A Rose For Emily Literary Analysis
Short Fiction Essay “A Rose for Emily” In the story “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner associates the main character, Miss Emily with a sense of beauty, privilege, and mystery. Raised in a rich southern atmosphere it is clear why the town of Jefferson is so infatuated with her life. But how does the patriarchal society and socioeconomic climate of the era contribute to and directly influence the events that occur in Miss Emily 's life? Miss Emily is a product of her time. Nobody in the town of Jefferson really knows who Miss Emily is, due to social standards and traditions. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a case point. While I think that we can quickly learn to see how Faulkner’s story illustrates the patriarchal ideology,
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it is more difficult for many of us to figure out whether the story wants us to accept or reject that ideology. In the short story “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner uses representation of Miss Emily’s house, her beauty, and her relationship with Homer Barron to demonstrate classism, and traditional views on gender roles.
The interactions Emily was allowed to have with the town’s people where very minor. Faulkner uses the gossip-obsessed town’s people to help convey the belief that all wealthy southerners during this time were to act a certain way. Emily is a representation of the theme of classism. (Tyson 109) For Example, Emily’s house at one time was one of the most beautiful homes in the whole town of Jefferson. When Emily was young the house was always clean and well kept, just as it should. But in time as Miss Emily began to age the house started to represent something “lackluster”. It is a shrine to the living past. The towns own patriarchal beliefs concerning the proper conduct for a women of her status encouraged Miss Emily to do as she pleased, and get away with an unkempt yard and faded paint. No man or woman of lower status would dare try to confront Miss Emily about her yard. At one time Miss Emily’s house even filled the town of Jefferson with an odor unbearable they tried to cure it themselves, before confronting Miss Emily directly. This is significant because it demonstrates the fear, and respect associated with a woman of her wealth and class. Miss Emily in her younger years was one of the most beautiful women in the entire town. Emily was viewed as far superior by her father and for these reasons Emily was forced to live a life of solitude, and never allowed to associate with people lower than her class. While Emily’s father was alive no man dared to court her. Motivated by his own desire to maintain complete control, a patriarchal man believes it is his right and duty to control the females in the family. (Tyson 108) Faulkner uses Mr. Grierson’s behavior as a direct representation on this ideal. Mr. Grierson’s domination over Emily goes far beyond the necessary decisions to be made in order to protect and educate an offspring. (Heller) During this time it was considered acceptable to have a male in charge. Man where the dominant providers, and rule makers. This social standard on gender roles is very traditional. I think Faulkner uses traditional gender roles in the story to help the reader think about the time period, and understand the backwardness of the south.
As the years went by Emily went through feelings of rejection and isolation, she also gained a lot of weight and her hair turned gray. The once beautiful Miss Emily was no more. It seems that Faulkner uses Emily’s appearance to demonstrate a lack of care. But it wasn’t only her looks that began to fade. Emily’s mind also seemed to become slightly altered over the years. (Heller) This is directly related to the unstable childhood and unhealthy ways in which she was raised. Normal problem solving, and determining what was appropriate or not was simply something that Miss Emily did not have, or cared about. Emily’s appearance suggests that all her respect for herself was gone.
About a year after Mr. Grierson’s demise, Emily started keeping company with Homer Barron in defiance of social tradition and public opinion. From this time forward, until the end of her life Miss Emily started to violate patriarchal gender roles. Homer Barron was Emily’s only love. The gossip of the town was that Homer Barron had left Emily long ago and he was no longer in the picture. At the end of the story Faulkner reviles that Homer Barron was actually poisoned by Emily, and a single strand of Emily’s hair was found next to the decayed corpse in her upstairs bedroom. (Tyson 109) The strand of hair reveals the inner life of a woman who, despite her eccentricities, was committed to living life on her own terms and not submitting her behavior, no matter how shocking, to the approval of others. Emily was taught by her father at a very young age the she was different and privileged. This sense of nobility was carried throughout her whole life. Because Miss Emily was never able to form a healthy relationship with a person of lower status, she was unable to form a healthy relationship with anybody in her town. Classism was the very thing that was intended to bring Miss Emily respectability, but it seems that it may be directly related of her undoing.
Miss Emily Grierson, was an aristocratic woman deeply admired by a community that placed her on a pedestal and saw her as "a tradition" — or, as the unnamed narrator describes her, "a fallen monument." (Tyson 107) Emily is a product of her time and generation.
Lilia M. Torres
English 1 B
Professor Rebecca Quinn
7 March 7, 2014
Short Fiction Rough Draft The story “A rose For Emily “ By William Faulkner is about Miss Emily Grierson who is the daughter of a very wealthy man.
