ipl-logo

A Rose For Emily Literary Analysis Essay

864 Words4 Pages

Mackenzie Miller Mrs. Keeling English 101 January 15th 2018 “A Rose for Emily” Literary Analysis William Faulkner was a 1900’s author. His novels and short stories were set in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional county based in Mississippi. In one of his stories “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner displayed several examples of an literary analysis. In the story Emily Grierson has recently passed away. The narrator begins to recall a time about thirty years earlier when after her father died, Emily had a mental breakdown and refused to acknowledge his death. Later on Homer Barron comes into town with his crew to build sidewalks and she falls in love. However, when it comes time for him to leave town, she does something to make sure he’ll never leave her. She goes to buy some arsenic and when questioned what its for she claims it’s for rats. So one night Homer enters the Grierson house and is never to be seen again. Many years later after Emily has died, they find …show more content…

The three stages of a rose’s life can represent different parts of Emily’s. The budding stage of the rose represents Emily when her father was still alive. Her father cuts her off from most social contact leaving him as all she knows. When he dies she refuses to accept it as he is the only one she has. The rose in full bloom represents her time with Homer Barron. After her father died and once the town sees her again Faulkner writes that she looks as if “a vague resemblance to those as angels in colored church windows.” She’s in her prime and she starts her affair with Homer Barron. She murders him as it comes time for him to leave in order for the two to stay together forever. Lastly the dying stage of the rose represents Emily in her older age. Emily gaining weight in her old age and her hair turning gray and hardly ever opening her doors. This which led up to her death. In all the symbolism of the rose being very important to the

Show More
Related

  • A Rose For Emily Character Analysis Essay

    926 Words  | 4 Pages

    Faulkner says, Emily buys Arsenic from the druggist and the next day Homer is seen entering her home and that was the last time anyone ever saw him or Emily for some time. No one but the negro servant left the house. (Faulkner 455) Emily kills Homer because she doesn’t want him to leave her. If he’s dead, he can’t run

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ambiguity In A Rose For Emily

    546 Words  | 3 Pages

    Paloma Cerda Mrs. Koehler ENGL-1301-566 September 20, 2017 In A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, the story of Miss Emily is told through a very loose format. Through this narration, there is a long and drawn out suspense built up through little hints left by the reader without fully giving away the dark truth behind Emily and her house. Until the end of the story, the narrators ambiguity cleverly points the reader towards the climax of the story where Emily is discovered to be Homer Barron’s killer. This ambiguous element is important to the quality of this short story as it drives it forward and keeps the reader interested.

    Read More

  • Suspense In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    806 Words  | 4 Pages

    “A Rose for Emily” is a dark, suspenseful Gothic tale in which a young girl is put on a pedestal by a town who sees her as haughty and scornful. Miss Emily Grierson’s father controls her and her love life, pushing away all people until he dies and Emily is left alone. As her life goes on the townspeople watch her and judge Emily, almost turning her life into a spectacle to be talked about. At her death, a gruesome sight is unfolded when her lover of over forty years ago is found decomposed in her upstairs room. William Faulkner effectively builds epic suspense in “A Rose for Emily” by the unchronological order of the story, the treatment of Emily’s father towards her, and her family’s history of mental illness.

    Read More

  • Rose For Emily Obsession

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    The value of romance and mortality resembles the theme of obsession, and is shown throughout the plots, and the characters in, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Birth Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Firstly, Faulkner illustrates obsession of romance through mortality. In addition, Emily’s obsessive illness of love over death it often seen throughout the plot. Lastly, Hawthorne demonstrates the obsession of mortality thorough romance, through the main protagonist, Aylmer in “The Birth Mark.” To compare, Emily and Aylmer believe their obsessive consequences was from the heart, despite their obsessive disorders.

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Southern Gothic Analysis

    691 Words  | 3 Pages

    The town's clergy now send people to spray for a horrible smell that is coming threw her home. Months go on after that, and all they see is the old Negro coming through the door. We can make the assumption that Emily no longer has the desire for other human contact and wants to stay in the "old southern times. " After much time has passed, the entire town goes to check on Ms. Emily. When they get the door open, we see the old Negro walk out the door and never turn around.

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Isolation Analysis

    1189 Words  | 5 Pages

    In William Faulkner’s short story, A Rose for Emily, Emily Grierson, a prominent member of her small town, dies alone in her home. Upon her death, curious townsfolk entered her home trying to learn her secrets. It was thought she was crazy. Emily Grierson was not crazy; she was isolated by her father, which led to her odd social tendencies and unique interactions with others. A Rose for Emily is a short story based in a small town.

