Analysis of "A Rose for Emily"
A Rose for Emily is a short story by William Faulkner in 19th century. William Faulkner (1897-1962) is a famous novelist in Mississippi. Most of his novels focus on the social problems in the 19th century in the Southern society especially the problems of high class women. In "A Rose for Emily", William Faulkner presents Miss Emily's instable state of mind through a missed sequence of events. He arranges the story in fractured time and then introduces characters that contribute to the development of Miss Emily's personality. The role of women in society is constantly questioned. Some women are victim of circumstances and times. So, in order to live happy life, they need to work around their situation. In order to understand the story, it is very important to understand the setting and how the main character develops it. The town is very small and isolated. There is a great deal of gossip that regularly circulates from people to people in the town with great interest. Because of the small town, the private life of a person becomes known to other people rapidly. For example, Emily's relationship with construction worker, Homer Barron, is a talk of the town. The town cannot accept the fact that a Grierson would have an interest i
Miss Emily's selfish nature is seen from the deaths of her father and the boyfriend, Homer Baron. After her father's death, she doesn't want to release his body for the funeral because she figures that by keeping his body he can still be part of her life. In another word, she is very used to have her father forever. Emily could have lived in seclusion, but her heart is longed for companionship. She wants to be loved and to have husband. Therefore, she starts relationship with Homer Baron. She comes in much closed to him so that it becomes hard for her to live without him. After she finds out that Homer is not thinking seriously for the marriage, she poisons him with Arsenic that is bought to be used for rats. The reason for Homer's murder is just that she feels if she couldn't have him alive, she could keep him with her if he were dead. Because of Emily's private life, no one really knows how bad Homer's death is happened. The truth comes out after Emily's death when some town people go in her house and find Homer's body in the bed with a long strand of iron-gray hair. It is obvious that Miss Emily actually sleeps with Homer after his death for the long time. Emily's this action shows her mysterious life. The exterior of Emily's house is considered to be "an eyesore among eyesores" (75). It is surrounded by cotton gins, garages, and gasoline pumps. It looks basically the picture of decay amongst the newer buildings. This signifies Emily's desire to stay in the past. The interior of the house is ugly. "It smelled of dust and disuse- a close, dank smell" (75). However, it is furnished in heavy, leather-covered furniture. Because of cracked leather, a faint dust rises sluggishly when someo
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1146
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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