Symbolism In A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner
“A Rose for Emily”, written by William Faulkner, received critical praise when it came out for its use of symbolism. The main idea of the story is that a woman named Emily Grierson killed her lover Homer and for thirty years she slept next to his dead body until she eventually died at the end of the story. “A Rose for Emily” receives critical praise even to this day for its incredible use of diction. William Faulkner’s use of symbolism in “A Rose for Emily” is praised due it being ahead of its time. Although some people believe the death of Homer relates to Emily’s need to cling to love, in reality it represents the decaying of the Southern culture and how they are trying to hold on to it.
“Before the killing of Homer Barron, the townspeople …show more content…
had wanted, in their dealings with Emily, to preserve the values of the old South embodied in Emily as a representative of idealized southern womanhood” (Dilworth 252). This states Emily is perceived as the embodiment of Southern culture. When Emily’s mind started to deteriorate because of her predicament, it is a hint of the decaying of the Southern culture. “As we shall see, his relationship with Emily is at least as important as her relationship with her former lover, Homer Barron, who was, in a sense, a rival to the town and the South” (Dilworth 251). The townspeople hated Homer because they viewed him as the embodiment of the North. Whenever Emily fell in love with Homer, it was a representation of a Southerner falling in love with the Northern way of life. “By entering a love affair with Homer Barron, Emily briefly rebelled against southern values and then, by ending her affair with him, at least as far as the townspeople were concerned, she conformed again to those values” (Dilworth 251). This is important because when Emily fell in love with Homer, she rebelled against her culture. The harsh reality is that even the embodiment of Southern culture can turn away from their way of life. The overall theme of the story is the decrement of the old South and the fact that Emily falls in love with Homer expresses that same idea.
The author’s use of diction helped further explain his theme. The evidence that the narrator lives in the same town as Emily gives the story more credibility as they live very near each other (Reading Between the Lines). The fact that the narrator lives in the same city as Emily gives the author more insight into what happened than someone who heard it through stories. This is helpful because the narrator is a reliable source who only says the facts of the story. The theme of the story is the decaying of the old South and the fact that the location of the story is in Southeastern U.S. is an important aspect (Reading Between the Lines). The overall theme of the story is based upon the culture of the old South, because of the fact that the story is set during the antebellum South it lets the reader more clearly connect the story to the theme that the author is trying to explain. The fact the Emily was “stubborn and coquettish” suggests that after she fell in love with Homer that nothing would separate them no matter what (Reading Between the Lines). This use of language gives us an idea as to why Emily has such a hard time letting Homer go. This use of diction can be compared to the fact that many people wanted to hold on to their Southern culture and not let it die. The author’s use of diction to support theme is greatly used in this short story. William Faulkner used phrases like “Miss Emily” to give the reader hints so that they would be able to understand the overall theme of the story more easily.
William Faulkner uses many symbols in his short story “A Rose for Emily”.
“Emily reflects "the culture that has produced her," and her "furious isolation is in direct proportion to the town's obsession with her"” (Evans 42). The narrator clearly states that the townspeople viewed Emily as a sort of embodiment of their way of life. The fact that he said this tells us that Emily herself has become a symbol in the eyes of the townspeople. “When the men break into the locked room at the end of the story, "they find that Emily has satisfied their prurience with a vengeance" and just as she had been turned into a symbol, so has Homer” (Evans 42). When Emily kills Homer she becomes an important symbol in the story, but Homer also becomes a symbol through being murdered. Emily killing Homer can be viewed as a symbol of the fear that many people felt when their lives were changing, and the fact that Emily killed Homer can be viewed as the Southern way of life beginning it’s imminent decay. The killing of Homer can be used as a symbol of strength as she finally did something for herself instead of for other people (Evans 43). Whenever Emily killed Homer the author wanted to use it as a symbol of the decaying Southern culture, but many others also had different interpretations to Homer’s murder. It can be suggested that William Faulkner wanted his symbols to have different representations to his many symbols. Faulkner’s use of symbols is very important in his short story “A Rose for …show more content…
Emily”.
The main symbol of the story is a very important key in “A Rose for Emily”.
