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A Rose For Emily Literary Devices

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In literature authors utilize a variety of literary devices to develop stories that have fascinated readers all over the world. These devices help various stories thrive as the reader reflects on the piece. In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the narrator tells the story of Miss Emily Grierson’s life and death in five sections. Through the use of literary devices such as foreshadowing and flashback the author helps capture the reader’s attention throughout this amazing story. “A Rose for Emily” is about the remarkable story of Miss Emily Grierson told in third person narration. Throughout the story the narrator describes events in the story that help the reader analyze Miss Emily’s life without mentioning what role they play in the …show more content…

The narrator transitions to section two by informing the reader of the how Miss Emily “vanquished” the Board of Alderman thirty years ago regarding the powerful smell coming from her house. Although the smell was disturbing, Miss Emily’s respectful reputation withheld them from confronting her. With the intention to get rid of the smell the townspeople decide to spread lime around her property. While mentioning this the narrator recalls the actions taken by Miss Emily after her father passed away. The narrator mentions,” …Miss Emily met them at the door, dressed as usual and with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead.” Miss Emily not wanting to accept her father’s death, decides to keep his corpse in her home. However, after three days the doctors convince her to bury him like they intended to do at first. As the reader analyzes the actions taken by Miss Emily, they can develop the idea that all of the events occurring throughout this short time have affected her mental capabilities. However, the narrator defends her actions by saying “We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that.” As the reader analyzes this they can see how the author is foreshadowing what Miss Emily’s mentality will be

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Both Emily and Robert are prematurely judged by the narrators in both stories, and the assumptions are so far fetched from the reality. Miss. Emily is perceived to be a lonely old woman, whom nobody ever spoke with. Since they never talk with her or learn anything about what is going on in her life, the townspeople begin to gossip to make up for this. They knew her father had driven away any man from becoming close to her, and they just thought to themselves, “ poor Emily” (32).

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Miss Emily’s father dies, she finds a suitor, and buys poison, then shuts herself and her

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In the short story “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner, Miss Emily Grierson has passed away, and the townspeople have gathered at her funeral to pay their respects to their fallen monument, Miss Emily. Miss Emily’s family was a part of the town for many years, and Miss Emily was the last of her family left alive. Miss Emily is described as a small, heavy woman who always looks bloated with small eyes that are difficult to see. The townspeople are afraid of Miss Emily, but throughout time, they begin to feel pity for her. Faulkner uses the characterization of Miss Emily to show how she represents the Old South, and uses the conflicts between Miss Emily and the town to show how the town represents the New South.

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“A Rose for Emily” is a unique short story that keeps the reader guessing even though its first sentence already reveals the majority of the content. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is the epitome of a work that follows an unconventional plot structure and a non-linear timeline, but this method of organization is intentional, as it creates suspense throughout the story. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” follows an unusual plot structure, which creates an eccentric application of suspense to a short story. Throughout the story, there are no clear indications of standard plot structure in each section, such as intro, climax, and denouement. Instead, there are sections, which are not in chronological order, that describe a particular conflict or event, which in turn creates suspense, as each conflict builds upon each other to make the reader question the overall context and organization of the story.

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1852 Words | 8 Pages

Throughout the story, the main character, Miss Emily Grierson, shows signs of what appears to be some form of mental illness. Although Faulkner never states that Miss Emily has anything wrong with her mental health, he does provide enough evidence to support that she is not psychologically stable. In “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner portrays the main character as a mysterious icon of the small town of Jefferson, Mississippi. As the story states, Emily’s father is an admirable figure in the city of Jefferson. After his passing, the townspeople show the same respect for Emily, as well.

