader can visualize the outside of the house, with only glimpses into the interior. From the description of the house Faulkner provides, it appears the house was built in the late 1800s with an era of money. "Only Miss Emily 's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps" (Norton 299). The idea that we can only see the house from the outside isolates the reader from the inside as Emily isolated herself from society. The idea of isolation is vital to the overall theme of the story and would not have been properly portrayed without the use of