a rose for emily literary analysis thesis

A Rose for Emily Thesis Statement and Outline Examples

• sociology essay

A Rose for Emily is a fantastic short story written by William Faulkner and analyzed by many critics. It is usually a part of college and university literature courses due to the variety of details that can be examined, kept within such a short story. The life of miss Grierson could be described in a long novel; however, Faulkner showed his talent to be laconic, yet concise in his literature. As a result, each sentence in the story is beyond information; moreover, the plot can be analyzed from a variety of different perspectives. If you struggle to choose one, you can refer to our A Rose for Emily thesis statement examples and outlines to get inspiration for further writing. Moreover, you can check our example of A Rose for Emily essay to see how it can be composed. 

A Rose for Emily Thesis Statement Examples

If you have an analysis essay, which goes far beyond a simple plot description, make sure to choose an interesting aspect of this story — as there are so many of them. You can stick to the examples provided below or select your own; in any case, this short story has lots of points to discuss. 

Thesis Statement Example 1: Psychoanalysis

The life of Miss Grierson in A Rose of Family is heavily impacted by her relationships with father, who remained to be the only prominent male figure in her life, combining in his methods of upbringing his dominative nature, Electra complex, and neurotic character.

Thesis Statement Example 2: Feminism

Despite having psychological issues, Miss Grierson can be regarded as a powerful woman, who made the whole city respect her during decades, showed her dignity, and avoided being suppressed by male power. 

Thesis Statement Example 3: The Tragedy of Arrogance

It the arrogance of Miss Grierson and her father that made the woman live a miserable life, using money from the citizens, keeping the dead body of her beloved man, and dying in absolute loneliness and despair. 

Thesis Statement Example 4: Critics of the American South

A character of Miss Grierson in A Rose for Emily symbolizes the pretentious citizens of American South dusting the Civil War: in the same way as Emily, they live in the past, being caught by their traditions and limitations. 

Thesis Statement Example 5: A True Love

Living a quiet, lonely life, Ms. Grierson has finally decided to get married; however, her norms of living, as well as the man she chose for creating a family leave the question open — was there a place for true love in the house of Griersons? 

A Rose for Emily Outline Example

Once you have created a suitable thesis statement, make the next step and start working on the outline: it will help you to organize your thoughts accurately from the very beginning, being a guideline for you during the writing process. You can stick to the example below while developing your own outline for the essay: I. Introduction

• Many people consider A Rose for Emily a tragic drama of loneliness; however, this story also contains a love line, brief yet powerful. 
• Thesis statement: Living a quiet, lonely life, Ms. Grierson has finally decided to get married; however, her norms of living, as well as the man she chose for creating a family leave the question open — was there a place for true love in the house of Griersons? 

II. Arguments for Emily’s true love

• Emily seemed to be happy while dating Homer Barron, despite his simple origin. 
• Miss Grierson was not afraid to lose her aristocracy, marrying a simple worker from the North.
• Emily kept the dead body of her beloved man during all the years she lived after that. 

III. Arguments against Emily’s true love

• Emily was too arrogant and obsessed with her title to marry someone without a noble origin.
• She might have killed Homer to make him stay with her forever.

IV. Final ideas regarding the nature of the love of the main character

• Emily might have considered her attitude to Homer love; however, it was another manifestation of her mental issues.

V. Conclusion

• Love can be different; however, sometimes, people tend to confuse love and affection.
•  Faulkner raises the question about the nature of love.
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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily

Analysis of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on June 12, 2021

Initially published in Forum on April 30, 1930, and collected in These Thirteen in 1931, “A Rose for Emily” remains one of William Faulkner’s most read, most anthologized, and most significant stories. From every imaginable perspective, critics have scrutinized the components of Faulkner’s literary technique: The story has been viewed as an allegory of southern history, a metaphorical depiction of NorthSouth relationships, feminist nightmare or feminist victory, a gothic horror story, a sociological portrayal of individualism squelched or individualism triumphant, a bleak fictional tale of determinism. Faulkner’s uses of structure, tone, point of view, and imagery play key roles in his depiction of Miss Emily Grierson. The fact that readers and critics still engage in interpretive debates over its meaning merely ensures that it will continue to be read.

Told from the perspective of Jefferson, in Yoknapatawpha County, in a narrative voice that consistently relates the details that “we”—the smug and gossipy townspeople of Jefferson—have observed, the story is intriguing on the level of plot and character alone: Miss Emily has just died, and we learn that she lived alone after her father died and Homer Baron, her Yankee lover, apparently abandoned her. Suspense continues to build when we learn that a mysterious odor emanated from her house at the time that Homer disappeared. Faulkner employs a number of clues to foreshadow both denouement and motivation, including the “tableau” of the imperious father with a horsewhip overshadowing his white-clad young daughter Emily; the portrait of her father that Emily displays at his death, despite his thwarting of her natural youthful desires; her defiant public appearances with the unsuitable Homer Baron; her sense of entitlement; and the arsenic she buys to rid her house of “rats.” Despite these and other devices, however, new generations of readers still react in horror when Emily’s secret is revealed: She not only murdered her lover but slept with his corpse in the attic bridal chamber she carefully prepared.

If Miss Emily is crazy (and most critics agree that she is), Faulkner implies that she has been made so by the constrictions of a father who refused to let her marry and by the conventions of a society that eagerly filled the void at his death. Numerous critics have suggested that behind the gothic horror of necrophilia and insanity in this classic story, Miss Emily Grierson is the oddly modern hero. Indeed, one critic asserts that we cannot understand any of Faulkner’s heroes if we do not understand Miss Emily, for she is the “prototype” of them all (Strindberg 877). As with other troubled Faulknerian protagonists, death literally frees Miss Emily—from patriarchy, from society’s conventions, from sexual repression, from the class structure she was taught to revere, from the useless existence of privileged women of her era, even from the burdens of southern history and slavery: With her death, her black servant, mysteriously complicit in his relation to Miss Emily, walks out of her house at the end of the story. In an interview at the University of Virginia, Faulkner suggested that Miss Emily deserved a rose for all the torment she had endured, and, whatever else they feel, most readers appear to agree with this sentiment.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Blotner, Joseph. Faulkner: A Biography. 2 Vols. New York: Random House, 1974. Rev. ed., New York: Random House, 1984. Carothers, James. Faulkner’s Short Stories. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985. Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” In Collected Short Stories. New York: Random House, 1940. Ferguson, James. Faulkner’s Short Fiction. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991. Strindberg, Victor. “A Rose for Emily.” In Reader’s Guide to Short Fiction, edited by Noelle Watson, 577. Detroit: St. James Press, 1993.

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In 1860 the American South seceded from the Union to preserve their Southern way of life this consequently caused the American Civil War. After years of fighting, the South lost the Civil War and fell into the Reconstruction era lasting from the mid to late 1800s, stripping the South of everything but their proud Southern heritage. In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” he uses his text as a metaphor for the South’s struggle to abandon their traditions for modernity during the Reconstruction era through the life of Miss Emily Grierson. Using themes of control, isolation, and attachment, Faulkner draws from his old Southern roots to illuminate the turmoil the South faced as they tried to prolong their way of life when everything else was out of their control. In the clash between modernity and traditions, Emily’s traditional neighbors control her attempts to evolve into a modern woman turning her private life into the public. The outside forces controlling Emily’s life ultimately push her to insanity and death as she also tries to preserve her way of life through one of the only things she can control: isolation.

Similar to the South during the Reconstruction era, Emily’s way of life is continually stripped away by outside forces until she decides to resist and control her own life. After the horrors of the Civil War, the federal government imposes reconstruction to rebuild the South and modernize its regressive traditions. At the beginning of reconstruction, the old generation of Southerners resisted modernization and clung to their traditions. However, as the era progressed, a new generation of Southerners took control of the modernization and adapted the region to create a New South and expand on their traditions. Being the last of a long line of Southern aristocrats, Miss Emily represents the end of the old generation and is a relic of her time. Similar to Miss Emily, the author descended from a long line of southern aristocrats and used his upbringing in Reconstruction-era Mississippi for the story. Faulkner’s background helps him draw parallels to the townspeople stopping Emily from modernizing to the South, stopping reconstruction from completely modernizing their home.

Due to her family’s high status, Emily is born into the life of a southern belle, which is a well-off woman who is confined to oppressive gender roles, and her value is based on her beauty and femininity. Under gender roles, southern belle’s are controlled by the men in their life and the critical eye of other high society women whose judgments of each other work to control their reputation and how the rest sees them of society. After the death of EMily’s father, the belle abandons gentry for a reconstructionist life like the new generation of Southerners. With her newfound freedom, Emily begins to evolve into a modern woman, and starts with finding a suitor that she approves of. Although her father was gone there were still people who wanted to keep Emily from evolving. Without knowing anything about her life, Emily’s generation or the old generation of Southerners continually works to control Emily’s personal life. Employing the help of the local priest and Emily’s distinct cousins in Alabama, the ladies of the town work hard to keep Emily in line and maintain the image of an idyllic Southern town.

When the ladies of the town notice how out of character Emily is, they work to stop her from ruining her status of being a “disgrace to the town” (Faulkner 1072) by modernizing and marrying a Yankee. These women want to stop Emily from being “a bad example to the young people” (Faulkner 1072) by giving them the idea to modernize instead of conforming to Jefferson’s traditional agenda. After the Civil War, this old generation of Southern ladies never returned to their way of life before reconstruction. However, groups such as the Daughters of the Confederacy (Hunter 1) used the next generation of Southerners to keep the fantasy of Antebellum South alive. These groups funded Confederate memorial statues, created museums, and educated their children with their skewed views. By controlling modern figures such as Emily, the old generation was able to shield the new generation of Southerners from reconstructionist ideas and created policies that fought modernization. Even though Emily resisted being controlled by her generation and married the Northerner, it came at a price. Emily lives out the rest of her life in isolation, serving a symbolic life sentence for not conforming to Southern society’s norms. Ultimately, by extracting herself from society, Emily loses all control over how the townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi, view her, leaving herself vulnerable to the harsh judgments chronicled throughout the story.

Spending her early years isolated away from everyone in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi but her father no one really knows anything about Emily or her life, resulting in the misjudgements of the local townspeople. As Emily got older, she began to emerge into society, but quickly went back to isolation when she was criticized for not conforming with others. When Emily felt that she had lost almost all control over her life to the outside world, she took charge over one of the last aspects of her life where no one would control her. Lacking the ability to evolve without the critical eye of her generation, Emily isolates herself inside her home, allowing herself to be the only one to control her life instead of the outside world. Now free from the outside world, Emily finally has control to make her own choices within isolation but now in control she chooses not to control her life. Instead allowing everything around her to die, including the modern woman inside her which marks the end of her life leaving her with nothing to do but grow old in solitude. Emily’s grand home which used to be the model of classic Southern architecture and a representation of the past that the old generation longs for, turned into “an eyesore among eyesores,” (Faulkner 1066) consumed with the smell of Emily’s rotting husband. In her isolation, Emily’s life and everything around her begins to rot as the past is revealed to be not as great as it seems.

