Faulkner’s “Rose For Emily” Essay, Research Paper

Faulkner?s ?A Rose for Emily?

?A Rose for Emily? is one of William Faulkner?s famous stories. The antagonist of it is Miss Emily Grierson, which was forced by her dominating and repressive father to grow up alone. She was raised to adhere to a certain standards. So, she stocked with the old south?s rules. Miss Emily was raised with the belief that no man was suitable for her. And her father is the cause of her superior feeling. After her father?s death, she wanted to live her life her way, but every body in the town including the authorities make her feel that her life of living is unacceptable, and that based on old south and new south traditions and beliefs. Her relation ship with the Colonel Sartoris to make her exempt from paying taxes is suspicious. But, he did not realize that once he is gone, there would be some one else to put her in the right track. Miss Emily tried to do some changes in her life when Homer showed up. But her feeling of loosing him made her start with a plan that kept him close until her death.

Many analysts give attention to the story since the first time published. Petry mentioned two reasons for making ?A Rose for Emily? a special. First, the disordered chronology, Second the end of the story which is definitely a shocking ending to every reader. So we can see how the narrator starts off telling that Miss Emily was dead and everyone in the town went to her funeral. Then, he went back to tell about Emily?s life, which ended by killing Homer and keeping his body in the ?bridal bed.? (52-54)

Loneliness can be a terrible thing to prey on someone?s mind. Apparently no man was good enough for Emily, that why she never got married and was by self Her father gone and now she is alone, even though she still have Tobe to help her with the market and other chores. Then, the foreman Homer Barron showed up in her life. He was sent by the Construction Company to pave the sidewalks. But, his job did not finish there. He is the only one left, a northerner that would love her despite of all the southerners who were scared of her weird family. Truly, Homer can not give her what she is looking for neither did her father. The need for companionship is the basis of courting Homer Barron. When the work finished and Homer left town, Miss Emily was once again alone. And the insanity began to set in. Even though her cousins stay with her for a short while, this is not what Emily wants. When Homer came back, her chance for everlasting companionship was available. So, she killed him to secure the fact that she will always have him by her side, and she will never be alone again. Blythe think that the most provocative aspect in the story is the motive in killing Homer Barron. And he suggested that homosexuality is the reason for Emily to poison him. Homer himself said that he only like men, and whether this means he is gay as his last name would imply, or he simply is just like to be around men, he will not settle down. Emily could not stand the thought of loosing another man; she wanted to save face, her pride, and loneliness (49-50). In the other hand, Wallace mentioned in one of his articles that he denied the knowing that Homer Barron is a gay, because he is wandering how the narrator know all of the details in the story. Beside that, he did not get to write about Emily until fifty years passed, which will make every thing he says is suspect. The narrator just wants to trap us (105-107).

Miss Emily is a southern lady. She was raised to adhere to certain standards by stocking to the old south?s rules. She locked herself in her house and refused to see any one but her servant. She represents the past south (a fallen monument). In the story we can see how Miss Emily tried her best to keep the southern tradition, she write on ?note paper of an archaic shape? in ?faded ink.? After her father?s death, she kept him for three days maybe because he was the only symbol of the south that left for her. She told the tax collectors to go and ask Colonel Sartoris to explain why she is exempt. Even though, he had died long time ago (Kurtz). By looking at Schwae work in analyzing ?Rose for Emily?, we see that he think the watch in the golden chain is the symbol of time. It is in her pocket and not pinned to her, so she can have a total control of time. She thinks that any changing in time will involve a loss. The loud sound of watch ticking will never let her forget about her duty to stop time and stay in the past (512-517).

In the story we noticed that there was an unclear relationship between Miss Emily and all men that the narrator mentioned. As Curry says we do not know exactly what happened after the Baptist minister visited her (397-402). Even the Negro manservant who lived with Miss Emily left. There was something needs to be cleared about his leaving the scene after some curious lady came to visit. Carry thinks that Tobe has some important information, but since he was an African-American, the narrator considered his information insignificant (397-402). Even though Tobe is minor character in the story, he might be the one who killed Homer to protect Miss Emily from further humiliation that started when her father was alive. Pretty much any idea is possible since the author did not give clues to the death of either man.

I feel sad about Miss Emily; every thing in her life was not fair. Is it her problem to have a measurable life as a child? Is it her fault to have maybe a mentally sick father? I think Miss Emily is a victim of her society. I do not blame her, because I really can not feel what she went through. Even the narrator is not close enough to her to explain exactly how she feels. Her life was translated by others feelings and from their point of view. Her life is going to stay as a mystery.