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A Rose For Emily Unreliable

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“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. The townspeople’s narration in "A Rose for Emily" is unreliable because it centers on the gossip and jealousy the people have for her family status and personal relationships, rather than focusing on her deteriorating mental health, manifesting in the denial of her father’s death, …show more content…

She could not escape the pain and mourning which came with the death of her father, thus providing the residents a platform of satisfaction over Emily's grief. This is the first form of direct resentment that the people expressed towards her and they believed that since she had finally experienced hard times they could “pity Miss. Emily” (pg. 1105) because she appeared to be equal to the common man. To the residents she finally appeared “humanized” (pg. 1105) instead of some "untouchable," public figure. The people could view her as a normal person now because she finally faced the hardships that they experienced every day. This made the occupants feel like Emily was now their “equal” because she was not exempt from everyday …show more content…

They would have noticed some subtle warning signs that Emily was mentally deteriorating, such as her unwillingness to admit her father's death and the purchase of arsenic from the drug store. If the townspeople refrained from gossiping about Emily, they would have noticed how her isolation was tipping her over the edge. At the conclusion of the story, when the townsfolk discovered Homer’s dead body in Emily’s bed, there would have been less of a shock to the reader if the narration was focused on Emily’s personal feelings and

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1094 Words | 5 Pages

Not only that, as Homer becomes a popular figure in town and is seen taking Emily on buggy rides on Sunday afternoons, it scandalizes the town and increases the condescension and pity they have for Emily. They feel that she is forgetting her family pride and becoming involved with a man beneath her station. Even though Emily is from the high class family, it does not mean that she is living up to the pleasant lifestyle. As a matter of fact, she is actually living a gloomy and desolate life, which is essentially the opposite lifestyle expected for Emily's rank in society by the townspeople. Although Emily once represented a great southern tradition centering on the landed gentry with their vast holdings and considerable resources, Emily's legacy has devolved, making her more a duty and an obligation than a romanticized vestige of a dying order.

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1050 Words | 5 Pages

After Emily’s father dies, the narrator remarks, “When we saw her again, her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl” (Faulkner 34). This girlish haircut acts as a reflection of Emily’s current behavior, which is marked by petulance and immaturity. Many years later, the townspeople note Emily’s “iron-gray” hair, “like the hair of an active man” (Faulkner 36). Like an iron helmet, this description suggests that Emily has something important to protect, such as the secret of Homer’s murder. Even when Emily no longer leaves her house, the townspeople continue to note her servant’s graying hair and stooped posture (Faulkner 36).

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In the story “A Rose for Emily,” written by William Faulkner, you take a journey through Miss. Emily Grierson’s life. Miss Emily resides in a tiny town called Jefferson during the late 1800s and early 1900s. During this time period, southern tradition and the role you played in the community was very important. This is a time of industrialization for the South, which Emily does not adapt to.

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710 Words | 3 Pages

“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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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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1084 Words | 5 Pages

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is a short story narrated in first person by a townsperson of the small town of Jefferson, Mississippi. The narrator spends nearly the entirety of the story giving his or her account of the story’s protagonist, Emily Grierson. What the audience learns about Grierson from the narrator can be assumed as a general feeling throughout the town, with objectivity likely taking a backseat to gossip. However, Emily’s tendencies as a character require thorough examination to determine her true personality. For one, she refuses to accept death as a natural part of life.

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1107 Words | 5 Pages

The story "A Rose for Emily¨, tells the years of Emily´s life after her father's death and the towns reaction and thoughts based on her actions and events in her life. After her father's death she isolated herself from the whole town and rejected every man in the town.

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1831 Words | 8 Pages

She knows that the townspeople are talking about her. However, she ultimately lets their gossip influence her morality and her life. In “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner uses gothic humor to portray a southern woman and her inevitable self-destruction, and the destruction of the Old South. William Faulkner “has been credited with having the imagination to see, before other serious writers saw, the tremendous potential for drama, pathos,

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Emily faces death in a very abnormal way. In section 2 of “A Rose for Emily” Emily goes into denial about her father's death. For three days she refuses to let officials take the body and dispose of it properly. Emily demonstrated many signs of depression and insanity, due to loneliness and isolation as her father refused suitors. After her father died, she met Homer Baron and planned to marry him.

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742 Words | 3 Pages

“A rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is a short story about the life of Emily Grierson. The story, as told by the townsfolk, tells the present and past of Emily’s life and how unfortunate events affected her decisions and lifestyle. Faulkner utilizes the townspeople to narrate “A Rose for Emily” To portrait how the town covered Emily’s deeds and thus protected the town’s reputation. The townspeople are the narrator of “A Rose for Emily,” Along the story they are sometimes represented as a single entity that seeks to justify Emily’s actions.

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This story is considered as Gothic. Gothic literature includes elements that include Horror and Humanity. The high level of literary horror in ‘A Rose for Emily’ is so monstrous it is magnificent, presenting a purity of unreasonableness that no reader can resist.

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When I read the story, at first I did feel sorry for Emily, but as they story continued I began to pity her less. Even though she had a difficult life, she could have turned it around. She was given her father's house, she had a servant and she had no taxes to

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243 Words | 1 Pages

Symbolism “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner is a short story about the life of the main character, Emily Grierson. Some may think Emily is the narrator of this story, but the towns people are narrating it. The story begins at a funeral for Emily at her home. No one has entered this once elegant but now rundown house in ten years.

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1572 Words | 7 Pages

After Homer came to town, the community noticed that “she carried her head high enough- even when we believed that she was fallen” (1001). The town and community did not know if she was truly a fallen woman or not, but they assumed that she was and this affected Emily every time that she entered a store or walked down the street. She was a woman of lesser status as she was suspected of giving up her chastity to a man who ended up disappearing. When the townspeople found out that Homer had “left” her, “the next day we all said “She will kill herself”; and we said it would be the best thing.” (1001).

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543 Words | 3 Pages

In William Faulkner’s, “A Rose for Emily,” the historical context is important to understand. In order to fully comprehend the short story there must be some sort of understanding about the time period in which the story took place. This short story took place in the 18th/19th century during and after the Civil War in the South. In “A Rose for Emily” the historical context shows the social, economic, and the cultural environment of the background. Miss Emily was born during the Civil War.

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