A Rose For Emily Analysis
Denial of Self and its role in William Faulkner’s
A Rose for Emily
Refusal to change is the underlying theme of A Rose for Emily, a short story written by William Faulkner. This paper serves as an in-depth examination of how the main character, Emily Grierson, correlates with society. This tale is also about a woman who had been set aside for a remarkably long time, with the domineering nature of her father causing her to believe herself as unwanted and estranged from society. William Faulkner utilizes setting, character development, and other stylistic devices to express the mystery of Emily and the dark curiosity the people have about her. A Rose for Emily doesn’t fit the outline of a traditional narrative, which has the beginning, middle and end. In this story, the tale really begins with the funeral of the main character, Emily, who was an “aristocratic” woman very much admired by her community. After finding out that Emily had died, Faulkner keeps the reader involved by recounting the words of others in the story, who speak of how they feel of Emily’s death and how they remember her. Also unlike a traditional narrative, the time period shifts periodically. The first shift is to a few years before her death, specifically to the event of the mayor reminding her about her unpaid taxes. Emily rejected them arrogantly and told the mayor he should speak to a man named Colonel Sartorius. The truth of the matter, however, is that Colonel Sartorius has been long deceased.
The second times shift takes the reader to another time-period, to when Emily’s father was still alive. This time shift shows how their status as rich southern aristocrats was overturned due to the Civil War. Despite the fact that they were no longer rich, both Emily and her father remained proud. They even declined every man who had courted Emily to pursue a relationship with her or marry her. (This was most likely to hide the fact that they weren’t the rich family they made themselves
A Rose for Emily
Refusal to change is the underlying theme of A Rose for Emily, a short story written by William Faulkner. This paper serves as an in-depth examination of how the main character, Emily Grierson, correlates with society. This tale is also about a woman who had been set aside for a remarkably long time, with the domineering nature of her father causing her to believe herself as unwanted and estranged from society. William Faulkner utilizes setting, character development, and other stylistic devices to express the mystery of Emily and the dark curiosity the people have about her. A Rose for Emily doesn’t fit the outline of a traditional narrative, which has the beginning, middle and end. In this story, the tale really begins with the funeral of the main character, Emily, who was an “aristocratic” woman very much admired by her community. After finding out that Emily had died, Faulkner keeps the reader involved by recounting the words of others in the story, who speak of how they feel of Emily’s death and how they remember her. Also unlike a traditional narrative, the time period shifts periodically. The first shift is to a few years before her death, specifically to the event of the mayor reminding her about her unpaid taxes. Emily rejected them arrogantly and told the mayor he should speak to a man named Colonel Sartorius. The truth of the matter, however, is that Colonel Sartorius has been long deceased.
The second times shift takes the reader to another time-period, to when Emily’s father was still alive. This time shift shows how their status as rich southern aristocrats was overturned due to the Civil War. Despite the fact that they were no longer rich, both Emily and her father remained proud. They even declined every man who had courted Emily to pursue a relationship with her or marry her. (This was most likely to hide the fact that they weren’t the rich family they made themselves