Preview

A rose for emily: story vs. film

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1561 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A rose for emily: story vs. film
One Way Or Another

William Faulkner’s short story, A Rose for Emily, is a dark tale of a young girl damaged by her father that ended up leaving her with abandonment issues. Placed in the south in the 1930’s, the traditional old south was beginning to go under transition. It went from being traditionally based on agriculture and slavery to gradually moving into industrial and abolition. Most families went smoothly into the transition and others, like the Griersons, did not. Keeping with southern tradition, the Griersons thought of themselves as much higher class then the rest of their community. Emily’s father found no male suitable for his daughter and kept her single into her thirties. After her fathers death Miss Emily was swept off of her feet by a foreman from the north, named Homer Barron. After spending some time with each other, Emily knew he was the one. Even if Homer wanted to leave, Emily was not going to let another man escape from her life. The story A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, was adapted in 1983 by Lyndon Chabbak; the film left out added emphasis on southern gothic features that add to the traditional elements in the story.
When Emily Griersons father passes away, Colonel Sartoris claimed that the Griersons would not have to pay taxes any more for her father gave the town a great sum of money and this was the Colonels way of repaying him. The narrator said, “Colonel Sartoris invented an involved tale to the effect that Miss Emily's father had loaned money to the town, which the town, as a matter of business, preferred this way of repaying. Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it.” (Faulkner I). Only a man from the Colonel’s generation could have made up a rule like that because they did not have very much regulation back then. Women were still looked at as inferior to men and they needed to be taken care of. Emily’s father left her with nothing so she had no

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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “A rose for Emily” is a short story about the last member of her family, and her very old father. The story was published in 1930, by a very well respected author, William Faulkner. When Emily’s father dies, she is completely heartbroken and denies that he is really dead.…

    • 62 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
  • Better Essays

    The setting of “A Rose for Emily” is a town made up by Faulkner. It takes place in Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi. It takes place at the county seat of Jefferson. While Faulkner made up the actual town, it can be seen as a typical town in the south around the mid to late eighteen hundreds through the mid nineteen hundreds. This story focuses on the end of the slavery era and the confusion that ensued when that all ended. It also looks at the future generations and how they dealt with the way of life that existed before they were in…

    • 2498 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better 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 tragic story of a young women who was denied the privilege to love and be loved at young age. The author, William Faulkner, was born and raised in Mississippi at the turn of the century. Faulkner is known as one of the 20th century’s best writers. “The man himself never stood taller than five feet, six inches tall, but in the realm of American literature, William Faulkner is a giant” (“William Faulkner”). In the short story A Rose for Emily, Faulkner ties the story together through setting, foreshadowing, symbolism, and most importantly the characters.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When William Faulkner wrote “A Rose for Emily” the South found itself in a position of confusion. After the Civil War the economy was in a decline and Southerners were forced to question their ways of life and moral standards. Faulkner uses the life of a grim, southern lady to examine the tensions between the North and South and how he believed that it would be the ultimate downfall of the entire nation. As the main character Miss Emily struggles to break free from her upbringing, death and desperation control her life. Eventually she would use arsenic to kill her lover, showing a violent and psychotic side of the southern facade. Faulkner describes large scale issues by telling an ominous story…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The short story “A rose for Emily” published in 1930 by William Faulkner focuses on the life of Emily Grierson, a woman who is from a rich family and, now has to deal with her loneliness after her father’s death. Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a complex and dark story that keeps readers guessing and intrigued by Faulkner’s abundant use of literally elements. Faulkner’s use of symbolism in the story is used to enhance the plot and create meaning. The point of view by the use of the unnamed narrator in “A Rose for Emily” makes readers question the identity of the speaker. "A Rose for Emily" recalls the terms of Southern gothic literature that sets the tone of the story as gloomy and grotesque.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily is about a poor and unfortunate woman, named Emily, who leads a very personal and lonely life. The theme and story revolves around the secret life of Emily Grierson. The story takes place in the South and reflects the attitudes and lifestyle of the old South.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The main character, Emily Grierson, in Williams Faulkner’s story, “A Rose for Emily”, is a proud southern woman that displays strange behavior around her town. Throughout the story the behavior of Emily Grierson is mysterious and undergoes through a lot of tragedies. While living with her father she was not allowed to date any man because for the eyes of her father all men weren’t good enough for her. Her father rules her every move and keeps Emily isolated from the public. The story takes place during the Civil War, so in that time women were to be married at a young age. After her father’s death, Emily became more isolated and mentally unstable. Emily is a very spoiled women, she is determined to get exactly what she wants whenever she wants and at which ever cost It is.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Griersons have prospered and built a fine home on the most select street in Jefferson, Mississippi”.In the short story “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner tells a story of a tragedy about a lady who grows up in a rich and powerful family, and then ends up poor and trapped in her old ways There is more than one cause for Miss Emily’s tragedy.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Faulkner’s memorable short story, “A Rose For Emily”, the main character, Emily Grierson, is very complex and not easily forgotten. In order to fully grasp and comprehend her character traits, we also have to take into consideration her way of life and other external factors that contributed to her character. First and foremost, she embodies the pre-war tradition of the South and this makes her very averse to change. Miss Emily is also a possessive and insecure person who becomes a recluse in the later years of her life, and throughout the development of the story, she is presented to us as a character who is slightly insane. In addition, due to the way she has been brought up, she is a very arrogant woman with a great amount of dignity.…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Grierson Influence

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The writer Faulkner and his influence in Southern writing prompted him to write the story of “A Rose for Emily.” Therefore, this setting takes place in the deep south of Mississippi during the Post Civil War days in a small town named Jefferson. Setting his story in this geographic area gives the reader a better understanding and background of the characters values and beliefs in the setting of Southern culture during this time…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Grierson's Death

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages

    "Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition," the narrator of William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily” tells us. To the people of Jefferson, Miss Emily is a figure of awe and source of fascinating stories. Within this short story, Faulkner explores the life and death of an eccentric, stubborn and traditionally minded woman who refuses to change with the times and embrace the early twentieth century. The character of Emily Grierson is a symbol of tradition and tradition's struggle against the influence of the future.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays