Reflection About the Story a Rose for Emily
REFLECTION
The first story we have learned in this American Literature course is A rose for Emily of William Faulkner. It is one of the most famous short stories in America, which reflected the life of Southern people in the early of 20th century and how they changed in order to adapt to new life. I have heard of this story long time before, but until this semester I started reading it in a serious way. From the beginning of A rose for Emily, I was so curious about Miss Emily’s life that I couldn’t stop reading. Why did she live like that? What caused the smell of her house? What did she do with Homer Barron? What happened in that mysterious house? Then, I was frightened after finishing the story. I couldn’t believe a woman could lie beside a corpse for years like that. I admit that at first I didn’t appreciate this story very much, because I supposed it just told readers a ridiculous life of an insane lady. However, after some analysis, I began to realize its value and the humanity which the author put in. To tell the truth, I totally sympathize with Miss Emily’s tragedy. She didn’t cause misery for herself but everyone around her was to be blamed for that job. Her father totally controlled her life even after he died. He chased away all her suitors with the conservative idea that they didn’t deserve to be her partner. He forced her to live with emotionless face, to be proud of herself and look down on people from lower class. By that way, he unintentionally made her rely on him too much, and that’s the reason why she was so depressed after his death, the beginning of more serious tragedies waiting for her in future. People in town also didn’t seem to understand her situation. All they cared about was the life of an aristocrat in new society. The way they behaved to Miss Emily forced her to be a stranger in that community, so that she couldn’t integrate with the others, which made her become a definite recluse. Homer Barron was like
The first story we have learned in this American Literature course is A rose for Emily of William Faulkner. It is one of the most famous short stories in America, which reflected the life of Southern people in the early of 20th century and how they changed in order to adapt to new life. I have heard of this story long time before, but until this semester I started reading it in a serious way. From the beginning of A rose for Emily, I was so curious about Miss Emily’s life that I couldn’t stop reading. Why did she live like that? What caused the smell of her house? What did she do with Homer Barron? What happened in that mysterious house? Then, I was frightened after finishing the story. I couldn’t believe a woman could lie beside a corpse for years like that. I admit that at first I didn’t appreciate this story very much, because I supposed it just told readers a ridiculous life of an insane lady. However, after some analysis, I began to realize its value and the humanity which the author put in. To tell the truth, I totally sympathize with Miss Emily’s tragedy. She didn’t cause misery for herself but everyone around her was to be blamed for that job. Her father totally controlled her life even after he died. He chased away all her suitors with the conservative idea that they didn’t deserve to be her partner. He forced her to live with emotionless face, to be proud of herself and look down on people from lower class. By that way, he unintentionally made her rely on him too much, and that’s the reason why she was so depressed after his death, the beginning of more serious tragedies waiting for her in future. People in town also didn’t seem to understand her situation. All they cared about was the life of an aristocrat in new society. The way they behaved to Miss Emily forced her to be a stranger in that community, so that she couldn’t integrate with the others, which made her become a definite recluse. Homer Barron was like