The mystery in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is integral to the story. Reading the short story with the missing excerpt loses that mystery, and instead reveals a little too much, a little to soon. Faulkner also does not follow a traditional timeline. We do not see Emily from birth to death in that order, but flashbacks and flash-forwards of specific events that relate to Emily’s issues with the place she lives. We also watch as Emily ages quite fiercely amidst the death around her, becoming increasingly more strange, but still left alone by the town. Lastly, Emily’s relationship with Homer is barely detailed but overpowers almost everything else in her life.
What interests me first is the tension between Emily and the …show more content…
From Emily’s father, to Homer, to Emily herself. Death affects every human different, but it really seemed to control Emily, even though the people that have passed no longer have any control over her. Living in the south in this time period, it was still unheard of for women to be out on their own and unmarried at the “elderly” age of 30. When her father dies, she at first refuses to admit it to the town and probably to herself. She even refuses to hand over the body, which is the first indication the narrator gives to the readers that something else is at hand. She eventually does turn the body over to a man named Homer. Homer and Emily begin seeing each other, to the dismay of the town, who although believe Emily to be extremely odd, still do not believe Homer is of the same status as her. They talk behind her back, and it is revealed that Homer has run out on Emily, never to be seen again. After this, she buys poison, presumably to kill herself, and still the town remains uncaring. A feeling of death is also permanently etched around Emily. She is always described as cold and dark, as well as looking dead on her feet, limp and circling the drain. There seem to be very few people that have a physical connection at all to Emily, and nearly every reference to her is one from far away, which further cloaks her in …show more content…
Granted, this is the only section in which we actually hear from Emily in a first hand point of view, I like the mystery of only seeing her through the eyes of the townspeople—we see her eccentricities as they do, we become fascinated by glimpses of her, as they do. We learn what they learn and therefore can be as shocked and appalled as they are by the grand reveal of Emily’s upstairs room. I think the story flows wonderfully without this segment, showcasing Emily as a mystery to the readers as well as the townspeople. I also think she has been severely mistreated by her fellow residents of their southern town. She was clearly a woman who liked her privacy, but it is mind-boggling to me to see how nosy the citizens were, but when it came to actually enforcing their own rules, they lacked courage. I think Homer’s death is unavoidable, because Emily seems to be a woman who needs to be in charge of those she loves but can only manage that charge if they are dead. I do think he may have been discovered earlier if the town was more vigilant with the complaints they received about her and managed her flagrant disregard of the
What interests me first is the tension between Emily and the …show more content…
From Emily’s father, to Homer, to Emily herself. Death affects every human different, but it really seemed to control Emily, even though the people that have passed no longer have any control over her. Living in the south in this time period, it was still unheard of for women to be out on their own and unmarried at the “elderly” age of 30. When her father dies, she at first refuses to admit it to the town and probably to herself. She even refuses to hand over the body, which is the first indication the narrator gives to the readers that something else is at hand. She eventually does turn the body over to a man named Homer. Homer and Emily begin seeing each other, to the dismay of the town, who although believe Emily to be extremely odd, still do not believe Homer is of the same status as her. They talk behind her back, and it is revealed that Homer has run out on Emily, never to be seen again. After this, she buys poison, presumably to kill herself, and still the town remains uncaring. A feeling of death is also permanently etched around Emily. She is always described as cold and dark, as well as looking dead on her feet, limp and circling the drain. There seem to be very few people that have a physical connection at all to Emily, and nearly every reference to her is one from far away, which further cloaks her in …show more content…
Granted, this is the only section in which we actually hear from Emily in a first hand point of view, I like the mystery of only seeing her through the eyes of the townspeople—we see her eccentricities as they do, we become fascinated by glimpses of her, as they do. We learn what they learn and therefore can be as shocked and appalled as they are by the grand reveal of Emily’s upstairs room. I think the story flows wonderfully without this segment, showcasing Emily as a mystery to the readers as well as the townspeople. I also think she has been severely mistreated by her fellow residents of their southern town. She was clearly a woman who liked her privacy, but it is mind-boggling to me to see how nosy the citizens were, but when it came to actually enforcing their own rules, they lacked courage. I think Homer’s death is unavoidable, because Emily seems to be a woman who needs to be in charge of those she loves but can only manage that charge if they are dead. I do think he may have been discovered earlier if the town was more vigilant with the complaints they received about her and managed her flagrant disregard of the