A Rose For Emily Literary Analysis

This story about a woman, who is called Emily. she came from a rich family .She’s elegant woman ,but she is strange woman in the world . so anyone or people in her village could not understand about her. She doesn’t have mother but she only had a father. They lived in big house in a little village. Her father didn’t married again so he needed and love Emily very much. And didn’t want anyone take away her from him. But she wanted to have boy friends, because she always feel lonely,but every man who wanted to date with her,her father always rejected all of them,because he was afraid to be left alone.Because of this he forbade Emily to see men and this was not good for Emily ,shevalso got afraid to be

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses setting, character development, and stylistic devices to express the mystery of Emily and the somewhat gossip-obsessed attitude the townspeople have towards Emily.

Eventually, people in the town wrote to her cousins whom she had fallen-out with long ago. When her cousins came and visited, Emily did two things, however separated by Faulkner into sections three and four. In section three, Emily went to the druggist and bought poison. The town, thinking she would kill herself said, “it would be the best thing” (395). Then, in section four, Emily went “to the jewler’s and ordered a man’s toilet set in silver” (395), and the town believed her and Homer Barron were going to get married. The narrator states, “We were really glad.” (395). After the cousins left, and Homer Barron came back to town (he had left to get away from the cousins), Homer was seen going into Emily’s house by a neighbor. “That was the last we saw of Homer Barron. And of Miss Emily for some time” (395), stated the narrator. Emily did not have contact with people in the town, “save for a period of six or seven years, when she was about forty, during which she gave lessons in china-painting” (395). Then she gave up

As an image of decrepit grandeur, Miss Emily’s house is used to symbolize Miss Emily’s character herself, the historical setting in which the story takes place, and some of the story’s central themes. Described as “a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorates with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies” (Faulkner 1), the house is ornate and grand in design, even being located on what was once an exclusive street in Jefferson. However, over time, it had become dilapidated and unkempt, with the interior being dark and full of dust, possessing “a close, dank smell” (Faulkner 1). Similarly, Miss Emily was once a young lady of high standing, opulent in her own ways, but slowly aged and lost her grandeur, becoming “a small, fat woman” (Faulkner 1) whose hair was turning grayer as the days went by. Much like her home, Miss Emily was losing her charm over time, showing that her character was stubbornly grasping on to the idea that she still retained an image of splendor she no longer possessed, all while isolating herself from the rest of the town.

A Rose for Emily begins with and ends with the death of Miss Emily Grierson, who was certainly a strong, strange character, and described as a monument to the people of her town and a character analysis on her can go in any number of directions. She had to overcome many difficulties in every step of her life. Therefore, every step of her life presents her characteristics in different parts of the story, but yet leaves the readers pondering…Who is Miss Emily Grierson? In the beginning of the story, it is said that Miss Emily is a traditional person, “a duty, a care and a sort of hereditary obligation around her town dating back from the day in 1894”. Her character of being traditional goes back to the teaching of “china painting” lessons which

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner describes the peculiar life of Miss Emily, an unmarried and allegedly wealthy woman who is the talk of the town of Jefferson. Faulkner’s use of particular literary devices can be observed throughout the entire story. He carefully uses each literary device to develop the theme in a way that is not immediately obvious to the average reader. This exceptionally clever use of literary devices is what makes “A Rose for Emily” such a brilliant and famed story in the world of literature. Some of the most interesting literary devices that Faulkner weaves into “A Rose for Emily” are setting, symbolism, and imagery, which he uses to emphasize a theme based around the progression of time.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” the story is revolved around the character Emily Grierson. The story is told by the townspeople where Emily lives. These people are attending her funeral and pitching in memories and tales they remember from Emily’s life. It is through the collective voices and opinions of the crowd that the reader is able to interpret Emily’s struggles. With Emily Grierson’s choices the reader can tell that she is a dependant woman, with psychotic tendencies, and does not take the thought of change and rejection lightly.

