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Short Story Analysis: A Rose for Emily

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One of William Faulkner’s best short story of all time is “A Rose for Emily.” The story is a suspense and horror, that will leave readers in shock. Additionally, the story is in chronological order and cleverly broken down into five parts. The first part of the story is the current event that shows Emily’s funeral and the town people mourning. The other four part are pieces of puzzle that shows flash backs of Emily Grierson on how the everyone in town viewed her. The story revolves around a southern woman named Emily Grierson who is the protagonist of the story. The time period of the story happened roughly around late 19th to early 20th century. The setting took place in a fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi. The narrator of the story is the people around Emily, which is full of judgmental and gossipers. In the story the narrator describes how Emily change physically and mentally over the years. The character of Emily Grierson is very strange …show more content…

The conservative attitude of the people in the south was apparent throughout the story. Also, a hint of slavery and racism was also displayed on some parts of the story. “-he who fathered the edict that no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron-. “(Faulkner 299) Also, the use of negro word was widely use in every part of the story. Another old southern stereotype is the gossiping; the whole story is told from a gossiper point of view. In the old south, it is not polite to ask someone on what is going on with their life. For that reason, in order to figure out what is going on with your neighbor is to gossip. Unfortunately, the biggest stereotype for southerners is having a sexual relationship with a family member. This idea is what probably sparks Jack Scherting conclusion in his article Emily Grierson’s Oedipus complex; “Motif, Motive, and Meaning in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for

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