Theme Of Obsession In A Rose For Emily

Merriam Webster defines obsession as “a state in which someone thinks about someone or something constantly or frequently especially in a way that is not normal.” People who seem obsessed can come off as foolish to others but to them they do not realize the things they are doing are drastic. A common obsession of many people is that of their past. It provides an escape from the truth of the present and the pain of reality. The theme of obsession is unmistakable in three short stories: “The Glass Menagerie”, “The Lottery”, and “A Rose for Emily”. In each of these stories, the characters have an unhealthy obsession with the past and how the world use to be in order to escape the reality that is their current world. In “A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner, he presents an extreme level of obsession demonstrated by Emily Grierson. Emily was a tragic character who was living in changing times. Throughout her life, she depended on her father for just about everything but in return, he was over protective and …show more content…
The shocking part of the story is revealed towards the end when this tradition turns out to be a stoning of one townsperson on the same exact date each year, like clockwork. However, their obsession with maintaining this tradition has become almost meaningless over time. Jackson writes, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones (249). No one really knows when the tradition had started or knows when it will end but nevertheless, they are bent on holding the annual stoning each year. Even after the death of one of their own, the townspeople go back to their daily lives as if nothing had happened. Children partake in the gruesome tradition and parents participate without batting an eye. The town’s obsession with maintaining their tradition has made them blind to the horrible