Using reader response criticism, the reader can analyze William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily through characters, action, and secrets or hidden meanings. The reader can analyze a lot about A Rose for Emily through the characters and make many connections to them and the story. For example, for a period of the story William Faulkner described Emily’s appearance as “bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water and of that pallid hue”. This appearance made it seem like Emily was already dead so it can be said that she was very depressed. Another character that some people can relate to is Homer. In the story he could be considered the opposite of Emily. Emily being quite and dignified, “Homer himself had remarked – he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elks’ club – that he was not a marrying man”. He is the complete opposite of Emily who is a refined lady. Some people could see this and know it wouldn’t work out because of the type of person Homer is. What is additionally needed for the reader to analyze A Rose for Emily is the action. A decent grasp of the type of person Emily is can be gained based on how she reacted when her father died. Instead of going into depression or getting angry like some people, she denied it. “She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days,…, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body”. A large quantity of people when faced with something bad want to ignore it and hope it goes away. The towns peoples personality can also be seen though their action. During the story a weird smell started to emanate from Emily’s house and the people did what you least would expect of them. The first thing someone did was “A neighbor, a woman, complained to the mayor, Judge Stevens, eighty years old”. This woman went behind Emily’s back by complaining to the city instead of telling her. Using reader response criticism, the reader…
