a rose for emily
"A Rose for Emily" came out in 1930. To some readers this horror story is the most "gothic" that Faulkner ever wrote as a writer. But if horror is all he/she gets from the story then that person is missing the meaning of the story. "A Rose for Emily" is told by a nameless narrator(first person) describing the life of a pathetic women, Emily representing a figure from the past. Her life is shaped by her fathers repression, in effect taking away her opportunity to love and driving her mad in the process as she tries to cling to the present. Miss Emily is unlucky by being the daughter of a dominating father. This father being proud of the Crierson name, undoubtly thinks that any young man no matter who he is, is unworthy of his daughter. These selfish beliefs and views are successful in getting rid of any young men that did try. This in turn confines Emily into the beliefs of the past and relying only on her father(mother long dead) for a family. Actually Miss Emily does possess some "aristocratic" traits. She has great independence and dosen't go with the bureaucratic rules and regulations. This in turn gets some admiration from the people of Jefferson(the town) as it is "digging" into the future. But then Mr. Crierson died and
Faulkner uses this to build suspense into the story. Compson has a sick allegiance to the idea of womanhood as she has conceived it by the "Old South", similar to Emily in my view. For up stairs in the bedroom was Homer(very skinny) and evidence that she clinged onto the present in her own way. "It was as if she demanded more than ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Crierson". Compson both wanted to be seen and considered "ladies". By this Emily never paid taxes and in essence lived in the past. While in the "fury" it is not the present corrupting the past, but the values of the old south that destroy the present. From a "Rose" you can conclude this by what the town thought of her at one point of the story. Faulkners use of foreshadowing by inciting our anticipation is well put in the story. What she is doing is watching her past get beaten back by the new generation. The day after that she bought rat poison , and two days later a neighbor saw Homer get let in by Tobe her servent.
Common topics in this essay:
Miss Emily,
Caroline Compsons,
Homer Town,
Rose Emily,
Jefferson Emilys,
Crierson Compson,
Homer Barrona,
Emily Compson,
Crierson Emily,
Colonel Sartoris,
miss emily,
town people,
clinged onto,
colonel sartoris,
rose emily,
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Acceptance Essays