“When the ladies from the neighborhood came to console her, she simply stated that her father "was not dead”” (Caldwell 3). This is when we are first introduced to the fact that Emily had a tough time letting go of things. This hardship could be interpreted as a symbol of denial because of the fact that many Southerners refused to let go of their cherished culture. “It took three days for the town's officials to persuade her to admit her father's death and release his body, which she had kept with her in the house, for burial” (Caldwell 3). Whenever Emily allows the coroners to take away her father’s body, she is shown to have accepted what has happened. Allowing the coroners to take away his body is presenting itself as a symbol of acceptance because of the fact that many people let go of their culture regardless of if they wanted to or not. “Emily Grierson not only refused to accept the death of her intended husband, but also kept him with her always, in an upstairs room in her home, where each night for over thirty years after his death, she slept by his side” (Caldwell 1). Whenever the town found out what Emily had done to Homer they are appalled at the actions she chose to take as a result of not wanting to lose Homer. The actions that Emily took can be interpreted as the fact that many people are willing to do whatever it takes to hold on to what they hold close to their hearts. The main theme
of “A Rose for Emily” is that many people do not want change regardless of if it is for the best or not.
The idea that the reason that Emily clings on to Homer after his death is because of love, but in reality it is a symbol of the old South and their need to hold on to it. The main idea of the story presented itself in many different ways. The author presented the theme of the story in the form of Emily killing Homer, the author meant for this murder to be interpreted as a symbol the fear of change because of the fact that Emily killed Homer because she was scared of losing him. The author’s use of diction also helped present the theme to the reader because it allowed the reader to clearly understand what the narrator was trying to explain. William Faulkner achieved this goal by using certain key phrases to implement the main idea of the story into the mind of the reader. William Faulkner also used many symbols to express his overall theme to the reader. The main theme was expressed as a murder, but it was also expressed as Emily sleeping with the dead body of her former lover. When Emily did this she became a symbol of denial because she represented the denial that many Southerners faced when they discovered that their cherished culture had begun to decay. What the reader gathers from the story is that Emily killing Homer was used as a symbol of the fear of change, but is this the only message that William Faulkner was trying to express when he wrote “A Rose for Emily”?
Works Cited
Caldwell, Tracy M. "Refusing to Accept Death." Literary Theme: Refusing to Accept Death,
Mar. 2006, pp. 1-2. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=18894392&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Dilworth, Thomas. "A Romance to Kill For: Homicidal Complicity in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily."
Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 36, no. 3, Summer99, p. 251. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=9220601&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Evans, Robert C. "A Rose for Emily." Short Fiction: A Critical Companion, Jan. 1997, pp. 40-48.
EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=24576493&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Mezo, Richard E. "Miss Emily, Homer, Roses, and Reading." Eureka Studies in Teaching Short Fiction, vol. 11/12, Oct. 2015, pp. 111-117. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=110077236&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
"Reading between the Lines." Literary Cavalcade, vol. 56, no. 8, May 2004, p. 28. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=prh&AN=12828424&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
“Before the killing of Homer Barron, the townspeople …show more content…
had wanted, in their dealings with Emily, to preserve the values of the old South embodied in Emily as a representative of idealized southern womanhood” (Dilworth 252). This states Emily is perceived as the embodiment of Southern culture. When Emily’s mind started to deteriorate because of her predicament, it is a hint of the decaying of the Southern culture. “As we shall see, his relationship with Emily is at least as important as her relationship with her former lover, Homer Barron, who was, in a sense, a rival to the town and the South” (Dilworth 251). The townspeople hated Homer because they viewed him as the embodiment of the North. Whenever Emily fell in love with Homer, it was a representation of a Southerner falling in love with the Northern way of life. “By entering a love affair with Homer Barron, Emily briefly rebelled against southern values and then, by ending her affair with him, at least as far as the townspeople were concerned, she conformed again to those values” (Dilworth 251). This is important because when Emily fell in love with Homer, she rebelled against her culture. The harsh reality is that even the embodiment of Southern culture can turn away from their way of life. The overall theme of the story is the decrement of the old South and the fact that Emily falls in love with Homer expresses that same idea.
The author’s use of diction helped further explain his theme. The evidence that the narrator lives in the same town as Emily gives the story more credibility as they live very near each other (Reading Between the Lines). The fact that the narrator lives in the same city as Emily gives the author more insight into what happened than someone who heard it through stories. This is helpful because the narrator is a reliable source who only says the facts of the story. The theme of the story is the decaying of the old South and the fact that the location of the story is in Southeastern U.S. is an important aspect (Reading Between the Lines). The overall theme of the story is based upon the culture of the old South, because of the fact that the story is set during the antebellum South it lets the reader more clearly connect the story to the theme that the author is trying to explain. The fact the Emily was “stubborn and coquettish” suggests that after she fell in love with Homer that nothing would separate them no matter what (Reading Between the Lines). This use of language gives us an idea as to why Emily has such a hard time letting Homer go. This use of diction can be compared to the fact that many people wanted to hold on to their Southern culture and not let it die. The author’s use of diction to support theme is greatly used in this short story. William Faulkner used phrases like “Miss Emily” to give the reader hints so that they would be able to understand the overall theme of the story more easily.