Clinging to a life they barely know; the old generation is attached to the past throughout the story. Retelling their idea of the lost cause of the Confederacy as if it were good old days, across the South to fight modernization. The townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi work within their best interests to bring back the past and raise the next generation to live in a time centuries before them. Interested in the life of a woman they do not know; the old generation involves themselves in the personal life of Miss Emily Grierson to stop her from modernizing. Both groups attached to their own ideas, causing conflict which ends with both sticking to their own ideas. Both tightly clinging to their ideals without any space for adaptation, leads to severe consequences such as insanity by having no allies or obsession of pushing one’s agenda and pushing others to the side. The attachment of traditions led to the South’s struggle with Reconstruction and ultimate destruction of other people through hurtful policies such as Jim Crow. Evolution is needed to loosen the grip of one idea for future advancement that can occur, but due to the importance of preservation the South was isolated from the rest of America’s advancements. Making their situation similar to Emily’s as those in the South try to modernize while the townspeople represent the rest of the South who work to prevent the success of Reconstruction. Ultimately choosing to kill the idea of ever advancing without possibility of changing and symbolically rotting into the ugliness of the Jim Crow era.

Narrated by those who knew Miss Emily the least, the townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi, recall their life through their critical lenses and speculation. As a product of her generation, Emily tries to evolve and break the oppressed Southern Belles’ trend, defined by superficial qualities. Emily’s story is a metaphor for the South’s constant battle due to the Reconstruction-era as they protected their traditions and defeated modernizing forces. Faulkner places all the worst aspects of reconstructionist south in Emily’s character. Highlighting the individuals who controlled the South’s narrative to preserve their traditions alongside their agenda, those who shut themselves into isolation to avoid judgments for modernizing, and the region’s attachment to a distant memory of Antebellum South. Ultimately the Reconstruction era engaged the South in another Civil War, as the majority fought off modernization and the minority faced a silent battle to any hope of a reformed South. With a region fighting against itself, it is easy to understand why Faulkner wrote “A Rose for Emily,” as an “an irrevocable tragedy” (Jelliffe 1) with citizens fighting against the advancement of their home to preserve their comfortable life. There is nothing you can do to stop this tragedy but pity and offer a rose to the neglected South out of pity of what the region could be instead of how it grew to be. 

Works Cited

A Rose for Emily. Directed by Lyndon Cubbuck. Performances by Anjelica Husto, John Randolph and John Carradine. Chubbuck Production Company, 1983.

Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” McDougal Littell Literature: American Literature . Ed. Applebee et al. 6th ed. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2008. 1064-1077.

Gone with the Wind. Directed by Victor Fleming. Performances by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, Selznick International Pictures, 1939.

Google Images for free and fair use.

Hunter, Alex. “Why ‘A Rose for Emily’ is a representation of Reconstruction South.” Medium. 2018. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@alexhunter365/why-a-rose-for-emily-is-a-representation-of-reconstruction-south-46c4b31978c8

Jelliffe, Robert. “Faulkner at Nagano.” Tokyo: Kenkyusha Ltd., 1956. Retrived from http://admin.faulkner.edu/admin/websites/cwarmack/William%20Faulkner%20speaks%20on.pdf

Oneclick. “Blooming Rose Flower || Time-Lapse Movie.” Youtube. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0TcPkdVsK8

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“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner: Analysis

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, published in 1930, quickly captivated readers for its setting, characters and thematic strands.

Introduction: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Table of Contents

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, published in 1930, quickly captivated readers for its setting, characters and thematic strands. Set in the fictional Mississippi town of Jefferson, the story centers on Emily Grierson, a mysterious Southern belle whose life and death become an obsession for the townspeople. Faulkner’s masterful use of non-linear storytelling explores themes of tradition, societal change, and the decay of the Old South, solidifying “A Rose for Emily” as a lasting contribution to American literature.

Main Events in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

• Emily faces her father’s death; her actions shock the community. Emily’s denial of her father’s passing leads her to keep his body within her home for three days, and upon finally releasing the body for burial, she descends into a life of isolation.
• Years later, Emily challenges the established order. When town officials attempt to collect taxes, Emily not only refuses but insists the town remains indebted to her. Her defiance is mirrored in her seclusion; she rarely ventures from her home, a notable exception being her unsettling purchase of arsenic.
• A new generation questions Emily’s past as a mysterious romance unfolds. Intrigued by her enigmatic history, the town’s youth fixate on her relationship with Homer Barron, a Northern laborer. Their frequent sightings together incite whispers of an engagement.
• Emily’s arsenic purchase fuels the townspeople’s fears. Her acquisition of the poison strengthens their belief that she intends suicide, yet no tragedy occurs, and her withdrawn existence continues.
• Homer’s disappearance ignites speculation, while a disturbing odor emerges. When Homer vanishes, the townspeople’s suspicions swirl. Emily remains unmoved by his absence, but a foul smell from her property raises further alarm.
• Emily’s death unveils a horrifying truth. Upon her passing, the townspeople infiltrate her home and stumble upon a gruesome secret: Emily had preserved Homer’s corpse and slept beside it for years.
• A flashback illuminates Emily’s isolation. The narrative returns to the night of her father’s death, exposing his relentless interference in her romantic life, ultimately leading to her desolate existence.
• The townspeople’s actions offer a twisted form of closure. Their decision to bury Homer within Emily’s home implies a warped sense of fulfillment for her, as if she’d finally obtained the companionship she desperately craved.
• A haunting image lingers. The story concludes with the chilling visual of a single gray hair on the pillow beside Homer’s remains, suggesting Emily’s disturbing intimacy persisted even beyond his death.
• The haunting finale prompts contemplation. The story’s final line – “Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair” – forces the reader to grapple with the complexities of Emily’s character and the story’s central themes.