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448 Words | 2 Pages

She’s so sad that he passed away that she doesn’t do anything. William Faulkner likely made the decision to reveal the events in Emily’s life in this way to make the reader have a specific perspective at the beginning of the story and have it be totally different at the

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1119 Words | 5 Pages

Miss Emily’s inconsistent and peculiar behavior has left readers questioning her mental state. “The problematic of Miss Emily’s mental state is her failed interactions with the male characters.” (Arensberg, 127) The most important male characters are first her father and second Homer Barron. The townspeople also are seen as a problem by enabling her behavior by being in denial

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Despite those intentions, she was forced to leave Emily with unpleasant care takers and even a convalescent home for extended amounts of time while she looked for work, was focused on other children or was simply unable to care for her. She became a single mother when Emily’s father could “no longer endure” and left while Emily was still an infant. The physical distance between the mother and daughter created a much deeper distance emotionally. The story moves on to describe Emily’s childhood pain, growth into a school comedian and her lack of affection towards her mother and other siblings.. The story ends with the narrator asking the unknown caller to “let her be” but also to help her understand “that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the

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806 Words | 4 Pages

“A Rose for Emily” is a dark, suspenseful Gothic tale in which a young girl is put on a pedestal by a town who sees her as haughty and scornful. Miss Emily Grierson’s father controls her and her love life, pushing away all people until he dies and Emily is left alone. As her life goes on the townspeople watch her and judge Emily, almost turning her life into a spectacle to be talked about. At her death, a gruesome sight is unfolded when her lover of over forty years ago is found decomposed in her upstairs room. William Faulkner effectively builds epic suspense in “A Rose for Emily” by the unchronological order of the story, the treatment of Emily’s father towards her, and her family’s history of mental illness.

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William Faulkner wrote many stories about different topics. He wrote about his childhood in Mississippi, his family, race, sex, obsessions, history, and modern day events. In William Faulkner’s novel, A Rose for Emily, the main character does not get out much and still lives in the past. Her father dies and she cannot accept that he died. Emily did not pay her taxes and when confronted about it, Colonel Sartoris made an agreement to overlook it.

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844 Words | 4 Pages

In his short story, “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner intends to convey a message to his audience about the unwillingness in human nature to accept change and more specifically the secretive tendencies of aristocrats in the South during the early 20th century. In order to do this, Faulkner sets up a story in which he isolates and old aristocratic woman, Miss Emily, from her fellow townspeople and proceeds to juxtapose her lifestyle with theirs. In doing this he demonstrates her stubborn refusal to change along with the town, but also Among several literary devices the author employs to achieve this contrast, Faulkner sets up his narrator as a seemingly reliable, impartial and knowledgeable member of the community in which Miss Emily lives by using a first person plural, partially omniscient point of view. The narrator is present for all of the scenes that take place in the story, but does not play any role in the events, and speaks for the town as a whole. Faulkner immediately sets up his narrator as a member of the community in the first line of the story, saying that when Miss Emily died “our whole town went to her funeral.”

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932 Words | 4 Pages

“A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, is a short story narrated by townspeople about a wealthy woman named Emily. At the end of the story, the reader discovers Emily has been suffering from mental deterioration and may have committed murder. The townspeople describe Emily’s life in great detail; yet focus strictly on gossip, innuendo and tragedy. The gossip the townspeople spread about her revolves around the jealousy they have for her family’s wealth.

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1189 Words | 5 Pages

In William Faulkner’s short story, A Rose for Emily, Emily Grierson, a prominent member of her small town, dies alone in her home. Upon her death, curious townsfolk entered her home trying to learn her secrets. It was thought she was crazy. Emily Grierson was not crazy; she was isolated by her father, which led to her odd social tendencies and unique interactions with others. A Rose for Emily is a short story based in a small town.

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787 Words | 4 Pages

This Shows that Miss Emily was frozen in time and was sticking to the past as she did not seem fazed by her father's death, and made the conscious decision to not believe

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Many critics have seen in Faulkner “a credible authority on the South, a writer of fiction who had something important to offer about the regions and the meanings of its past”. The story of “A Rose for Emily” is told by one of the townspeople. The protagonist is seen from the outside and described by a first-person narrator, who tells the readers his point of view and others’ from the town. The narrator and these people had always regarded the character from the outside.

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