symbolism in rose for emily and good man is hard to find

Symbolism and Irony

Flannery O 'Connor 's "A Good Man is Hard to find" and William Faulkner 's "A Rose for Emily" both contain irony and symbolism. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by O 'Connor uses symbolism while "A Rose for Emily" by Faulkner uses more irony.

O 'Connnor uses symbolism and irony in several places throughout the story in "A Good Man is Hard to Find". The story starts with a road trip of Bailey family that shows irony with many symbols throughout the story, most of which involve death. For example, the family passed a large cotton field with about five or six graves and there are six members of the Bailey family. The graves are described as "fenced in the middle of it, like a small island" (499) and are showed when they are surrounded by the Misfit and his henchmen. Another important symbol that is shown is that the plantation house with six white columns after they pass the town of Toombsboro which suggest a tomb or a graveyard. The most important symbol is that they travel down a dirt road that is full of hills and has ' 'sudden washes," (500) with sharp curves which is parallel to a road towards Hell. After the Baileys stop at an accident, a new chain of symbols occur. At first glance of the Misfit; he is described as a "big black battered hearse-like automobile" (501) with "a steady expressionless gaze" (501), which he represents death. While talking to the grandmother, the Misfit pointed his shoes to the ground and makes a hole, which looks like a burial. The Misfit 's action of digging and covering a hole with his shows that the Baileys were about to die. With all the symbols in the story, it is easy to tell that Flannery O 'Connor is Catholic. During the conversation between the grandmother and the Misfit, there are things said about Jesus and praying. The grandmother even preaches to the Misfit to restore his humanity even though she knows that he will kill her. In parts of the story, a cloudless sky is mentioned several times. The clouds represent the grandmother 's shallow faith; and after the Misfit 's entrance, the clouds haven 't been seen as her faith in God fades away which in my opinion was ironic.

In the short story "A Rose for Emily", by William Faulkner, symbolism is used frequently to show insight to hidden meanings in the story. Faulkner uses a rose to symbolize love and secrecy. Emily 's house is also used to symbolize Emily as a monument, alienation, and death. Lastly, the strand of hair left on the pillow symbolizes love lost and a life of decay. The rose is a symbol for love. In the story, Homer is the "rose" or love for Emily. Emily 's father sheltered her and believed no man was good enough for her. Emily wasn 't given the opportunity to experience love before Homer came into her life. The Narrator says, "We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will" (682). The rose also represents secrecy. The rose stands for Emily 's secret; that Homer is her "rose" that she loved and kept to herself even after his body was decaying. Emily 's house, like Emily, is a monument. They both represent the decline of the "Old South". The house used to be one of the nicest houses on the street. Later, during the time the story takes place, the house is old and worn in. Emily too has grown older and has worn with time. The Narrator says, "Only Miss Emily 's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps" (681). The house, like Emily, seems out of place in a changing society. The house also symbolizes alienation. Emily alienated herself inside her house to avoid people and change. Her house is also a symbol for death. She uses her house to keep Homer 's body as a shrine. In the short story, "A Rose for Emily," the color black is symbolic for death, as well as depression. Death is very common in this story through the deaths of her father, Homer Barron, and herself in the end. "A Rose for Emily" contains many examples of strong symbolism throughout the story. Because Miss Emily refuses to accept the changing times, she symbolizes a completely different era than in which the town she lived in. Symbolism is very prominent throughout the story, and plays one of the biggest roles in the underlying meaning of the entire story.

Throughout both stories, the authors used several instances of irony and symbolism. While O 'Connor used more symbolism, Faulkner used both. Both stories used death as the main symbolism.

Works Cited

Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 9th ed. Eds. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company. 2005. 681-687

Powell, Janice a. "Changing Portraits in A Rose for Emily". Southeast Missouri State University, Center of Faulkner Studies. 9 Aug.2001. Web.

Watkins, Floyd C." The Structure of A Rose for Emily". Modern Language Notes. Web. 3 Oct. 2011

O 'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 9th Ed. Ed. Booth, Hunter, Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 495-506. Print.

Walls, Doyle." O 'Connor 's A Good Man is Hard to Find". The Explicator 46(7).1988:43-45

O 'Connor, Flannery."A Good Man is Hard to Find: Frederick Asals. New Brunswick, New Jersey:Rutgers Uf, 1993. 31-51. Web.

Cited: Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 9th ed. Eds. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company. 2005. 681-687 Powell, Janice a. "Changing Portraits in A Rose for Emily". Southeast Missouri State University, Center of Faulkner Studies. 9 Aug.2001. Web. Watkins, Floyd C." The Structure of A Rose for Emily". Modern Language Notes. Web. 3 Oct. 2011 O 'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 9th Ed. Ed. Booth, Hunter, Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 495-506. Print. Walls, Doyle." O 'Connor 's A Good Man is Hard to Find". The Explicator 46(7).1988:43-45 O 'Connor, Flannery."A Good Man is Hard to Find: Frederick Asals. New Brunswick, New Jersey:Rutgers Uf, 1993. 31-51. Web.