A Rose For Emily

A detailed Summary of A Rose For Emily

In "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, the author uses the element of time and history to tell the story of Emily Grierson. Emily, the main character, attempts to resist the progression of time and modernization in the American south during the post-civil war era. Emily's struggle of transition from old south to new south values is portrayed in a unique story-telling style. Faulkner uses many symbolic meanings associated with Emily, in relation to time and history, to decipher and interpret Emily's life. He also manipulates his story by offering key incidents out of chronological order. The author's use of these techniques is particularly effective in bestowing his perception of Emily upon his readers.

Faulkner begins to foreshadow Emily's character by describing her house; he associates the symbolic use of Emily's house to that of her own character. Faulkner first describes the house as "stubborn and coquettish" and " an eyesore among eyesores." This description gives the reader the impression that Emily's house, much like Emily, was a burden. The word "coquettish" suggests the shyness of Emily and her attempt to shut out the rest of the town. Faulkner's statement about the house "it smelled of dust and disuse" reinfor

William Faulkner manipulated this story to keep the reader from imposing judgement. Faulkner manipulated this story by offering key incidents out of chronological order. The story first starts with Emily's funeral. At the funeral, Faulkner describes the attitudes of the men at the funeral towards Emily; " respectful affection for a fallen monument." This excerpt serves to give the reader a discriminating first glimpse of Emily's characteristics. His style of writing can be linked to Quentin Tarantino, one of today's great movie directors. Tarantino used this same style in two of his blockbuster hits, "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs." Much like Tarantino, Faulkner arranged his story like pieces of a puzzle. He only revealed the pieces he wanted you to see, when he wanted you to see them. This finished puzzle then subjects the reader to dissect and interpret Emily's life the way he wanted you to see it.

Miss Emily is described as "a small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head." Faulkner effectively uses symbols within this description to paint a more vivid picture of Emily to the reader. Traditionally, in the old south people wore black while they were grieving the death of a loved one. The color black, in reference to Emily's description, can be symbolically interpreted as Emily's unwi

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Approximate Word count = 949
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English