Emily is viewed as a very important women in the town, the townspeople think that Emily has the perfect life. When in reality her life seems to go downhill after her father’s death and is left with only the house. The death of Emily’s father seems to tear her apart she had no communication with the outside world. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing for Emily but other people saw it as fair “At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become dehumanized” (Tyson 254). Throughout the story we see that Miss Emily does many strange things like lie about her father’s death and kept him with her for three days. Do you think that Emily did these actions as a way to heal in the inside? Was she not thinking when she acted this …show more content…
way? Miss Emily did many strange things in the story “A Rose for Emily” like I mentioned before she didn’t want to accept her father’s death so she lied for three days. She finally gave in and her father was buried. You can probably understand why she denied Mr. Grierson’s death, she had no one else, her father was everything she had and now he was gone. It seems like the deeper we get into the story Emily seems to become more “evil” I can almost say she does manly things. When at the beginning of the story she is this woman who is living the “good” life and has nothing to worry about. Another strange thing that Emily did was that she killed Homer Barron it seemed like they understood each other and that things were going pretty well. However at the end of the story it is revealed that Homer has been in the top room (dead) in a bed for a very long time. It’s amazing how back then she didn’t get caught for murdering Homer the townspeople had no idea that Homer had been dead. You can definitely see that classism was a big concept back then just a last name (Grierson) could change the way you lived. How come Emily didn’t have to pay taxes while everyone in the town of Jefferson did? You can see that Emily was respected no one wanted to cause her some trouble so they just tried to find a way around things when it came to her. When people start complain g about the bad smell the mayor didn’t fare to tell Miss Emily about the smell. When Emily buys the arsenic the druggist says “If that’s what you want. But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for” (Tyson 257). It only takes a quick look from Emily to shut the druggist up and get what she wants (the arsenic). Emily seems to live by her own rules everyone respects her, she does whatever she wants and no one dares to speak up.
After all the things that she does in the story could it be possible that Emily is happy with everything she has done. She goes from this beautiful great woman who has a wealthy life to a person who is left with nothing but a house. The change is dramatic it could have been possible that she just couldn’t accept the new style of living and just tried to survive in life by doing things she thought were right. However I don’t see how it’s fair how she got away with everything she did just because she was a Grierson (the last
Grierson). This story (A Rose for Emily) has a lot to talk about, some persons saw Emily’s life as “perfect” when in reality it was a total disaster. Her father might have had a lot of money but at the end of the story you can see that money has no value when you don’t spend it the right way. Mr. Grierson never taught Emily how to be independent because he gave it all to her but on the other side he thought that no man was good enough for his daughter. Emily probably never knew what love was because she had a father who thought that his daughter can do better each time a man stepped up to her. Then towards the end of the story we see Emily with Homer Barron a man who has nothing to offer her. Looks like all the things that Mr. Grierson did or try to do where no good because he had a daughter who gave it all up in trying to live like she thought was the correct way.
Work Cited
Tyson, Lois. Learning for a Diverse World: Using Critical Theory to Read and
Write About Literature. 2011. New York: Routledge, 2009.
Heller, Terry. ""A Rose for Emily" Interpretation." Terry Heller. Coe College, 30 Nov.
2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
it is more difficult for many of us to figure out whether the story wants us to accept or reject that ideology. In the short story “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner uses representation of Miss Emily’s house, her beauty, and her relationship with Homer Barron to demonstrate classism, and traditional views on gender roles.
The interactions Emily was allowed to have with the town’s people where very minor. Faulkner uses the gossip-obsessed town’s people to help convey the belief that all wealthy southerners during this time were to act a certain way. Emily is a representation of the theme of classism. (Tyson 109) For Example, Emily’s house at one time was one of the most beautiful homes in the whole town of Jefferson. When Emily was young the house was always clean and well kept, just as it should. But in time as Miss Emily began to age the house started to represent something “lackluster”. It is a shrine to the living past. The towns own patriarchal beliefs concerning the proper conduct for a women of her status encouraged Miss Emily to do as she pleased, and get away with an unkempt yard and faded paint. No man or woman of lower status would dare try to confront Miss Emily about her yard. At one time Miss Emily’s house even filled the town of Jefferson with an odor unbearable they tried to cure it themselves, before confronting Miss Emily directly. This is significant because it demonstrates the fear, and respect associated with a woman of her wealth and class. Miss Emily in her younger years was one of the most beautiful women in the entire town. Emily was viewed as far superior by her father and for these reasons Emily was forced to live a life of solitude, and never allowed to associate with people lower than her class. While Emily’s father was alive no man dared to court her. Motivated by his own desire to maintain complete control, a patriarchal man believes it is his right and duty to control the females in the family. (Tyson 108) Faulkner uses Mr. Grierson’s behavior as a direct representation on this ideal. Mr. Grierson’s domination over Emily goes far beyond the necessary decisions to be made in order to protect and educate an offspring. (Heller) During this time it was considered acceptable to have a male in charge. Man where the dominant providers, and rule makers. This social standard on gender roles is very traditional. I think Faulkner uses traditional gender roles in the story to help the reader think about the time period, and understand the backwardness of the south.