Characterization in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Major characters, minor characters, major themes in “a rose for emily” by william faulkner.

• The Destructive Nature of Isolation:

·  Emily’s Self-Imposed Seclusion: After her father’s death, Emily becomes a recluse, cutting herself off from the outside world.

• The Consequences of Isolation: Emily’s isolation leads to a warped perception of reality, contributing to her psychological decline and a horrifying secret.

·  The Clash of Tradition vs. Change

• Emily as a Symbol of the Old South: Emily clings fiercely to the traditions and values of the past, represented by her decaying mansion and her resistance to change.
• Homer Barron as a Symbol of Progress: Homer, a Northern laborer, represents modernity and change that threaten Emily’s traditional world.
• The Town’s Ambivalence: The townspeople are caught between a fading past and an uncertain future, reflected in their conflicting attitudes towards Emily.

·  The Fading Glory of the American South

• The Decaying Grierson Mansion: The once-grand house symbolizes the decline of the Old South and its aristocratic families.
• Emily’s Resistance to Change: Emily’s insistence on maintaining the status quo mirrors the larger social struggle between tradition and progress in the post-Civil War South.

·  The Illusion of Control

• Mr. Grierson’s Influence: Emily’s father exerts extreme control over her life, preventing her from marrying and contributing to her isolation.
• Emily’s Desperate Measures: Emily’s actions with Homer reveal a twisted desire to control love and death, ultimately leading to a horrifying discovery.

·  The Unreliability of Memory and Perception

• The Non-Linear Narrative: The story’s fragmented timeline blurs the lines between past and present, mirroring the town’s unreliable memory of events.
• The Townspeople’s Bias: The collective narrator filters events through their own prejudices and limited understanding of Emily, leaving the truth obscured.

Writing Style in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

·  Non-linear Narrative: Faulkner disrupts the traditional flow of time with flashbacks and forward jumps. Examples:

• The story starts with Emily’s funeral, then flashes back to her relationship with her father.
• Details about Homer are revealed in fragments, heightening the mystery of his fate.

·  Multiple Narrators and Shifting Points of View: The collective “we” of the townspeople narrates the story, offering a limited perspective. Examples:

• The townspeople speculate about Emily’s purchase of arsenic, drawing their own assumptions.
• Their interpretation of events might contrast with the reality of Emily’s motivations.

·  Vivid, Poetic Language: Faulkner uses striking imagery to evoke a sense of gothic decay and despair. Examples:

• Descriptions of the Grierson mansion as “stubborn and coquettish” and smelling of “dust and disuse.”
• Emily’s appearance is likened to “a body long submerged in motionless water.”

·  Atmosphere of Foreboding Faulkner crafts a palpable feeling of dread and unease, foreshadowing the macabre ending. Examples:

• The townspeople’s observations of a strange smell surrounding Emily’s house.
• Emily’s purchase of arsenic hints at a potentially sinister purpose.

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Questions and thesis statements about “a rose for emily” by william faulkner.

1. The Theme of Isolation in “A Rose for Emily”

• Strong focus: This topic is directly tied to one of the story’s central themes.
• Character-centered: By analyzing Emily, you can explore how her isolation develops and its consequences.
• How does the town contribute to her isolation?
• Is her isolation entirely negative, or does it offer something to her as well?

2. The Role of Gender in “A Rose for Emily”

• Relevant critique: Gender expectations are a powerful force in the story.
• Potential for depth: This can be connected to broader themes like Southern womanhood, power dynamics, and societal change.
• How do the townspeople’s expectations of women both trap and, oddly, protect Emily?
• Explore other female figures in the story (even minor ones) as a contrast.

3. The Use of Symbolism in “A Rose for Emily”

• Rich with symbolism: The story is layered with meaningful symbols.
• Allows for close analysis: Focusing on specific symbols can enhance your exploration of the key themes.
• Look beyond obvious symbols to less-discussed ones (hair, dust, etc.).
• How do the symbols interact or contradict each other?

4. The Narrative Structure of “A Rose for Emily”

• Unique aspect of the story: Faulkner’s structure is a key element of its impact.
• Connects form to meaning: Analyzing how the narrative is structured helps reveal deeper layers of meaning.
• How does the fragmented timeline influence our understanding of Emily?
• What effect does the collective narrator (“we”) have?

5. The Role of Death in “A Rose for Emily”

• Powerful motif: Death is ever-present in this story.
• Explores multiple facets: This topic could focus on literal deaths, metaphorical deaths (of the Old South), or Emily’s relationship to mortality.
• How does Emily’s connection to death differ from the townspeople’s?
• Does death represent an escape for Emily, or something else?

Short Question-Answer “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Literary works similar to “a rose for emily” by william faulkner.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman:

• Shared Themes: Both stories explore the psychological deterioration of women due to isolation and confinement. The protagonists descend into fragmented mental states as a result of their restricted circumstances.
• Stylistic Similarities: Gilman and Faulkner employ first-person narration that grows increasingly unreliable, offering the reader a distorted view of events that mirrors the character’s fracturing psyche.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe:

• Shared Themes: The decaying mansions in both stories serve as stark symbols of isolation, psychological decline, and the crumbling of old legacies. The themes of death and decay pervade both narratives.
• Stylistic Similarities: Poe and Faulkner are renowned Southern Gothic authors, sharing a talent for creating a haunting atmosphere, exploring macabre settings, and incorporating elements of the supernatural.