The stylistic writing devices, vocabulary, and narrative voice utilized by William Faulkner in this excerpt of “A Rose for Emily” provide insight into the communal perspective held by the townsfolk toward outsiders, as well as those who live amongst them – specifically Miss Emily. When examining the story in its entirety, this excerpt serves to demonstrate the condescending, gossipy nature of the townspeople, and the idea that Miss Emily’s affairs concern the whole town. The incorporation of stylistic devices serves to highlight key ideas, and in some instances, literary devices also provide insight into the importance of class distinction in the town. Moreover, Faulkner’s choice of vocabulary provides details of both the story, and the perspective of the narrator. Outdated word choices and adjectives used to describe other characters provides additional context and description to the reader. Vocabulary used in dialog between the townspeople establishes the viewpoint of the narrator; a viewpoint which reflects the narrow-minded, traditional perspective of the entire town. The usage of stylistic devices, descriptive vocabulary, and narrative voice effectively conveys the disposition of the townspeople, their cynicism toward outsiders, and their judgement of Miss Emily.

On Being An Outcast: Emily As Manifesting Thematic Alienation in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

In the story, Faulkner depicts Emily as a woman who suffers from several from several years of heartbreak and despair. Ranging from the emotional abuse of her father, to the rejection of her lover, Homer Barron. As far as her character, Emily’s appearance resembles a “small, fat woman in black whose skeleton was small and spare” (Beers and Odell 721). Faulkner also describes her as “bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water and her eyes looked like a lump of coal pressed into dough” (Beers and Odell 721). These character qualities symbolize Miss Emily’s personality as well as her physical appearance. Emily’s personality presents as tiresome, and bitter because of the damage she inflicts in her lifetime. Moreover, when the contemporary officials of the town visit Emily, she lectures to the new leadership that “she has no taxes in Jefferson” and finally insists on their dismissal by her house servant, Tobe (Beers and Odell 721). Emily’s impolite behavior traces back to her personality and the devastation it ensues over the years. Furthermore, Jack Sherting argues that “Faulkner, through his narrator, is obviously describing a psychotic personality;” accordingly, Faulkner depicts Emily as a character that has extreme mental health issues through character qualities.

The story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner would be drastically different if it was written from the point of view of Miss Emily. Her intentions and thoughts would be more pronounced, and because of this, the ending of the story may not come as such a shock. In addition, Miss Emily would be less distanced from the audience, and they would be able to understand her character in a way that the townspeople could not. Miss Emily being the narrator would immensely change the reader’s perception of the story’s ending and her character.

With the new things kept emerging in people’s life in the South, great changes took place in the town. “Garages and cotton gins were established on the street …..”. While the whole street was becoming modern and commercial with the cotton wagons, gasoline pumps, and other industrial ornaments surround it, only Miss Emily’s house remains the same. She had become a tradition because she represented the aristocracy of the Old South. “…lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores.” Emily’s house, like herself, is an emblem of the remaining dying world of Old South aristocracy and represents alienation, isolation, and death. The changing surroundings showed that the glory the aristocrats once owned had gone and a new modern time has come. The house is obsolete with the new things surrounded, just like the decay of South’s old values in a changing

I was not completely surprised by the ending of, “A Rose for Emily”. Initially, as I was reading, there were definite clues that hinted what might happen. The surprise for me was the position in which the body was found and the hair on the pillow. I find it odd that Miss Emily would choose to poison her lover and embrace him while dying. “She was sick for a long time.”

Liana I enjoyed your analysis of the story a Rose for Emily. Your view of this story helped me to better understand this story myself. One of my very favorite parts of this class if the discussions we have about the stories. This is very beneficial to me; especially for the stories that originally seemed less interesting to me, such as this one. Out of all of these stories, this was my least favorite one. I struggled with following along. Seeing others responses allows me to enjoy the story more. I too was not all that surprised by the turn of events in the story. From the beginning of the story and on they essentially set you up to feel suspicious and creeped out. The body in her bed was not much of a surprise to me either. Once they began

In the eyes of the folks who lived in Jefferson, Mississippi, Miss Emily Grierson was a very eccentric woman. She kept to herself, only employed one servant in her house, and was a shut in for the last thirty years of her life. Even before she became a recluse, the townspeople found her odd because of how she acted towards them. Emily was considered eccentric because she did things no normal woman of her station would do, and yet she still tries to hang on to her traditional ways in fear of change. Renee Curry, author of “Gender and authorial limitation in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily,’” suggests that “Faulkner designs this narrative position as a reflection of his own stance toward patriarchal and societal structures and