William Faulkner uses many symbols in his short story “A Rose for Emily”.
“Emily reflects "the culture that has produced her," and her "furious isolation is in direct proportion to the town's obsession with her"” (Evans 42). The narrator clearly states that the townspeople viewed Emily as a sort of embodiment of their way of life. The fact that he said this tells us that Emily herself has become a symbol in the eyes of the townspeople. “When the men break into the locked room at the end of the story, "they find that Emily has satisfied their prurience with a vengeance" and just as she had been turned into a symbol, so has Homer” (Evans 42). When Emily kills Homer she becomes an important symbol in the story, but Homer also becomes a symbol through being murdered. Emily killing Homer can be viewed as a symbol of the fear that many people felt when their lives were changing, and the fact that Emily killed Homer can be viewed as the Southern way of life beginning it’s imminent decay. The killing of Homer can be used as a symbol of strength as she finally did something for herself instead of for other people (Evans 43). Whenever Emily killed Homer the author wanted to use it as a symbol of the decaying Southern culture, but many others also had different interpretations to Homer’s murder. It can be suggested that William Faulkner wanted his symbols to have different representations to his many symbols. Faulkner’s use of symbols is very important in his short story “A Rose for …show more content…
Emily”.
The main symbol of the story is a very important key in “A Rose for Emily”.
“When the ladies from the neighborhood came to console her, she simply stated that her father "was not dead”” (Caldwell 3). This is when we are first introduced to the fact that Emily had a tough time letting go of things. This hardship could be interpreted as a symbol of denial because of the fact that many Southerners refused to let go of their cherished culture. “It took three days for the town's officials to persuade her to admit her father's death and release his body, which she had kept with her in the house, for burial” (Caldwell 3). Whenever Emily allows the coroners to take away her father’s body, she is shown to have accepted what has happened. Allowing the coroners to take away his body is presenting itself as a symbol of acceptance because of the fact that many people let go of their culture regardless of if they wanted to or not. “Emily Grierson not only refused to accept the death of her intended husband, but also kept him with her always, in an upstairs room in her home, where each night for over thirty years after his death, she slept by his side” (Caldwell 1). Whenever the town found out what Emily had done to Homer they are appalled at the actions she chose to take as a result of not wanting to lose Homer. The actions that Emily took can be interpreted as the fact that many people are willing to do whatever it takes to hold on to what they hold close to their hearts. The main theme
of “A Rose for Emily” is that many people do not want change regardless of if it is for the best or not.
The idea that the reason that Emily clings on to Homer after his death is because of love, but in reality it is a symbol of the old South and their need to hold on to it. The main idea of the story presented itself in many different ways. The author presented the theme of the story in the form of Emily killing Homer, the author meant for this murder to be interpreted as a symbol the fear of change because of the fact that Emily killed Homer because she was scared of losing him. The author’s use of diction also helped present the theme to the reader because it allowed the reader to clearly understand what the narrator was trying to explain. William Faulkner achieved this goal by using certain key phrases to implement the main idea of the story into the mind of the reader. William Faulkner also used many symbols to express his overall theme to the reader. The main theme was expressed as a murder, but it was also expressed as Emily sleeping with the dead body of her former lover. When Emily did this she became a symbol of denial because she represented the denial that many Southerners faced when they discovered that their cherished culture had begun to decay. What the reader gathers from the story is that Emily killing Homer was used as a symbol of the fear of change, but is this the only message that William Faulkner was trying to express when he wrote “A Rose for Emily”?
Works Cited
Caldwell, Tracy M. "Refusing to Accept Death." Literary Theme: Refusing to Accept Death,
Mar. 2006, pp. 1-2. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=18894392&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Dilworth, Thomas. "A Romance to Kill For: Homicidal Complicity in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily."
Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 36, no. 3, Summer99, p. 251. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=9220601&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Evans, Robert C. "A Rose for Emily." Short Fiction: A Critical Companion, Jan. 1997, pp. 40-48.
EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=24576493&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Mezo, Richard E. "Miss Emily, Homer, Roses, and Reading." Eureka Studies in Teaching Short Fiction, vol. 11/12, Oct. 2015, pp. 111-117. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=lkh&AN=110077236&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
"Reading between the Lines." Literary Cavalcade, vol. 56, no. 8, May 2004, p. 28. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custuid&custid=s8455861&db=prh&AN=12828424&site=ehost-live&scope=site.