ipl-logo

The Theme Of Isolation In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

575 Words3 Pages

In "A Rose For Emily" William Faulkner discusses the theme of isolation. In the story there is a lady whose name is Emily, who lost her father. Emily 's father was over protective and strict. A foreman named Homer Barron had a relationship with Emily later on after her father died. One day Homer goes to Emily 's house and the town never sees him come out. Emily then became even more isolated after that. Emily Grierson is so stubborn and unwillingness to accept change and keeps herself isolated. First of all, Emily 's relationship with her father was not the best. Her father cut her off from all social contact and courtship which ruined her life, "that quality of her father which had thwarted her woman 's life so many times" (Faulkner,38). So that there meant she was isolated by her father. She was not able to talk to guys and could not da ate either. When her father past away and was buried her isolation was more noticeable, "after her father 's death she went out very little" (Faulkner,34). At first Emily was not willing to accept that her father was dead, "she told them that her father was not dead" (Faulkner,36) and Emily did that for three days. After they buried her father, she was sick for …show more content…

Furthermore, the community also proves the isolation of Emily and her unwillingness to accept change. When Emily 's father died, she did not have to pay taxes. Emily was left alone with only a house but no money from her father. The town felt sorry for her, only for awhile. As years went by, the newer generation wanted Miss Emily to start paying for the taxes but she refused. Some would think that she isolated herself from the community so that she wouldn 't have to pay taxes. Another example is with the postal delivery, "when the town got free postal delivery, Miss Emily alone refused" (Faulkner,38). Emily seems like she did not want anything to do with the community, "she is out of touch with the reality that constantly threatens to break through her" (SparkNotes

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Emily's Mental Deterioration

    563 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emily’s Mental Deterioration After getting over the initial shock of finding out that the mysterious woman that everyone was talking about was going to sleep each night with a decaying body next to her, it makes sense for the reader to question her mental state. If the reader took a closer look at the town’s description of her, they will realize that as time went on, Emily’s will power began to deteriorate. When she was young, she was the topic of everybody’s conversation, however, she did not let that bother her and walked down the streets with her head held high. Emily took over the old house after her father’s death and kept a few servants around to keep the house tidy, nonetheless, the outside of the house was not kept in the best of conditions.

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Character Analysis Essay

    926 Words  | 4 Pages

    Just as they were about to resort to law and force she breaks down and buried her father quickly.” (Faulkner 453) Miss Emily tries to keep her father’s body so she isn’t left lonely. She tries to keep him until the townspeople basically force her to bury him. The second reason Miss Emily may be crazy and mentally ill is because she kills Homer Baron.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Mental Illness In A Soldier's Home

    1008 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since Emily is so off from the world, this makes the understanding of what she is dealing with even harder. If she was more outspoken with the people of the town, rumors would have not grown about her, and caused even more

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast A Rose For Emily And A Good Man Is Hard To Find

    1094 Words  | 5 Pages

    Not only that, as Homer becomes a popular figure in town and is seen taking Emily on buggy rides on Sunday afternoons, it scandalizes the town and increases the condescension and pity they have for Emily. They feel that she is forgetting her family pride and becoming involved with a man beneath her station. Even though Emily is from the high class family, it does not mean that she is living up to the pleasant lifestyle. As a matter of fact, she is actually living a gloomy and desolate life, which is essentially the opposite lifestyle expected for Emily's rank in society by the townspeople. Although Emily once represented a great southern tradition centering on the landed gentry with their vast holdings and considerable resources, Emily's legacy has devolved, making her more a duty and an obligation than a romanticized vestige of a dying order.

    Read More

  • Suspense In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    806 Words  | 4 Pages

    Telling the story in an irregular order, Faulkner develops a sense of suspense by adding details to the mysterious Miss Emily. “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care: a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (451). The reader learns that Miss Emily had been seen as an eccentric woman that the people of the town had to take care of and overlook, ultimately overlooking her as a suspect in Homer Barron’s disappearance. Miss Emily often disappears into her house for months and years at a time,

    Read More

  • The Role Of Conformity In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    716 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because her family was prominent in the town of Jefferson, Emily Grierson was watched her entire life and wondered about by everyone. The townspeople had a lot to do with Emily’s changing mental condition because they constantly gossiped about everything that happened in her life. It generally

    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

  • Miss Emily Grierson And Trifles: The Act Of Two Murders

    1217 Words  | 5 Pages

    Connor Coupanger English 102 Prof L.H. Roberts February 15, 2018 The Act of Two Murders In the short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, and the drama “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, the authors created two female protagonists “Miss Emily Grierson” and “Mrs. Minnie Wright” their stories are both about woman and murder. In Trifles, Mrs. Wright has been arrested and investigated for suspected murder of her husband. Miss Emily in Faulkner 's story, kills a man who she was dating.

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Isolation Analysis

    1189 Words  | 5 Pages

    The narrator focuses a lot on Emily Grierson after her death. The narrator said multiple times they believed she wasn’t crazy. However, their actions proved to show the opposite. Emily’s father played a role in her isolation.

    Read More

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

    960 Words  | 4 Pages

    After Emily’s father passes away, she begins to live life on her own terms. It is evident that she seeks power because her father limited her from having any. Emily disregards the law by not paying taxes, she does not allow numbers

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And A Rose For Emily

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is clear that in her era, Miss Emily was seen as traditional American Southern women, who lived to become an inferior women to man but was later a burden to her society. She was a lady who was secluded from society, lived a psychopathic life, which at the end, and was no secret for the town’s people. While Miss Emily was alive, she lived in a secluded home of a single father, thus leading her to be dependent upon him. She did not have much of a socially engaged life, for her father drove men away. When he finally died, Miss Emily told the townspeople that he was not dead, and finally, on the third day, let the town’s people buried him (William Faulkner 1105).

    Read More

  • Change In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    925 Words  | 4 Pages

    Emily kept her house the same way it had always been and was letting it decay while she stayed in it. She refused to clean or change the house at all to preserve it in the Old South. She did not want to accept the death of other people. When Emily’s father died, she refused the town from taking his body and burying it. She wanted to keep her father’s body with her and the town was “about to use law and force, but she broke down, and they buried her father quickly” (453).

    Read More

  • Literary Devices In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    I love William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” It contains literary devices that Faulkner uses to make the short story perfect. The three literary devices that Faulkner uses are symbolism, setting and point of view. These three literary devices are what makes it an enjoyable story to read.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast A Rose For Emily And Miss Brill

    767 Words  | 4 Pages

    Miss Brill & A Rose for Emily In the story “Miss Brill” and “A Rose for Emily” the two protagonists face the challenge of isolation. Emily and Miss Brill are living very different lives, but share the same characteristics. The difference between these women is that they deal with their isolation in different ways. Both women have trouble with happiness and the cant accept the change that is going on their lives.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Emily Grierson

    793 Words  | 4 Pages

    From a very young age, she found herself being confined in her home with her father and their butler. There is no mention of her mother, so one can only assume that the mother was absent in Emily’s life. Emily’s father isolated Emily away from the outside world, thinking that no one would ever be good enough for her. This is where the reader begins to see the dependent and possessive nature. Being that she was sheltered away from the outside world, she had no friends, thus becoming dependent on her father.

    Read More

More about The Theme Of Isolation In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

Open Document