A Rose For Emily Edwin Robinson Analysis

In modern society, there is no truer statement than “money is power”. Because of this, the world can be divided into subcategories based on net worth. Alternatively, society groups people by race. This compulsive categorization of society is now so deeply ingrained that society couldn’t possibly function without it. Who is the cause of this division of the classes? Is it the fault of the middle class simply because it holds the majority of the population? Or perhaps it is the fault of the richest people because they hold the most power? A single group cannot be held responsible. The main characters of “Richard Cory” by Edwin Robinson, and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner both struggle with this social divide. Through the use of point …show more content…
Robinson illustrates the social divide by demonstrating that the townsfolk think of Richard as a royal figure through the use of regal imagery. The clearest example of this come from line 9 in which the narrator says “he was rich- yes, richer than a king-” (Suiter). This allusion to a monarchy implies that there is a clear class division between Richard Corey and the lowly townspeople. There are many other examples of regal imagery throughout the poem. The continued use of words, such as “crown” and “imperially,” emphasized Cory’s high status. This imagery widens the gap between Cory and the townspeople. This makes it evident that Richard’s own social standing was the predominant cause of his suicide, not the people themselves. While Robinson’s character was held in high regard by the common folk, that was not the case in “A Rose for Emily.” Emily was a mystery to her community, more of a puzzle than a person. However, she too was in a distinctly separate social class. This is made obvious first through the repeated use of the word “negro”. It has already been established that the story was written in first person plural. From this the inference can be made that the general public is addressing her using this word. Their identification of her as a black woman implies that they themselves are not people of colour. This automatically creates a rift between Emily and the townspeople, just as Richard Cory was in his community. The divide is made more evident still by the imagery of Miss Emily’s house. Her house stands alone, long past its glory days, an “eyesore among eyesores”(“A Rose for Emily”). Her house is a reflection of her own position in society. Unlike Richard Cory, the imagery shows that Emily was looked down upon by the people of Jefferson. However, characters of both stories were of a different class than the rest of the town, and were isolated