“ A Good Man Is Hard to Find ” by Flannery O’Connor:

• Shared Themes: Both O’Connor and Faulkner expose the darker aspects of the South, questioning notions of morality and human nature. Their characters—The Misfit and Emily Grierson—offer enigmatic psychological profiles, inviting speculation about their hidden motives.
• Stylistic Similarities: Both writers portray grotesque scenarios with an air of detachment, forcing the reader to confront unsettling moral implications.

“ The Lottery ” by Shirley Jackson:

• Shared Themes: Both stories challenge the idealization of small-town life, revealing the horrors that can lie beneath the surface of tradition and conformity.
• Stylistic Similarities: Jackson and Faulkner build suspense with matter-of-fact prose that contrasts with the disturbing events, culminating in chilling twists.

“Winesburg, Ohio” by Sherwood Anderson:

• Shared Themes: This interconnected collection of short stories explores the complexities of small-town life, mirroring Faulkner’s focus on themes of loneliness, isolation, and the universal desire for connection.
• Stylistic Similarities: Both authors use fragmented structures and multiple perspectives to construct complex portrayals of their characters and the communities they inhabit.

Suggested Readings: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Scholarly Articles

• Bloom, Harold. “Introduction.” Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: A Rose for Emily, New Edition, edited by Harold Bloom, Chelsea House Publishers, 2008, pp. 1–9.
• Justus, James H. “The Narrator in ‘A Rose for Emily.'” Journal of Narrative Technique, vol. 1, no. 3, 1971, pp. 195-209. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30225170.
• Polk, Noel. “The Narrative Strategy of ‘A Rose for Emily.'” Modern Language Studies, vol. 13, no. 4, 1983, pp. 3-11. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3194650

Books of Literary Criticism

• Brooks, Cleanth. William Faulkner: Toward Yoknapatawpha and Beyond. Yale University Press, 1978.
• Millgate, Michael. The Achievement of William Faulkner. Random House, 1963.
• Tuck, Dorothy. Faulkner’s Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi, 1980.
• SparkNotes: A Rose for Emily. SparkNotes Editors. 2002. https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/a-rose-for-emily/
• CliffsNotes: A Rose for Emily. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/faulkners-short-stories/summary-and-analysis-a-rose-for-emily/section-i
• The William Faulkner Project https://english.olemiss.edu/faulkner-in-america-kathryn-mckee/

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A Rose for Emily

William faulkner, everything you need for every book you read..

The Post Civil-War South

Before the American Civil War (known as the “antebellum South”), the South’s economy relied on the agricultural output of plantations, large farms owned by wealthy Southern whites who exploited black slave labor to keep operating costs as low as possible. By its very nature, plantation life gave rise to a rigid social hierarchy—one in which wealthy white farmers were treated like aristocrats, middle-class and poor whites like commoners, and blacks like property. Along with this…

Tradition vs. Progress

Even as white Southerners in the short story cling to their pre-Civil War traditions, ideals, and institutions, the world around them is quickly changing. Agriculture is being supplanted by industry, and aristocratic neighborhoods with their proud plantation-style houses like the Grierson’s are being encroached upon by less grandiose but more economically practical garages and cotton gins. Likewise, the post- Sartoris generation of authorities in Jefferson—those men who belong to the Board of Aldermen that governs…

Patriarchal Authority and Control

Members of Jefferson’s Board of Alderman, whether old and gallant and nostalgic for the Old South like Sartoris or young and business-like such as the newer generation of authorities, all have something in common: they are all male and govern over—and to the exclusion of—women. Faulkner foregrounds this dynamic when he has his narrator recall Sartoris’s law requiring all black women to wear their aprons in public, and dramatizes it in Miss Emily’s relationships with…

Time and Narrative

“A Rose for Emily” is not a linear story, where the first event treated brings about the next, and so on—rather, it is nonlinear, jumping back and forth in time. However, there is a method to this temporal madness: the story opens with Miss Emily’s funeral, then goes back in time, slowly revealing the central events of Miss Emily’s life, before going back forward in time to the funeral. There, in the story’s final scene…

Gossip, Social Conventions, and Judgment

“A Rose for Emily” is narrated by a plural “we” voice, which stands in for the memory of the collective town. In this way, the story can be read as the town’s collective, nostalgically tinged, darkly disturbed memory. And yet that collective voice has a darker edge than a simple collective memory. Because of that collective narrator, “A Rose for Emily” is also a collection of town gossip centering on Miss Emily , generated by…

The Symbolism of ‘A Rose for Emily’ Explained

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘A Rose for Emily’ is one of the most widely studied American short stories of the twentieth century, but the subtle narrative style and William Faulkner’s use of symbolism are often difficult to interpret. Starting with the ‘rose’ in the story’s title, the text is rich with symbols whose significance can only be determined through careful analysis.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most prominent symbols and images in ‘A Rose for Emily’ and explore how – and why – Faulkner uses them in his short masterpiece of Southern Gothic literature.

Emily’s House.

The narrator of ‘A Rose for Emily’ tells us that Miss Emily’s house was the only old house left in the street, and that ‘garages and cotton gins’ had sprung up and replaced the other houses that had once stood alongside Emily’s dwelling.

Emily’s house, then, symbolises the Old South, which is (literally) decaying and dying out. And replacing the pastoral homeliness of the old, post-war South is the new industrial America: cotton and gasoline are now the way the townspeople make their money. The new industrial South is replacing the older, simpler bucolic South.

The Locked Room.

But it is worth remembering that ‘A Rose for Emily’ is, at bottom, a Gothic story: an example of the subgenre known as Southern Gothic literature, which is associated with writers like Flannery O’Connor, Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, and Faulkner himself.

