A Rose For Emily Character Analysis

Emily Rose was the town's nutcase. The town's people always had some gossip to spread about her, but never knew the real Emily. She was a mysterious woman who only exposed herself to the few who were worthy, but was a hot commodity in the town. In "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, the characters,plot and setting strengthen the eeriness yet comical short story. Thecharacter in the story are not deemed "normal." Emily Rose exuded strange characteristics which were shown through her actions throughout the story. Emily was a lonely woman who did not want any company other than her servant. After her father and her sweetheart died, Emily became reclusive and spoke to no one, most likely caused by her father's doing. It was believed she was lonely, "We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will." Her father drove away all aspects of a social life for Emily which could be a contributor to the "strange" character she plays. Emily herself has stated abnormal things, like when she asked for the poison from the doctor, she simply stared at him until he would give her what she wanted. The action of silently staring is not considered a "normal" action, which only enforces the peculiar personality Emily holds. Emily Rose's character aids in contributing to the eeriness of the plot, with her strange characteristics and actions throughout the story. Homer Barron

Get more content

An Analysis of A Rose for Emily

During the period of Modernism, artists portrayed corruption and rebellion in their pieces rather than having a sense of order and tradition. Similarly, they strived to show rejection of conservative values acting as the practical depiction of the world. A portrayal of someone showing untraditional acts is reflected in William Faulkner's short story, "a Rose for Emily." The Protagonist rebels from tradition and takes unexpected actions. As she is left all alone with no one but her servant, she ultimately loses sanity. By describing Emily's strange choices she takes, the author illustrates the main characters corruption to herself and the town. Through imagery, he uses Isolationism to show how it leads to abnormal acts. ...show more content...

After her father's death Emily ultimately acts like nothing even happened. For when they tried to go to her house "Miss Emily met them at the door with no grief on her face. She told them her father was not dead."(p. 302) Even though Emily is completely alone, she still pretends like her father is still alive and well. To add on to Emily showing no sign of her fathers death, she makes some odd choices soon after. The townspeople said, "Presently we would begin to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow–wheeled buggy and the matched team of bays from the livery stable. At first we were glad that Miss Emily would have an interest, because the ladies all said, "of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner"(p 302) Emily now not even having her father, starts seeing a "Yankee" and the town feels shock on her choice of such a different man. Miss Emily's lack of grief as she pretends her father never died, and her choice to go after a northerner after her father's death shows how being alone leads to Miss Emily's odd

Get more content

A Rose for Emily William Faulkner's, A Rose for Emily, is an account from an eye witness' perspective of the life and dilemma of a noble woman belonging to the bankrupt aristocratic family in the late nineteenth century. It's a tale of a woman who due to her seclusion at the hands of her father and severe critique by the society turns into a mentally unstable person. The character of Emily is intriguing in its stubbornness of defying the changes around her. She is set in her ways and unwilling to let go of pride that comes with her family name even though the readers are informed at the very start of the narrative that she is left with nothing other than the house by her father. It is an empty pride she carries around her and a reason...show more content...

Samuel explains this shift of wealth, "For centuries, even millennia, being rich depended on one thing; owning land. In nineteenth century, however, industry emerged as a prime way to get rich." (7) In A Rose for Emily, this boom of industrialization is depicted in what sounds like disgust, "Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps–an eyesore among eyesores." And the failure of previously rich as, "But garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood–". A Path for Progress. Industrialization brought a series of development that laid the foundations for America's progress. An article from Gale Database on 1878–1899: Lifestyles, Social Trends, and Fashion: Overview describes it as a time when, Homeowners in cities and suburbs were introduced to running water, gas, electricity, and sewer systems. Public places such as schools, stores, restaurants, and government offices were the first lighted by electricity, a service that became increasingly available in the 1890s. The story, A Rose for Emily, mentions these changes more than once for example, "The town had just let the contracts for paving the sidewalks" and "When the town got free postal delivery–" Along with the infra–structures the legislations were reformed. In an article, The Development of Industrial United States the need for change in