Literary Analysis

             Literary Analysis: "A Rose for Emily" William Faulkner
             In William Faulkner's story "A Rose for Emily," the rose symbolizes many things
             from love, to hate, to revenge, and her feeling of being neglected. Emily is living a sad
             life. When she is growing up her father isolates her, and after his death, she is still sad and
             miserable. Her father leaves her alone, completely alone, and "a pauper, she had become
             humanized." The greatest thing that a rose can symbolize is love, and Emily finds her
             "sweetheart" when the city contracts for the sidewalks to be paved one year after her
             father's death. Even though the women in the town can only say "poor Emily," at this
             single point in her life Emily is happy, but as soon as Emily's life seems to move forward
             where she can be happy and love somebody, the thorns of the rose appear, and Emily's life
             starts to shred. Emily, believing that Homer will marry her, finds the horrible truth that
             "he is not a marrying man." Homer likes men and a life of drinking at the Elk's Club, and
             again the town people say "poor Emily" when Homer leaves. Emily feels a hatred toward
             Homer for humiliating her. As expected by the town, Homer returns within three days.
             Emily wants revenge as the thorns of the rose appear inside her. She wants Homer to be
             with her for the rest of her life, so Emily's solution is to kill Homer. She dresses him in an
             outfit she has bought him, and Emily lies him on the bed feeling that Homer will now
             always be with her. The final symbolization of the rose is neglect. Emily feels neglected
             by Homer, so she closes her front door forever to be with Homer and to wilt and die. The
             rose creates a great metaphor when comparing it to Emily's life. The title fits almost
             perfectly, but "The Rose in Emily" is more appropriate. This is a more becoming title
             because Emily's life starts out closed with her father then opens with Homer only to
             ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Literary Analysis. (2000, January 01). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 05:53, October 02, 2026, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/53091.html