And if Emily’s house symbolises a kind of modern, urban equivalent to the secluded Gothic castle in classic Gothic horror novels, then the locked room in the house’s attic is a kind of inversion of the crypt harbouring a dark secret beneath the castle. The room does indeed contain a terrible secret which will only be revealed at the end of the story, once Emily herself is dead and the townsfolk can gain access to the house.

But as well as being a narrative device, the locked room is also another symbol for Miss Emily’s determination to cling to the past (of which more below). She sets up the room as a bridal chamber for a wedding that will never take place, and then keeps her would-be groom – or his corpse, at any rate – inside the room, a symbol of her reluctance to let go of her romantic bond with him.

Emily Herself.

Miss Emily Grierson is herself a symbol of this faded glory of the South: a land that had been defeated militarily in the Civil War and whose old ways were being ousted by the new, industrial, mechanical age (those cotton wagons and garages selling gasoline for motorcars).

At the beginning of ‘A Rose for Emily’, the narrator describes her as a ‘monument’ for whom the men of the town have a kind of ‘respectful affection’. She has endured in the town during a time when many new generations have grown up and taken over the running of Jefferson. She remains largely unchanged; her death symbolises the death of another piece of that old world.

Why does Faulkner title his story ‘A Rose for Emily’? No roses appear in the story itself, although the attic room which features at the end of the story, the would-be bridal chamber in which Homer Barron’s body rots, is described as having valance curtains of a faded rose colour and rose-shaded lights.

Note that the curtains are ‘a faded rose colour’, not only because they have been in the attic room for decades (since Emily planned to marry, and then ended up murdering, Homer), but because they symbolise the faded dreams of sexual fulfilment and marital love which Emily, through her engagement to Homer Barron, had entertained.

But these rose-coloured details convey more than Emily’s thwarted sense of womanhood and romantic love.

William Faulkner himself provided us with a clue, and suggested, in an interview he gave at the University of Virginia, that Emily deserved to be given a rose as a ‘gesture’ or ‘salute’ because of all of the torment she had endured: at the hands of her father, perhaps at the hands of Homer as well, and as a result of the townsfolk treating her like an outsider. A rose is a decidedly romantic gift, one which a man might give to a lady as a mark of admiration or respect.

Indeed, roses are rich in symbolism : they are associated with love and romance, but also with an overly romantic view of the past, as in the phrase ‘rose-tinted spectacles’. ‘A Rose for Emily’ is a story about a woman who is, in a sense, trapped in the past: she is reluctant to give up the dead body of her father when he dies, and she is unwilling to let Homer leave her, being prepared to kill him in order to keep him in her life.

For the next few decades, she keeps him in the attic chamber so she can, in effect, arrest the passage of time and keep him close to her.

So the ‘rose’ for Emily also symbolises the romance of the Old South: a land of idealism and tradition, looking back to a feudal European past of the Middle Ages (as Mark Twain pointed out , it was Sir Walter Scott’s medieval romance Ivanhoe , more than Uncle Tom’s Cabin , that was really the book that caused the Civil War).

Emily’s Hair.

When the rotting body of Homer Barron is discovered in the bedroom of Emily’s house, the narrator observes that the pillow next to the body showed signs of an indentation, suggesting that Emily had been in the habit of lying next to the body with her head resting on the pillow next to his head (although not everyone believes this theory). One lock of her iron-grey hair is found on the pillow, confirming this.

The hair is described as iron -grey, symbolising the iron tenacity of Emily in keeping Homer close to her – in death, if that’s what it took (and it clearly did take that). The ‘iron’ is appropriate, since Emily is a character who is seen to be clinging to other things: to her father’s body when he dies (she is reluctant to give it up to the ministers for burial), to Homer when he rejects her, and, most of all, to a past that no longer exists.

The lock of her hair is also a symbol of Emily’s strange tenderness towards Homer – a man she killed in an act of mad, obsessive love. But Emily’s hair is significant throughout the story: earlier, the narrator told her that she cut her hair short after her father died.

This can be interpreted as a declaration of her independence – one cannot imagine her father letting her wear her hair in such an unladylike fashion – but as with so many of the details in the story, her actual motives are inscrutable.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Society — A Rose For Emily Theme Analysis

A Rose for Emily Theme Analysis

• Categories: Mental Health Society

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Published: Mar 19, 2024

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I. introduction, a. "a rose for emily" by william faulkner is a timeless classic that delves into the complexities of human nature and societal norms. set in the fictional town of jefferson, the story follows the life of emily grierson, a reclusive woman whose mysterious actions captivate the townspeople., b. thesis statement: the theme of isolation in "a rose for emily" highlights the impact of societal expectations on an individual's mental health. throughout the narrative, faulkner skillfully portrays the consequences of isolation and the detrimental effects of conforming to societal standards., ii. emily's isolation from society, a. from the outset, signs of emily's isolation are evident. she is portrayed as a recluse, rarely seen in public and shrouded in mystery. her secluded lifestyle raises questions among the townspeople, leading to speculation and gossip., b. various factors contribute to emily's isolation, including her domineering father's influence and the town's rigid expectations of her. the pressure to adhere to societal norms and maintain her family's reputation weighs heavily on emily, pushing her further into seclusion., c. the effects of emily's isolation on her mental state are profound. as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that her solitude has taken a toll on her psyche. her erratic behavior and detachment from reality point to the damaging consequences of prolonged isolation., iii. society's role in emily's isolation, a. society's expectations play a significant role in emily's isolation. the townspeople hold her to a high standard, expecting her to uphold the traditions of the past and conform to their ideals of propriety. this pressure only serves to exacerbate emily's feelings of isolation and alienation., b. the consequences of society's treatment of emily are far-reaching. she is judged and ostracized by the community, forced to live up to their unrealistic expectations while grappling with her own inner turmoil. the town's collective judgment further isolates emily, driving her deeper into seclusion., c. in comparison to other characters in the story, emily's isolation stands out as particularly tragic. while others may experience moments of loneliness or alienation, emily's isolation is all-encompassing, shaping her entire existence. faulkner uses emily's character to explore the devastating impact of societal pressure and the toll it can take on an individual's mental health., d. emily's struggle with tradition and change is a central theme in "a rose for emily." throughout the story, emily resists the changing world around her, clinging to the traditions of the past. her refusal to adapt to societal norms and embrace progress ultimately leads to her isolation and downfall., e. the tension between tradition and progress is palpable in the story, highlighting the clash between old ways and new ideas. emily's inability to reconcile these conflicting forces results in her alienation from society and ultimately her tragic demise., f. emily's struggle with tradition and change also impacts her relationships with others. her refusal to conform to societal expectations creates a barrier between herself and the townspeople, making it difficult for her to form meaningful connections. this isolation further deepens her sense of loneliness and detachment from the world around her..

