Preview

Use Of Irony In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
608 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Use Of Irony In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a story of love. By the end of the story, readers become aware of the true irony of the story. There are a variety of literary devices in the story, all of which contain different meanings and help readers better understand the irony. Because Emily loved Homer so much, she killed him so he wouldn't “leave” her. The reality is Homer is actually gone, because he is dead. Ultimately, William Faulkner uses symbolism, imagery, and flashbacks to tell the ironic story of “A Rose for Emily”.
There is symbolism all throughout the story and one in particular, is in the title itself. The ‘Rose’ in “A Rose for Emily” is a flower that is commonly known as a flower of romance and love. The rose can represent Emily’s

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner skillfully depicts the changes of Emily, who becomes a victim of the transitional period from the old pre-war society to the new post-war society. The author depicts the process of how an aristocratic lady becomes a killer. The story revolves around the life of a troubled and stubborn woman named Emily. After the death of her father and the disappearance of her lover, Emily becomes increasingly isolated from the society. She persistently lives in her self-made shell so that she can preserve her past and protect herself from the changes of society. By using peculiar factors, overcast atmosphere, and the contrast of desolate and modern life, Faulkner exposes the isolation of a woman trapped in the past, her desire for a happy life, and the degradation of the South after the Civil War.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story based on the acts of Emily Grierson, before her death. Through the use of foreshadowing, Faulkner creates a veil of mystery that and draws the reader in, keeping them guessing until the very end. The first instance in which Faulkner utilizes foreshadowing is when he writes, "Dammit, sir...will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad?" (Faulkner). While it may seem as though it is unnecessary information, the pointing out of the odor in Emily’s house is later concluded to be an effect of Homer’s death. Another example of foreshadowing is when Emily is going to the druggist and insists on purchasing the strongest poison they have to offer, "I want some poison...I want the best you…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner uses characterization to portray Emily’s mental decline throughout her life. By being kept away from the real world by her father, to being free to venture out after his death to having to keep a murder a secret. Faulkner best characterized Miss Emily as snobby, crazy and secretive.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    William Faulkner's Southern Gothic short story, “A Rose For Emily” uses a slow cadenced, formal writing style to mirror the old fashioned values of the old south. The tale about holding onto old values mirrors in its own cadence and diction the qualities it attempts to undercut. This conflict between old and new is not unique to the tone of the work. The narrator’s use of the first person plural places the reader in a unique perspective through which we can voyeuristically gaze at the title character. The narrator's diction expresses both reverence and pity for “Emily.”…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “A Rose for Emily” is a mysterious and unusual short story. William Faulkner creates a character, Miss Emily Grierson, who is so significant to the town that she is referred to as a “fallen monument” after her death. Miss Emily is an eccentric character, and although she physically changes, her character nor her personality do. Miss Emily is a static character, with internal conflicts, and has odd relationships with her boyfriend and husband. For instance, Miss Emily kept her late father's body and refused to give him up, showing an inability to let go. She keeps his body because she also does not want to be isolated, even though she avoids interaction by staying in her home. Miss Emily's isolation is external with society and also resonates…

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a surprising short story that begins with the funeral of the main character, Emily Grierson. Faulkner uses an anonymous narrator that is considered to be the voice of “the town” and tells the story out of chronological order. The story basically uses the life of Emily Grierson as a symbol for the changes in the South after the Civil War. Faulkner illustrates the South through the use of a series of symbols, such as Emily’s house, hair, and even Emily’s “rose”.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this paper, the story of William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily”, I will illustrate how Emily Grierson was living in the past. Firstly, in the beginning of the story, the author’s detailed characterization foreshadowed the irony at the ending of the story. Secondly, Emily’s whole life and faith was controlled and twisted by her father’s selfishness and when her father died, she refused to give up her father’s dead body. Thirdly, she ignored all the public notice and tax collection that was sent to her. Fourthly, she turned her affection and desire to possess Homer that leads him to his death. Finally, the story that started the end of Miss Emily Grierson life was unfolded and the author suggests that Emily’s…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner includes multiple situations to foreshadow the short story’s ending when Homer Barron’s decomposed corpse is discovered. Faulkner makes it very clear to readers as the short story progresses, by addressing the smell, the poison, and Homer’s disappearance that foreshadow to the discovery of his body in Emily’s house.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is the life story of Miss Emily Grierson. A woman whose life is fraught with tragedy and grief. Strategically told out of order, Miss Emily’s life draws us in, beginning with the end of her life and the opening of her house to the curious townspeople. The “scrambled” telling of this story serves several purposes in enhancing the story’s interest and depth.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “A Rose for Emily” is a story with many different literally devices. Faulkner’s story is very complex and strange. The use of symbolism, point of view and Southern Gothic literature helps the…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Faulkner is the author of the Nobel prize winning short story, “A Rose for Emily.” The story takes place in the nineteenth century in Jefferson, Mississippi, and the theme of the underlying American story is resistance to change. It is a challenge to the readers to understand that this story portrays to be a horror, yet it leaves the readers with a vague feeling of what anyone person would feel during the loss of a loved one. In this story, William Faulkner uses instances of foreshadowing with Miss Emily’s insanity in her refusal to pay taxes or to put up her mailbox numbers, in not accepting the death of her father, and in buying the poison and toiletries for Mr. Homer…

