The beast in a human is subdued by our milquetoast delusions, we are animals of compulsion and repetition. It seems to me the point of art is to explore the idea of humanity as a whole, mankind’s view of itself and the artist’s own concept of humanity. William Faulkner is one such artist who delves deeper into his own ideals, almost breaching the membrane of technicalities before exploiting them on an atomic level, too close to see everything the writer aimed for. His story A Rose for Emily, despite it’s macabre subject, persists as a tremendous exemplification of how the happenings found in the story’s subjects and in reality adhere to the essences of humanity. These ideals particularly conform in his acceptance speech for his winning of The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949, at the Nobel Banquet in Stockholm, in which he says that “The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice, which have been the glory of his past.”
Certain parties may be questioning the validity of the connection between that quote and a story about an agoraphobic woman lonely to the point of hostility. Yet, as it is still a story of horror and tragedy, it is a prime example of his writer’s code, primarily those tenants of compassion, pride and pity. The reader feels compassion for the woman at first, which then grows into pity as she becomes a monster starved of pride. Even his fictitious “Jefferson” carries the setting of an average town whose culture is partway stuck in the past. Anybody who says depravity is not in the nature of human spirit must then be calling themselves inhuman...
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...cal and military work. But this story, even this essay is not about the hideous sides of us, the glorious abominations, as Hunter Thompson put it when describing his Samoan friend: One of god’s own prototypes, a high-powered mutant never considered for mass production; too weird to live, and too rare to die.” Very few can be seen as Daniel Plainview, seeing the worst in people at any moment while falling host to the things we detest. This story is about looking past that and still learning from it without dwelling on it too harshly, touching on another facet of his speech, that of hope and integrity. This touches right at Faulkner’s self-professed heart as he told it in Stockholm, the doubtless natures of us all, the importance of the individual and the collectivity of mankind to rise far above this miasma of decay and perhaps, just once, we shall touch the sun.
William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is a story that uses flashbacks to foreshadow a surprise ending. The story begins with the death of a prominent old woman, Emily, and finishes with the startling discovery that Emily as been sleeping with the corpse of her lover, whom she murdered, for the past forty years. The middle of the story is told in flashbacks by a narrator who seems to represent the collective memory of an entire town. Within these flashbacks, which jump in time from ten years past to forty years past, are hidden clues which prepare the reader for the unexpected ending, such as hints of Emily's insanity, her odd behavior concerning the deaths of loved ones, and the evidence that the murder took place.
On December 10, 1950, in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the greatest literary minds of the twentieth century, William Faulkner, presented his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. If one reads in between the lines of this acceptance speech, they can detect a certain message – more of a cry or plead – aimed directly to adolescent authors and writers, and that message is to be the voice of your own generation; write about things with true importance. This also means that authors should include heart, soul, spirit, and raw, truthful emotion into their writing. “Love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice” (Faulkner) should all be frequently embraced – it is the duty of authors to do so. If these young and adolescent authors ignore this message and duty, the already endangered state of literature will continue to diminish until its unfortunate extinction.
Faulkner, William. “A Rose For Emily.” Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing. Kirszner, Laurie. Mandell Stephen. 4th edition. Sea Harbor: Harcourt College Publishers. 2001. 87-94
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature and Its Writers. 6th ed. Boston, New York:
In his Novel Prize Address, Faulkner states that an author must leave "no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart...love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice." He accuses his younger contemporaries of ignoring these noble spiritual pillars while pondering the atomic doom of mankind with questions like, "When will I be blown up?" Such physical fears, far from conflicts of the heart, are what plague his bomb-obsessed contemporaries. Yet Faulkner stands, seemingly alone, in opposition to this weakness; he "decline[s] to accept the end of man" and in rebelling, fights for the old universal truths and the glories of the past. In classical style, he brushes away passing fears and fads, settling for nothing less than the "problems of the human heart in conflict with itself." Nothing else is worth writing about and Faulkner's work is living proof.
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, is a story that really shows how fragile the mind really is. The speaker brings up many questions as to what is going to happen, or why something may be happening, and although the answer may make sense they aren’t exactly what most would expect.
Setting is place and time, and often provides more than a mere backdrop for the action of a story. William Faulkner uses this device in his complex short story "A Rose for Emily" to give insight into the lonely world of Miss Emily Grierson.
William Faulkner takes us back in time with his Gothic short story known as, “A Rose for Emily.” Almost every sentence gives a new piece of evidence to lead the reader to the overall theme of death, isolation, and trying to maintain traditions. The reader can conclude the theme through William Faulkner’s use of literary devices such as his choice of characters, the setting, the diction, the tone, and the plot line.
William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" has been interpreted in many different ways. Most of these rely solely on hints found within the story. I believe that his life can also help one analyze this story. By knowing that Faulkner's strongest influence was his independent mother, one can guess that Miss Emily Grierson's character was based partly on Maud Falkner.
Southern decadence was famous and iconic back when the story, "A Rose for Emily" was set. It was caused by the end of the Civil War and the forced change upon the antebellum south. Decadence defined the south before the Civil War, including obscene wealth and slavery, and the aristocracy, of which Emily and her father were a part, never had to lift a finger. Emily ends up not only in deep denial, making her able to disregard the reality of her life, but also causing the townspeople to participate in her denial as well. William Faulkner grew up in this southern and self-indulgent environment, making his outlook true to life, and well illustrated in this story.
By using strong characterization and dramatic imagery, William Faulkner introduces us to Miss Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily”. The product of a well-established, but now fallen family, Emily plays common role found in literature- a societal outcast, who earns her banishment from society through her eclectic behavior and solitary background. Often living in denial and refusing to engage with others, Emily responds to her exile by spending the remainder of her life as a mysterious recluse that the rest of society is more content to ignore rather than break social customs to confront her. Emily’s role as an outcast mirrors a major theme of the story, that denial is a powerful tool in hiding a secret, however, the truth will eventually emerge. The mystery surrounding Emily’s character and the story’s memorable imagery creates a haunting tale that lingers with the reader.
In “A Rose For Emily”, by William Faulkner, plot plays an important role in how
In Faulkner’s tale “A Rose for Emily” there are many historical elements throughout the story; Faulkner uses them to give an authentic feel to the story and to add to the setting. A recurring theme that I found was reference to the reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. The setting of the South after their demise in the Civil War adds character to the story and to the characters. The attitudes people had and the way people treated Emily with respect was a tradition of the “Old South” that is presented throughout this tale.
William Faulkner's, "A Rose for Emily," is a short story that is narrated by an anonymous character to be considered as the voice of the home town and tells the story out of order. The story is based on the life of Emily Grierson and how it connects with the South after the Civil War. There are many parts in the story that show symbolism in varieties of ways. Some of these symbols include Emily's house, her hair, her clothing, and even the "rose" that is brought in the story. Symbolism is shown throughout many different ways through all forms of literature. It is mainly shown through the main theme as well as the smaller themes that are throughout the story. Symbolism is used to represent ideas or qualities through the use of symbols.
Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Compact 4th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. 81 - 88.