A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

A Rose for Emily William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily”, tells the story of the life of Emily Grierson. Throughout the story Emily endured many difficulties. Emily experienced the deaths of many that people she cared for. The deaths include her father, and her love interest. The author uses his unique style of writing to develop many themes throughout the the story. Faulkner uses the power of death, isolation, and tradition versus change as the main themes in the story. The power of death is a theme that lingers all throughout the story. It begins at the start of the story when Faulkner described Emily’s death. Emily, a fixture in the community, gives into death slowly. Faulkner compares her to a drowned woman, a bloated and pale figure left too long in the water. Emily tries to exert power over death by denying the fact of death itself. Her bizarre relationship to the dead bodies of the men she has loved, is revealed first when her father dies. Emily clings to the controlling paternal figure whose denial and control became the only love that she knew. When Homer dies, she again refuses to acknowledge it. Although this time, she was responsible for his death. In the act of killing Homer, she was able to keep him near. Emily’s treatment of death
Emily became upset and Homer for leaving, and planned to get revenge. She went to the drug store and purchased rat poison. Emily wanted to hurt Homer because he did not love her like she loved him. It is found in the story that Homer is attracted to men. The townspeople though that Emily was going to kill herself. This shows that people saw isolation inside of her. The townspeople thought for sure that Emily was going to be the one to die, but Homer was the one to pass away. He was poisoned, and his body created a musty odor that surrounded the house. After Emily’s father passed away, and she killed Homer, Emily died a very lonely and isolated