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Character Analysis Of Emily Grierson In A Rose For Emily

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In his short story, “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner describes how Emily Grierson became an enigmatic mystery in Jefferson, a small Southern town in the United States of America. Although he suggests people in Jefferson have their own idea of who Emily was and why she behaved so strangely, her entire existence was a puzzle for the townspeople to piece together. This story is divided into five parts. In part one, the author opens at the time of protagonist Emily Grierson 's death, and he reveals part of the reason she died alone: Emily 's father had turned down most of Emily 's suitors. In part two, Faulkner further elaborates upon the collective pity the town felt for Emily once her father died. All her father had left behind was the …show more content…

Regarding complexity, a character can be round or flat; in this case, Emily is a round character. According to Pacheco and Meyers, “round characters are those fictitious beings which the reader can readily visualize because the writer has provided them with a number of qualities and traits” (42). In “A Rose for Emily,” the character of Emily Grierson is an illustration of round characterization. From the beginning, the author offers the reader not only a clear physical description of Emily, but also some of her most dominant character traits: The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom. 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. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body. Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly (Faulkner 3). This attitude suggests Emily may have had a fetish for dead people. That is, the reader may consider Emily to be a necrophiliac because of this event. Besides, at the end of the short story, the reader realizes Emily kept her lover’s corpse in her

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-“So the next night, after midnight, four men crossed Miss Emily 's lawn and slunk about the house like burglars, sniffing along the base of the brickwork,” (Faulkner II). -“When her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to her; and in a way, people were glad,” (Faulkner II). -“The day after his death all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid,” (Faulkner

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Miss Emily comes from an old wealthy line of family in the deep south. Faulkner story is highly symbolic, enhancing miss Emily’s values and character. “Miss Emily is described as a fallen monument to the chivalric American South”(Allmon). Faulkner uses the setting of the story to show the emotional state of Emily. The female-male relationship between Emily and her father is strict, oppressive, and controlling; Their relationship has a major impact on Emily’s character Throughout the short story.

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Paloma Cerda Mrs. Koehler ENGL-1301-566 September 20, 2017 In A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, the story of Miss Emily is told through a very loose format. Through this narration, there is a long and drawn out suspense built up through little hints left by the reader without fully giving away the dark truth behind Emily and her house. Until the end of the story, the narrators ambiguity cleverly points the reader towards the climax of the story where Emily is discovered to be Homer Barron’s killer. This ambiguous element is important to the quality of this short story as it drives it forward and keeps the reader interested.

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After her father’s death, Emily insisted that her father “was not dead… for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body” (Faulkner). This suggests that Emily was unable to accept her father’s death and that she had been experiencing severe symptoms of denial as a result of her trauma. This denial mainly stems from the physical abuse and emotional control her father had placed on Emily, both contributing to her isolation from society and leading to her eventual death. Despite the differences between the stories, both represent the severe effects of trauma and how it can lead to the tragic downfall of one’s

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In the short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “The Story of an Hour,” the authors use literary devices to create vibrant female characters. These literary devices include diction, imagery, language, and sentence structure. “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin, opens with a woman, Louise Mallard, who has a heart disease, and her friends must gently break the news to her that her husband has passed away in a railroad accident. She mourns briefly, but then realizes that she can now live for herself, instead of just as someone’s wife. Shockingly, she walks downstairs after fleeing from her friends’ horrible news, and her husband walks in the door.

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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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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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Miss Emily Grierson the main character suppose to suffer from mental illness in “ A Rose for Emily” story is indeed a strange character. Retire from society confine in a world of illusions. Emily never obtain any psychiatric treatment but certainly show proof of mental illness. Insanity, His father was the man of the house, the narrator

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These events ultimately lead to Emily's change in her behavior, she refuses to follow elementary laws (among other deeds) and ends up creating tension in the town. Simply put, in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily Grierson quickly becomes a fallen monument to the people of Jefferson.

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She was alone, she was humiliated by the town, she had to hide away because she was not able to cope. In Tim O’Brien’s article he states, “After her death, Emily is reunited with the other members of her southern class …”, which means, in death, with the people she loved she will no longer be alone” (O’Brien

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Throughout the short story “A Rose for Emily”, Emily faces hardship and defeat. Miss Emily was mocked by town citizens and was often the center of the town's gossip. The narrator of Miss Emily’s story plays an essential role in developing the tone. The narrator states, “That was two years after her father’s death and a short time after her sweetheart- who we believed would marry her- had deserted her” (Faulkner 307). This quote helps to form a dismal and gloomy tone.

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As the story goes on, Faulkner describes Emily’s death: “When Miss Emily Grierson died the whole town went to her funeral: the men out of respectful affection for a fallen monument and the women mostly out of curiosity” (Faulkner). Faulkner emphasizes that while men are caring and respectful women act only based on curiosity. Indeed, the role of women in the southern society is less significant than the role of

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889 Words | 4 Pages

The short story a “Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner describes Emily Grierson, the main character to give the reader an impression of a desperate yet innocent woman at first glance. After the story has been read, the reader’s point of view will change to become very unsatisfied . In this short story “ A Rose for Emily,” an unexpected series of events in a post-Civil War South portrays the power of death through a very strong yet unbalanced woman. As Emily is depicted through the narration of the townspeople, point of view and characterization is enhanced in detail to create a puzzle for the reader to analyze. Emily Grierson is not described as a normal character.

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691 Words | 3 Pages

The town's clergy now send people to spray for a horrible smell that is coming threw her home. Months go on after that, and all they see is the old Negro coming through the door. We can make the assumption that Emily no longer has the desire for other human contact and wants to stay in the "old southern times. " After much time has passed, the entire town goes to check on Ms. Emily. When they get the door open, we see the old Negro walk out the door and never turn around.

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793 Words | 4 Pages

Kierrah Edwards ENGL 201 9/20/15 Character Analysis: Emily Grierson The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner depicts how seclusion can certainly impact one’s life. Throughout the story, Emily gives off this “insane” impression. However, after fully reading the story, the reader can fully understand why Emily was the way she was. Emily Grierson was a very dependent person.

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