    • 1059 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the short story, “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner establishes depth in characters and scenes by using long, descriptive lists. Faulkner also uses point of view to express his feelings of sympathy for Miss Emily. Faulkner juxtaposes past events with present ones, jumping from one time period to another, to tie the scenes together.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rose for Emily

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the short story “A rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, it starts off with the unknown narrator explaining Miss Emily’s funeral and why the townspeople actually attended. From this the reader learns what type of character Miss Emily is. She does not like change and cannot handle denial. Her family’s name and the way she was bought up by her father is the explanation for this. Throughout the story the reader realizes how respected her family was and what lengths Miss Emily is willing to go to keep the man she loves by her side. The allegory in a rose for Emily would be the townspeople and Miss Emily. Miss Emily is stuck in the past and the town treats her as if nothing has changed. Miss Emily being so isolated in her home shows her unwillingness to accept that the South is changing even when the influences of the North are taking over. The new generation with their new ideas tried to change the ways of Miss Emily but failed. When they demanded taxes, she refused to pay, and she won. This is symbolic of Miss Emily’s efforts to keep the South’s culture alive. The conflict in this short story is internal. Miss Emily cannot understand the idea of death. When Miss Emily’s father dies she refuses to believe it. She also suffers a lot when denied because as soon as she thought her boyfriend, Homer Barron, would leave her she bought poison, the arsenic, and he disappeared. She killed him to make sure that he would never leave. The arsenic was a symbol of getting rid of something. It is used to “kill anything up to an elephant” (4) and for Miss Emily is was used to end Homer Barron’s life. Homer Barron is a FOIL character because he is constantly around Miss Emily giving her the impression that he wants to be with her and because of that Miss Emily falls in love with him. Miss Emily is an indirect character because we cannot understand her. For example, she wants to be by herself which is why she is never seen outside her house but she longs for a partner in life and when…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, is a story describing the ways of Emily, a woman who is an extreme introvert. The story revolves around death and how eminent and powerful it is that it controlled the story from start until the end. Emily wanted to conquer death by denying the fact that the person is truly not dead, as seen when her father died and she didn’t want to accept that he is dead. She also tried to conquer death by killing Homer in the sense that she thought death would enable her to have full control over Homer. She was a fool to believe in such lunacy. But in the end, death became a dear friend to Emily. Death is her only companion and the only thing that approved of her in all ways.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Grierson Imagery

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Most of the time authors utilize symbolism as an approach to speak to the intangible characteristics of the characters, spots, and occasions in their work. Imagery demonstrates a few things in a story. In "A Rose for Emily" Faulkner utilizes imagery to characterize and describe Emily Grierson. There are numerous images in this story every one has a unique purpose to be controlled by the reader. Accordingly every time the story is read it can understood in another way, which will make this story go on for generations to come. The title "A Rose for Emily" holds a ton of symbolism in itself. It symbolizes a blessing to Emily Grierson. Emily was cherished by her group maybe this rose is a gift of adoration from the town who saw Emily as a "fallen monument”(83), and offered her a rose as an image of adoration and a token of their love and profound respect for her. Miss Emily's home is also a vital symbol in this story. All in all, old family homes are frequently huge images in Gothic writing. For a large portion of the story, there are similar to the townspeople, just to see Miss Emily's home from the outside looking…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays