In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short unpleasant story. Everybody faces difficult hardships, relationships, and family matters, such as life and death of loved ones. While going through those difficult times people end up having a difficult time by letting go of loved ones. After reading “A Rose for Emily”, Miss Emily Grierson had to experience difficult times in her life. She could not date anybody, her father passed away, she met a soon to be great guy, poisoned him, and end up being alone.
The story began when Miss Emily Grierson’s father passed away. Miss Emily’s father was a very difficult person to do deal with. He was difficult because he seemed hard to get along with. He never seemed like he would be a person that could be pleased easily. He only wanted Miss Emily to be in his presence. I feel like he was maybe a jealous person because he never wanted Miss Emily dating or hanging out with any other guys than just him .He did not want her dating anyone or spending time with friends, if she had any, or anything. Miss Emily’s father thought no one could be good enough or be the perfect example for her. Miss Emily only had her father, and that was all. The community never saw Miss Emily or was apart of her life. After Miss Emily’s father passed away, it was only her. However, the community kept wondering where Miss Emily’s father was, because he nobody had seen him in a few days. Some people from the community apparently showed up at Miss Emily’s house and they asked her where her father was. Miss Emily denied her father and denied that was dead for three days. As for the people in the community the should have at least thought that Miss Emily was a little crazy and suspicious. According to Spark Notes, “Emily...
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...t. The ladies of the community said, “They are married” (Faulkner 124).
The ladies of the community said they are married because Miss Emily had purchased an entire outfit for Homer Barron. In my opinion, if a woman purchases a man an entire outfit, then they are obviously dating or married. Just like as if a man purchases a woman an entire outfit, then they are probably dating or married.
Works Cited
"A Rose for Emily." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, 2013. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. .
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Eimly. Student ed. 2012. Michael Rosenberg, n.d. Print. Lyn Uhl. 03 Feb. 2014.
Faulkner, William. "Faulkner's Short Stories." Cliff Notes. Cliff NOtes, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. .
"William Faulkner: The Faded Rose of Emily." Mr. Renaissance. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2011 .
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. 549-51. Print.
Two years later, when Emily was about thirty, she met Homer Barron, her only sweetheart. He is described more directly than anyone else in the story, including Emily. He is "a Yankee - a big, dark, ready man" (Faulkner 470), good natured and well liked by everyone. His refusal to marry Emily pushes her over the brink, into madness. Homer disappears quietly, saying goodbye to no-one.
Brooks, Cleanth. "William Faulkner: Visions of Good and Evil." Faulkner, New Perspectives. Ed. Richard H. Brodhead. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey : Prentice-Hall, 1983.
When her father passed away, it was a devastating loss for Miss Emily. The lines from the story 'She told them her father was not dead. She did that for three days,' (Charter 171) conveys the message that she tried to hold on to him, even after his death. Even though, this was a sad moment for Emily, but she was liberated from the control of her father. Instead of going on with her life, her life halted after death of her father. Miss Emily found love in a guy named Homer Barron, who came as a contractor for paving the sidewalks in town. Miss Emily was seen in buggy on Sunday afternoons with Homer Barron. The whole town thought they would get married. One could know this by the sentences in the story ?She will marry him,? ?She will persuade him yet,? (Charter 173).
The day after Mr. Grierson’s death, the women of the town call on Emily to offer their condolences. Meeting them at the door, Emily would continue to say that her father was not dead; she continues to keep this up for three days. She finally, after ministers and doctors called on her turned her father’s body over for burial. As many would believe that she was completely insane for doing this, they people of Jefferson, Mississippi did not. They actually felt sorry for Emily, they believed that her father was controlling and would run anyone that came into Emily’s life off. Her friends believe the only reason why Emily kept the body of her father is because that was the only thing she had left to cling to. It was quite some time after her father’s death that the town sees Emily again realizing a long illness that she had suffered after her father’s death. Like many people when they get older they can start to get sick, but Emily’s illness could have come from grief from her father’s death, also it could have been old age as well.
Although I do not agree with how Miss Emily Grierson behaved, but I do not blame her. Harbored from reality her entire life I can expect for her to do some unordinary things. I feel bad for Miss Emily because she was the center of attention in a modernized town where she still practiced her traditional values. Through the eyes the townspeople we get our views of Emily at a distance. Had the story been told from Emily’s perspective we could better understand her reasoning for her bizarre behavior.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." A Critical Introduction to Short Fiction. Eds. JoAnn Buck et al. Southlake: Fountainhead Press. 96-103. Print.
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.
Emily’s isolation is evident because after the men that cared about her deserted her, either by death or simply leaving her, she hid from society and didn’t allow anyone to get close to her. Miss Emily is afraid to confront reality. She seems to live in a sort of fantasy world where death has no meaning. Emily refuses to accept or recognize the death of her father, and the fact that the world around her is changing.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Shorter 5th ed. Ed. R.V.Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton & Comp., 1995.
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.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose For Emily." The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. 91-99. Print.
All in all, the story of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner represents a chilling and twisted story of a woman who used every option, even murder, to keep her state of happiness. Faulkner cleverly uses symbols, characters, and theme to fully illustrate the twisted mind of Emily Grierson and the communities never ending struggle between incorporating modern rules and keeping traditional values.
First, the attitude of sexism is narrow-minded. When Colonel Sartoris remitted Emily's taxes, he made up a story about the town owing Emily's father because she would not accept charity. The narrator says the story is one that only a woman could believe. That attitude is small-minded and sexist because men are capable of believing anything women can. Later, a bad smell develops around Emily's house and the women assume it is from an unkept kitchen. Emily's manservant does the cooking and the women say, "Just as if a man -- any man -- could keep a kitchen properly" (83). A more open-minded perspective shows that men can keep a kitchen just as well as women. When Emily and Homer are courting the women think something should be done because they are setting a bad example for the young people. The men do not want to interfere. The women interfere anyway and they convince the Baptist minister to talk to Emily. This attitude is sexist because some men may have wanted to interfere as much as the women and some women may have wanted to leave Emil...