Dust In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

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In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, the accumulation of dust in Miss Emily’s house reinforces her static and perverse character. The townspeople describe Emily’s house as full of “dust and shadows” (105), “lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps – an eyesore among eyesores” (98) for generations after generations. The house’s poor, dust-filled condition symbolizes its owner’s unflinching denial to new changes. Furthermore, the loss of her father drives Emily to act on her tenacious impulse to forestall time. Emily stubbornly holds onto her father’s body for three days, repeatedly claiming that “[he] was not dead” (101). Robbed of joy by Mr.Grierson, Emily resolves to “cling to that which

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