A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
William Faulkner's short story is the tale of an elderly woman caught inthe past. Emily is a product of the old south that lives in a town that isslowly embracing traditions of a more progressive south that does notoperate the way it did before. As a result, Emily becomes a burden to thetown as well as an object of gossip. Emily is alone and lives a reclusivelife. When she meets Homer Barron, a ray of hope seems to shine on herlife until Homer mysteriously disappears. Emily's death reveals detailsabout her personality that are shocking. Faulkner's excellent use ofimagery coupled with his emphasis on time creates the perfect mood for this Faulkner employs the technique of imagery to emphasize the contrastbetween the past and the present. Early in the story, the narrator refersto Emily as a "fallen monument" (Faulkner 451), indicating that served as amonument to the old southern traditions that were in place before the CivilWar. Faulkner also effectively uses the color gray to describe Emily'sappearance throughout the story. Over the years Emily's hair grows grayerand grayer until it becomes a pepper-and-salt iron-gray, when it ceasedturning. The narrator even tells us that
This vivid image illustrates how Emily ages and becomes overwhelmedwith life. Schwab also points out how Faulknerstructures the story to underscore the "stagnant, repetitive nature ofEmily Grierson's existence" (Schwab). Faulkner employs the element of time in a unique manner in this story asthe narrator moves between past and present situations. (453) This indicates how Emily still considers herself apart of the old traditions. She does not acknowledge itand only continues to ignore it. In many ways, it is as if Emily is not even aware that time exists. her hair was still that "vigorousiron-gray" (457) when she died, "like the hair of an active man" (457). Schwab notes, "the only way she cankeep him with her is to arrest his activity and to suspend his vitality"Schwab). Anothersignificant aspect of Faulkner's technique is having the story take placeafter Emily's death, which is only way that time can actually stand stillfor her. He arranges events to reinforce theimagery of the "watch that ticks repeatedly but does not move forward . Emily's physical appearance also changes over time. Time is also very significant in this storybecause, for Emily, it stand still. (454) Another example of how Emily could not let go of the past is thefact that she allowed no visitor to enter her house since she had "ceasedgiving china-painting lessons almost ten years earlier" (452).
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Acceptance Essays
