Symbols In A Rose For Emily

Symbolism is a way to express a specific idea or to convey a certain message by using symbols. An action, person, place, word or object can all have a symbolic and deeper meaning not just a surface meaning. The Symbolism a technique used in literature when some things are not to be taken literally, it can also give insight to the reader and it can be a way of attracting too, to let the readers know what is behind each symbol in the story. Symbolism also can make any literary work more complex. It gives the literary work two layers of meaning, the first layer is the literal meaning or the surface meaning and the second layer is the deeper meaning of the symbolic words, persons or actions. Symbols can change meaning or significance depending

It was written by William Faulkner in 1930. The story takes place in a fictional country, Jefferson Mississippi. The protagonist of the story is Miss Emily Grierson, the narrator talks about Miss Emily's life and how she deals with the South after the civil war. Emily was born in an aristocratic family, she was weird and no one could understand her or know a lot about her life. The story opens at the time of Emily's funeral, it was huge and many people attend although people do not really know her as she was isolated by her father. She died when she was seventy-four years

First, the house is a symbol of the only remaining slogan of a dying world of Southern aristocracy. The house symbolizes isolation, mental illness , loneliness and death too. Faulkner used the house as a symbol of Emily herself. Emily is compared to her own house in different ways. First, at the beginning of the story, the house is described as clean, fresh, and decorated and also has white walls, this symbolizes Emily when she was a young lady, and she was pure, fresh and had a beautiful appearance. Then, as the plot progresses, the reader can notice that both the house and Miss Emily declined physically. After many years, the house is described as dirty, foul and smelly, this could be a symbol of a tomb because of the corpse of Homer was there for years. At the same time Emily became older, mad, disturbed, always confused and her sound became harsh. Then, at the time of her death people described her house as "an eyesore among eyesores", and Miss Emily was just an monument inside the old house. Both of them are lifeless and empty from inside, so the description of the decaying house symbolizes Emily's physical decline, emotional decay and her mental problems too. Both the house and Emily are the same, they have a proud and attractive face to the public but both of them carry a lot of secrets