As the years went by Emily went through feelings of rejection and isolation, she also gained a lot of weight and her hair turned gray. The once beautiful Miss Emily was no more. It seems that Faulkner uses Emily’s appearance to demonstrate a lack of care. But it wasn’t only her looks that began to fade. Emily’s mind also seemed to become slightly altered over the years. (Heller) This is directly related to the unstable childhood and unhealthy ways in which she was raised. Normal problem solving, and determining what was appropriate or not was simply something that Miss Emily did not have, or cared about. Emily’s appearance suggests that all her respect for herself was gone.
About a year after Mr. Grierson’s demise, Emily started keeping company with Homer Barron in defiance of social tradition and public opinion. From this time forward, until the end of her life Miss Emily started to violate patriarchal gender roles. Homer Barron was Emily’s only love. The gossip of the town was that Homer Barron had left Emily long ago and he was no longer in the picture. At the end of the story Faulkner reviles that Homer Barron was actually poisoned by Emily, and a single strand of Emily’s hair was found next to the decayed corpse in her upstairs bedroom. (Tyson 109) The strand of hair reveals the inner life of a woman who, despite her eccentricities, was committed to living life on her own terms and not submitting her behavior, no matter how shocking, to the approval of others. Emily was taught by her father at a very young age the she was different and privileged. This sense of nobility was carried throughout her whole life. Because Miss Emily was never able to form a healthy relationship with a person of lower status, she was unable to form a healthy relationship with anybody in her town. Classism was the very thing that was intended to bring Miss Emily respectability, but it seems that it may be directly related of her undoing.
Miss Emily Grierson, was an aristocratic woman deeply admired by a community that placed her on a pedestal and saw her as "a tradition" — or, as the unnamed narrator describes her, "a fallen monument." (Tyson 107) Emily is a product of her time and generation.
Lilia M. Torres
English 1 B
Professor Rebecca Quinn
7 March 7, 2014
Short Fiction Rough Draft The story “A rose For Emily “ By William Faulkner is about Miss Emily Grierson who is the daughter of a very wealthy man.
Emily is viewed as a very important women in the town, the townspeople think that Emily has the perfect life. When in reality her life seems to go downhill after her father’s death and is left with only the house. The death of Emily’s father seems to tear her apart she had no communication with the outside world. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing for Emily but other people saw it as fair “At last they could pity Miss Emily. Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become dehumanized” (Tyson 254). Throughout the story we see that Miss Emily does many strange things like lie about her father’s death and kept him with her for three days. Do you think that Emily did these actions as a way to heal in the inside? Was she not thinking when she acted this …show more content…
way? Miss Emily did many strange things in the story “A Rose for Emily” like I mentioned before she didn’t want to accept her father’s death so she lied for three days. She finally gave in and her father was buried. You can probably understand why she denied Mr. Grierson’s death, she had no one else, her father was everything she had and now he was gone. It seems like the deeper we get into the story Emily seems to become more “evil” I can almost say she does manly things. When at the beginning of the story she is this woman who is living the “good” life and has nothing to worry about. Another strange thing that Emily did was that she killed Homer Barron it seemed like they understood each other and that things were going pretty well. However at the end of the story it is revealed that Homer has been in the top room (dead) in a bed for a very long time. It’s amazing how back then she didn’t get caught for murdering Homer the townspeople had no idea that Homer had been dead. You can definitely see that classism was a big concept back then just a last name (Grierson) could change the way you lived. How come Emily didn’t have to pay taxes while everyone in the town of Jefferson did? You can see that Emily was respected no one wanted to cause her some trouble so they just tried to find a way around things when it came to her. When people start complain g about the bad smell the mayor didn’t fare to tell Miss Emily about the smell. When Emily buys the arsenic the druggist says “If that’s what you want. But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for” (Tyson 257). It only takes a quick look from Emily to shut the druggist up and get what she wants (the arsenic). Emily seems to live by her own rules everyone respects her, she does whatever she wants and no one dares to speak up.
After all the things that she does in the story could it be possible that Emily is happy with everything she has done. She goes from this beautiful great woman who has a wealthy life to a person who is left with nothing but a house. The change is dramatic it could have been possible that she just couldn’t accept the new style of living and just tried to survive in life by doing things she thought were right. However I don’t see how it’s fair how she got away with everything she did just because she was a Grierson (the last
Grierson). This story (A Rose for Emily) has a lot to talk about, some persons saw Emily’s life as “perfect” when in reality it was a total disaster. Her father might have had a lot of money but at the end of the story you can see that money has no value when you don’t spend it the right way. Mr. Grierson never taught Emily how to be independent because he gave it all to her but on the other side he thought that no man was good enough for his daughter. Emily probably never knew what love was because she had a father who thought that his daughter can do better each time a man stepped up to her. Then towards the end of the story we see Emily with Homer Barron a man who has nothing to offer her. Looks like all the things that Mr. Grierson did or try to do where no good because he had a daughter who gave it all up in trying to live like she thought was the correct way.
Work Cited
Tyson, Lois. Learning for a Diverse World: Using Critical Theory to Read and
Write About Literature. 2011. New York: Routledge, 2009.
Heller, Terry. ""A Rose for Emily" Interpretation." Terry Heller. Coe College, 30 Nov.
2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.