    Read More

  • Historical Context In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    543 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” the historical context is important to understand. In order to fully comprehend the short story there must be some sort of understanding about the time period in which the story took place. This short story took place in the 18th/19th century during and after the Civil War in the South. In “A Rose for Emily” the historical context shows the social, economic, and the cultural environment of the background. Miss Emily was born during the Civil War.

    Read More

  • Love And In Death In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    960 Words  | 4 Pages

    He also shows the relationship between Emily and her dead father and how Emily cannot let go of people that show a love interest in her or the people who look after her in that she must be attached to them even after death. Faulkner depicts an Emily that was once young and vibrant, who maintained the Grierson home and kept it in a pristine condition. Faulkner relays to readers that because Emily was unable to control her own destiny and was powerless under her father’s hand, she became a recluse and ultimately went into a downward spiral. After sensing and believing that her first real love will leave her, Emily purchases arsenic and it is believed that she will kill herself because there is no point in living if no one will love her

    Read More

  • Racism In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    1055 Words  | 5 Pages

    William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” critiques the American South Describing Emily’s vibrant life full of hope and buoyancy, later shrouded into the profound mystery, Faulkner emphasizes her denial to accept the concept of death. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” takes place in the South during the transitional time period from the racial discrimination to the core political change of racial equality. Starting from the description of her death, “A Rose for Emily” tells the story about the lady who is the last in her generation (Emily Grierson). Being strong, proud and a traditional lady of southern aristocracy, Emily turns into an evil, unpredictable and mysterious old lady after the death of her father. Even though “A Rose for Emily”

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And A Rose For Emily

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    She lived in an isolated world after her father’s death. Finally, she meets Homer; Homer was a man who knew what he wanted in life, and Miss Emily was not part of it. This drove Miss Emily to do the unthinkable, and she bought rat poison and killed Homer. Years passed, and no one knew that Miss Emily killed Homer and had him lying in the upstairs bed dead. It was intel her death that the towns people realized that miss Emily had become mentally ill with the death of her father and

    Read More

  • Examples Of Suspense In A Rose For Emily

    710 Words  | 3 Pages

    “A Rose for Emily” is a unique short story that keeps the reader guessing even though its first sentence already reveals the majority of the content. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is the epitome of a work that follows an unconventional plot structure and a non-linear timeline, but this method of organization is intentional, as it creates suspense throughout the story. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” follows an unusual plot structure, which creates an eccentric application of suspense to a short story. Throughout the story, there are no clear indications of standard plot structure in each section, such as intro, climax, and denouement. Instead, there are sections, which are not in chronological order, that describe a particular conflict or event, which in turn creates suspense, as each conflict builds upon each other to make the reader question the overall context and organization of the story.

    Read More

  • Themes in A Rose For Emily And The Birth Mark By William Faulkner

    1009 Words  | 5 Pages

    To compare, Faulkner shares a slice of evidence as to why Emily has an uncontrollable obsession for the dead, “After her father 's death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all.” (Faulkner) Given these points, her father becomes arrogant and isolates her from society, or anyone who is willing to take Miss Emily from him. When her father, the only man in the world who has loved her,

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Character Analysis

    1246 Words  | 5 Pages

    Emily Grierson is from the story "A Rose for Emily"and is the main character. In a story, you usually have a protagonist which is the hero or main character of the story and also an antagonist which is pretty much the bad guy. Well in "A Rose for Emily," she is both protagonist and antagonist. Emily is qualified to be the antagonist because she murdered Homer Barron. Murder is quite a big deal and would definitely go under as being the bad guy.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Narrator In A Rose For Emily

    1141 Words  | 5 Pages

    I. To begin with, we will analyze section one and learn some background information. In the A Rose for Emily, the narrator is recalling Emily’s funeral by saying “…when Miss Emily Grierson died our whole town went to the funeral…” (Mays 629). The narrator talks about Emily’s house before when she was alive.

    Read More

  • Essay On Symbolism In A Rose For Emily

    1107 Words  | 5 Pages

    This is not the only meaning behind the rose due to different interpretations. The rose may represent Emily, just like the rose she was once beautiful and envied but also just like a rose she grew to be old and began to slowly die. In the scholar journal, "Who Arose for Emily?", written by Timothy O’Brien states the rose represents Emily and love. it once flourished just as Emily did before her father's death but just like the rose withering away she also did but mentally and emotionally. Also, just like the rose she died and was

    Read More

More about A Rose For Emily Literary Analysis Essay

Open Document