Many people in today’s world find it difficult to discover who they really are and what their purpose is in life. Nobody wants to be an outcast however sometimes fitting in can be difficult. William Faulkner shows us in his short story “A Rose for Emily” that a lot of times people rely on others to help them feel comfortable in life. Emily, the main character, was thought to be a kind of odd person however everyone had some level of respect for her. During the entire story nobody truly knew who Emily was. In life many can feel this way because they do not accept their true inner being and they end up following the crowd. Faulkner does not give the reader a clear understanding of Emily’s situation in the beginning of the story. All we know
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When looking at people today it is common for them to do what is considered normal to the general public in order to fit in. However Emily took a different approach to her difficult situation. The only thing Emily truly needed was the presence of her father. It was when she finally let go of his body that she felt lost. In order to fix her problem Emily first went to the store to pick up a specific item. “ “I want some poison,” she said to the druggist ” (Faulkner 34). When the people of the city saw that she had purchased poison they immediately assumed she would use it to poison herself. However as we discover in the end of the story, that is not the case. At the end of this sort story, after Emily’s death, people of the city are able to go into her house. They found the body of the man Emily once dated, “ The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace ” (Faulkner 59). In order to relieve herself of the emptiness she felt with the absence of her father, Emily poisoned this man in order to keep him forever. When reading this it is very bizarre and frightening to think she’d do this just to have somebody forever. However this was the only way she could receive the closure she needed. Today, when people cannot find themselves they follow the crowd. A false self identity is sometimes all somebody needs to get through the day. Humans thrive when partnered with others that have similar goals. Joining the majority is easy because the effort required to hide your differences is easier when a person 's outer appearance is that of the more popular
When looking at people today it is common for them to do what is considered normal to the general public in order to fit in. However Emily took a different approach to her difficult situation. The only thing Emily truly needed was the presence of her father. It was when she finally let go of his body that she felt lost. In order to fix her problem Emily first went to the store to pick up a specific item. “ “I want some poison,” she said to the druggist ” (Faulkner 34). When the people of the city saw that she had purchased poison they immediately assumed she would use it to poison herself. However as we discover in the end of the story, that is not the case. At the end of this sort story, after Emily’s death, people of the city are able to go into her house. They found the body of the man Emily once dated, “ The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace ” (Faulkner 59). In order to relieve herself of the emptiness she felt with the absence of her father, Emily poisoned this man in order to keep him forever. When reading this it is very bizarre and frightening to think she’d do this just to have somebody forever. However this was the only way she could receive the closure she needed. Today, when people cannot find themselves they follow the crowd. A false self identity is sometimes all somebody needs to get through the day. Humans thrive when partnered with others that have similar goals. Joining the majority is easy because the effort required to hide your differences is easier when a person 's outer appearance is that of the more popular