Analysis of Rose For Emily
A Rose for Emily", by William Faulkner, begins and ends with the death of Miss Emily Grierson, the main character of the story. In the story William Faulkner uses characterization to reveal the character of Miss Emily. Faulkner divided the story "into five sections, the first and last section having to do with the present, and the now of the narration, with the three middle sections detailing the past" (Davis 35). Faulkner expresses the content of Miss Emily's character through physical description, through her actions, words, and feelings, through the narrator's direct comments about her, and through the actions, words, and feelings of other characters. Faulkner best uses characterization to examine the theme of the story, we are the products of our environment. Miss Emily lives for many years as a recluse, as a result of her surroundings. In the story the narrator comments that "no one save an old man-servant-a combined gardener and cook-had seen [the house] in at least ten years" (Faulkner 217). Miss Emily's father is partly to blame for her life as a recluse. Faulkner's narrator says that, "We remembered all the young men her father had driven away" (221). Critic Donald Akers notes that: In the story, Emily's overprotective, o
She kept Homer's body so long because she feels that she has finally accomplished something in her life. Emily now feels that "without a husband, her life will have no meaning" ("A Rose for Emily 1). After Homer's disappearance the front door was not used again, except for a period of six to seven years when she gave china-painting lessons. Perhaps Faulkner's tale-teller suspects that Emily feared that Homer would not remain faithful to her. (2) Her father robs her from many of life's necessities. Because her father is the only man with whom she has had a close relationship, she denies his death and keeps his corpse in her house until she breaks down three days later when the doctors insist she let them take the body. Faulkner later describes Miss Emily by saying "Thus she passed from generation to generation-dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse" (225). " The University of Mississippi Studies in English 9 (1990): 209-211. The town then waited for Miss Emily to be decently in the ground to open the one upstairs room that they knew had been closed for forty years. Birk says, "Notably, the new-found quality of Emily's hair hints that, first, she is playing a more aggressive if unseen role behind the scenes, and, second, she is somehow adopting a male role" (210). In order to "keep" Homer by her side, Emily poisoned him.
Common topics in this essay:
Miss Emily,
Homer Emily,
Miss Emily's,
Donald Akers,
Michael Burduck,
Homer Barron,
Birk Notably,
Emily Faulkner,
miss emily,
Akers Homer,
Studies English,
rose emily,
miss emily's,
words feelings,
faulkner's narrator,
describe miss,
describe miss emily,
actions words feelings,
actions words,
rose emily short,
feelings narrator's,
narrator's direct,
life miss,
describes miss emily,
'a rose emily',
|
Acceptance Essays