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132 A Rose for Emily Essay Topics & Examples

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If you struggle to write a character analysis, essay, or even a sole thesis statement for A Rose for Emily, this article will be helpful. Our experts have gathered titles so that you can explore the story’s symbolism, isolation, death, and more.

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Do you find yourself wondering what you can discuss in A Rose for Emily essay? Grab some sample topic questions below:

• What is the role of the southern storytelling style in the story?
• Does the non-chronological order of story affect readers’ perception? How?
• How does the author build suspense? Is it effective?
• Why did the murderer of Homer Barron remain unknown until Emily’s death?
• Analyze the portrayal of social structure of the South in the book. How does Faulkner describe changes in the early twentieth century?

If you want more helpful samples and suggestions to help you achieve your best, check our website!

• Critique for ‘A Rose for Emily’ The focus of this paper is to analyze the article, A Romance to Kill For: Homicidal Complicity in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” published in the journal of Studies in Short Fiction in terms of […]
• Importance of Point of View in “A Rose for Emily” On the one hand, it depends on the person who is telling the story; on the other hand, it is determined by the level of the narrator’s awareness.
• William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” Reaction Paper In this reaction paper to one of the most prominent Faulkner’s works, I attempt to describe and analyze the strategies that the author used to make this conflict acute and sympathetic to the reader.
• The Symbolism of the House in “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner The author identifies the decaying symbolism of the house in the text through the author’s constant mentions of dust, which fills the Griersons’ mansion: “faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils”.
• “A Rose for Emily” by W. Faulkner: Symbolism and Themes In “A Rose for Emily,” the theme of adapting to the changing environment is developed through the character of Miss Grierson and her reluctance to the changes.
• “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner: The Last Paragraph Although he uses the aspect of foreshadowing to relate to the tragic end of the story, the final paragraph comes as a shock to the reader.
• A Rose for Emily: Faulkner’s Short Story vs. Chubbuck’s Film Curry believed that the “stylistics of Faulkner’s language…serves to subordinate Emily, ostensibly the subject of the tale, and to elevate the town as the truer subject”.
• A Rose for Emily A rose for Emily is one of the books that is rich in styles that are employed to bring a clear picture of the theme story.
• Nobility vs. Femininity: Overcoming Gender Norms in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” The plot of the story follows the life and death of a Southern woman Emily Grierson, mostly in the period after the Civil War.
• “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner In conclusion, A Rose for Emily is an excellent example of the Southern Gothic genre. A Rose for Emily illustrates the Southern Gothic genre by reating it to Homer’s murder.
• Grotesque in “A Rose for Emily” by W. Faulkner One of the most appealing aspects of William Faulkner’s short story A Rose for Emily is that the readers’ exposure to the main character of Emily Grierson provides them with a better understanding of what […]
• Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner The character of Emily Grierson in William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily”, leaves the reader in dilemma as to whether Emily is the protagonist or the antagonist.
• A Rose for Emily: A Short Story by William Faulkner However, in the course of the third part of the story, Faulkner quickly shifts from Miss Emily and Homer conjuring up some form of a relationship to discussing her purchasing the poison.
• William Faulkner and His Rose for Emily A Rose for Emily is the story that is characterized by numerous critical opinions: readers found the story interesting, unusual, and educative; and critics tried to admit as many negative or weak points as possible […]
• Binary Opposition in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” To transmit the message, Faulkner uses three binary oppositions: death life, the old the new, and the North the South. In this passage, Emily is compared to the soldiers who fell in the Civil War […]
• Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”: Discussion and Analysis The author emphasizes the theme of gender roles and their perception in the story of Emily and the rest of the town.
• The Use of Symbolic Meaning in “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner Losing her hair is a tragedy for a woman, and this symbol is also an implication of Emily’s life tragedy as she loses her love and has a life of wasting. Also, Emily isolated herself […]
• Stylistic Devices in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner One of the stylistic devices employed by Faulkner in the story A Rose for Emily is the use of the third person plural point of view of course through hearsay.
• Solitude as a Theme in The Yellow Wallpaper & A Rose for Emily She is an embodiment of a great breakthrough in the fact that she rediscovers her new energy and point of view.
• Social Picture of US Southern Society: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner In the short story, Faulkner portrays that the beginning of the 1900s was marked by great social and economic changes but many people fail to accommodate their life to new social relations and a new […]
• A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wallpaper: Compare & Contrast That is one of the main dangers that people should be aware of. This is one of the main points that can be made.
• Social Victimization in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner This is because it was namely the fact that, ever since her early years Emily was indoctrinated to believe that she had no other option but to live up to the expectations of her traditionally […]
• Literature Studies: William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily The author focuses on the life of Emily Grierson who once belonged to the Southern aristocracy; however, she is forced to adjust to the changes that American society underwent. This is one of the main […]
• A Rose for Emily Literary Analysis To gain an understanding of the story within a brief analysis, it is necessary to examine the story’s plot, characterization, point of view, theme, symbols, and setting.
• Protagonist’s Choices in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily Arguably, Emily’s actions and choices in life are wrong and in contrast to the social expectations because of the impact her overly controlling and manipulative father had on her early upbringing.
• Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily and Wright’s The Man Who Was Almost a Man William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, set in Jefferson during the decades preceding and following the start of the twentieth century, depicts how an innocent girl, Emily Grierson, is driven to madness.
• The Lost Cause Interpretation of Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” Another interesting feature of the story is the couple of main topics of the work: the changes in the South and societal issues in general.
• William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and the Confederacy The third element of the Lost Cause myth is that the Confederacy was lost as a result of the high numerical that the Northern states had.
• Gender Roles in “A Rose for Emily”: Quotation Analysis This quote can be used to emphasize how detached from the human essence and, accordingly, the gender of Miss Emily is reflected by the author.
• O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily It further assesses the impact of the mode in which the information in the books is arranged compared to if it were set in a sequential manner.
• Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” as Gothic Romance In the story, the reader can share the experience of necrophilia and explore the components of decay by observing Emily who plays a dual part as both the subject and the object of necrophilia.
• “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner and “Those Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Le Guin In a way, the narrator serves as a guide in the made-up city that seems utopian until the readers find out about the child suffering in the basement and guaranteeing the happiness of everybody else […]
• Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”: Emily Grierson Characteristics The death of her father comes as a relief to her. Society wants her to live in the past that is already behind her.
• “A Rose for Emily” and “Paul’s Case”: Discontent With Life A rose for Emily and Paul’s case both convey stories of protagonists who were discontented with their lives and chose to defy society as a result of that discontentment.
• Relationships of History and Literature: “I Stood Here Ironing”, “The Courtship of Mr. Lyon”, “A Rose for Emily” The next work to be discussed is an ironical interpretation of the classical fairy-tale “The Beauty and the Beast” titled “The Courtship of Mr.
• “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner, “The Handsomest Man Drowned in the World” by Marques, and “Cathedral” by Carver Initially, it seems to them that this is just some see animal or even whale though later they understand that this is the body of a human being.
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• Miss Emily Grierson’s Character Analysis: “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner Her assumed insanity was to be expected after all the things she has endured the loss of a mother while growing up, the death of a father, the sudden loss of a charmed way of […]
• Families in ”A Rose for Emily” and ”Yellow Wallpaper” In prison with nothing to do, she eventually lost her mind and imagined that she was trapped in the yellow wallpaper.
• “A Rose for Emily” and “Letter of John Rolfe” An illustration to explain that this is nonfiction is the fact that it states, “This is a copy of the gentleman’s letters to Sir Thomas Dale.
• A Rose for Emily by Faulkner: Garrison’s Analysis In his examination of the story “A Rose for Emily,” Garrison presents an entirely different method of examination as compared to previous critiques of the story wherein he focuses on the way in which the […]
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• The Weaknesses and Insecurities of Emily in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
• The Use of the Same Setting in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
• The Peculiar Style of the Short Story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
• What Details Support That Faulkner Uses Symbolism in “A Rose for Emily”?
• Why Did Emily From “A Rose for Emily” Buy Arsenic?
• What Is Important About the Title of the Short Story “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Are the Conflicts in “A Rose for Emily”?
• How Does William Faulkner Reveal Character in “A Rose for Emily”?
• How Do the Themes in “A Rose for Emily” Relate to the Plot and Characters?
• What Is the Role of Wife and Mother in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is Significant About the Gray Hair at the End of “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is the Metaphor in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is the Central/Primary Purpose of “A Rose for Emily”?
• How Essential Is the Setting to the Story “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is the Role of Women in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Mental Illness Did Emily Have In “A Rose for Emily”?
• How Do the Symbols in “A Rose for Emily” Relate to the Plot and Characters?
• What Is the Moral Lesson of “A Rose for Emily”?
• Is Emily From “A Rose for Emily” a Victim or a Predator?
• What Is the Main Problem in “A Rose for Emily”?
• Does Any Uncertainty Remain in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is Emily’s Place in the Socio-Economic Structure of ‘“A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is the Conclusion in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is the Author’s Purpose of “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Is the Relationship Between Miss Emily and Her Father in “A Rose for Emily”?
• Is Emily’s Father to Blame for Insanity in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Are Literary Devices in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Causes the Smell Around Emily’s House in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Are the Elements in the Story of “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Are the Multiple Meanings for the “Rose” in “A Rose for Emily”?
• Who Is the Antagonist in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Kind of Language Does the Author Use in “A Rose for Emily”?
• What Kind of Narrator Is the Character Who Tells Miss Emily’s Story From “A Rose for Emily”?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 22). 132 A Rose for Emily Essay Topics & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/a-rose-for-emily-essay-examples/

"132 A Rose for Emily Essay Topics & Examples." IvyPanda , 22 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/a-rose-for-emily-essay-examples/.

IvyPanda . (2024) '132 A Rose for Emily Essay Topics & Examples'. 22 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "132 A Rose for Emily Essay Topics & Examples." February 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/a-rose-for-emily-essay-examples/.

1. IvyPanda . "132 A Rose for Emily Essay Topics & Examples." February 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/a-rose-for-emily-essay-examples/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "132 A Rose for Emily Essay Topics & Examples." February 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/a-rose-for-emily-essay-examples/.

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