A Rose For Emily Literary Analysis - 957 Words

William Faulkner is a well-known author, whose writing belongs in the Realism era in the American Literary Canon. His writing was influence by his Southern upbringing, often setting his stories in the fictional Southern town, Yoknapatawpha County. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† was one of Faulkner’s first published pieces and displays many of the now signature characteristics of Faulkner’s writing. The short story provides commentary through the use of many symbols. In William Faulkner’s short story, â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, the author uses the townspeople as a representation of societal expectations and judgments, Emily and her house as symbols for the past, and Homer’s corpse as a physical representation of the fear of loneliness. Faulkner includes the†¦show more content†¦There are many instances where Emily resists change, unable to let go of the Southern, antebellum lifestyle she grew up with. This creates a contrast between Emily and the rest of the town, which is progressing and modernizing as time goes by. Emily’s traditional nature puts an emphasis on her representation of the past. She actively resists modernization, choosing to reply to the mayor’s offer to call with a letter â€Å"on paper of an archaic shape, [written with] thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink† (Faulkner 1). Emily’s actions represent the past and an inability to let go of it. She is stuck in the past, unwilling to accept the change that the future brings. Emily and her house are the last glimpses of the past in her town; as the town progresses, her house stood unmoving, â€Å"lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons† (Faulkner 1). The house continues to display the style of the past, despite the decay and progression of style. Emily and her house represent the past, when her house was new and in style. Emily’s resistance to change and longing for the past is appropriate, considering her age and upbringing. She is an older woman, who grew up during the Civil War era in the South. The reason the South fought in the Civil War was to protect their lifestyle at all costs. The South was unwilling to change, stubbornly clinging to the antebellum way of life. This philosophy shaped theShow MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis of â€Å"a Rose for Emily†1277 Words   |  6 PagesLiterary Analysis of â€Å"A Rose For Emily† The short story, â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, by William Faulkner, is told by an unnamed narrator and broken into five sections. The story is not chronological, but completely out of order, adding mystery and climax. The first section begins with the death of the main character, Emily Grierson, and relates the thoughts and actions of the small Southern U.S. town. A flawed relationship between the town and Miss Emily is seen throughout the story. The tension betweenRead MoreEssay on â€Å"a Rose for Emily† Literary Analysis743 Words   |  3 PagesCameron Barba Ms. Carunchio English 11B 12 February 2009 â€Å"A Rose for Emily† Literary Analysis In â€Å"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. Faulkner uses the setting to convey the mystery surrounding Emily and her actions. For example, Faulkner writes â€Å" knocked at the door through which no visitor had passed since she ceased givingRead MoreA Rose for Emily: Literary Analysis Essay1023 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily† Literary Analysis In William Faulkner’s story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† his main character Miss Emily Grierson’s deranged behavior leaves the reader questioning her mental status. Emily comes from a family with high expectations of her a sort of â€Å"hereditary obligation† (30). Emily has been mentally manipulated by her as so indicated in the line of the story â€Å"we did not say she was crazy then we believed she had to do that we remember all the young menRead MoreA Rose For Emily Literary Analysis975 Words   |  4 Pages In the short story, â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† William Faulkner uses a modernistic style of writing combined with Southern Gothic themes to show how strange or â€Å"perverse† of a character Emily Grierson is. The story is split into five parts which all take place throughout Emily’s life. These five parts are not in chronological order. Not until the story is looked at in chronological order will the reader understand the full personality and life of Emily Grierson. The first and last thing the reader seesRead MoreA Rose For Emily Literary Analysis875 Words   |  4 Pagesnew ideas allows for both the individual and society to progress. William Faulkner packs the short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† with different types of literary devices that describes the fight against change in the post-U.S. Civil War South. Faulkner’s story takes place in the Southern town of Jefferson Mississippi in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. The symbolism of the primary characters (Emily Grierson, her father and the Grierson estate) chronicles how difficult change is in Jefferson. Assuming a darkRead MoreEssay A Rose for Emily: Literary Analysis 2990 Words   |  4 PagesENG 102 Analysis Research Paper 09-25-10 Literary Analysis William Faulkner’s short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† carries a theme represented by a dying breed of that era, while using symbolism to represent tragedy, loneliness and some form of pride, the story also shows how far one will go to have the approval of others and the pursuit of happiness. In today’s times, a person’s image could mean everything in life and almost everyone tries to fit into the main stream in some form at some pointRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour And A Rose For Emily Literary Analysis1297 Words   |  6 PagesKate Chopins The Story of an Hour and William Faulkners â€Å"A Rose for Emily tells the story of women who face isolation and struggle with their own terms of freedom upon the death of a male figure in their life. Louise and Emily come from different time periods, backgrounds, and have different experiences, yet both share commonality in that they have let themselves be affected by the unrealistic expectations placed on them as traditional ladies. Both of these characters are commonly misconstruedRead MoreA Rose for Emily889 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis for â€Å"A Rose for Emily† Sometimes a Rose is Not a Rose: A Literary Analysis of â€Å"A Rose for Emily† In the short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, written by William Faulkner, the negative impact of Emily’s upbringing by an overprotective father, leads to incredible pattern in her life and the obvious mental illness that takes over as she not so graciously ages. While written in five sections, the first and last section is written in present time, and the three middle sectionsRead MoreA Tale of Terror 1087 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† a short story about the odd Emily Grierson, a once well-respected woman in a small southern town, takes readers into a whirlwind of a story leading up to a horrifying discovery about Miss Emily’s secretive demeanor. Through his characterization of Miss Emily, his descriptions of the setting, and his use of foreshadowing, Faulkner effectively develops â€Å"A Rose for Emily† into a horrific tale. The first way that Faulkner organizes â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is in his characterizationRead MoreThe Mystery of the Rose and the Narrator in A Rose for Emily by Faulkner1182 Words   |  5 PagesWhile one of the most traditional interpretations of â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is the variety of meanings for the â€Å"rose† presented in the title and how the â€Å"rose† fits in with the story. Laura Getty states in her article many varied perspectives that many could ponder when identifying what the â€Å"rose† stands for. She states many possible theories that depict what the â€Å"rose† means, including theories of other writers that help support her own theory and also that adds another way that most might not consider