A Rose for Emily
William Faulkner's short story, "A Rose for Emily" is a comparison of the past to the present. Emily is a picture of the past, a monument that had "fallen" in death. The town itself is the symbol of the next generation, with its more modern ideas. The story begins at the end of Emily's life. The narrator tells the story by connections, where one thought triggers another as opposed to a chronological viewpoint. When the narrator mentions Miss Emily as a sort of hereditary obligation it prompts the memory of the past when Colonel Sartoris remitted her taxes. As generations of alderman change, so do the town standards, and in attempt to collect these taxes, a dispute arises. With this difference of opinion, we get our first indication of Emily's character. Her home was dimly lit and dusty with a damp smell. She was pale and obese. Her persona matched that of her dark house, as if she was mentally in some far off place. In the confrontation with the authorities, she simply states s
Homer and Miss Emily were seen on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-wheeled buggy. ] The ladies of the town thought of it as a disgrace and sent the Baptist minister to confront her. After the funeral, the town opened a "room. Apparently, the confrontation did not go well because the minister would not go back. "(1379) Then Homer disappears forever from town and Emily closed herself up in her house for some time. We see another instance of Emily's defiance when she visits the town druggist and requests poison with "cold, haughty black eyes. For three days after her father's death, she insisted that her father was not dead. When she had begun to see Homer, the town talked about them getting married, then about Homer not being a marrying man. Even though today, our society seems more accepting of differences, we still have opposition [gays, marriage outside of your racial and financial class, etc. This was fact and she proceeded to send them away. Eventually two of her cousins came to visit her. There was no discussion, no debate to her. She was just as defiant when her father died. When the town brought in Homer Barron to do town renovations, we see a little of Emily's social side.
Common topics in this essay:
Miss Emily,
Colonel Sartoris,
Rose Emily,
Homer Barron,
William Faulkner's,
rose emily,
miss emily,
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