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Interpretive Essay for A Rose for Emily

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A Rose for Emily : The Social Construction of Psychosis

A Rose for Emily ' is a short story written by William Faulkner , an American novelist and poet from the state of Mississippi (lauded as the inventor of the so-called stream of consciousness technique in fiction - awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949 . This is a recount of the story of an eccentric , Emily Grierson . According to some people in the town , Emily was controlled and manipulated by her father . She considered his father a

special person as noted in her father 's funeral where for three days , she had been telling the townspeople that her father was alive . Her lover , Homer Barron (a Northerner ) threatened to leave her for another man (a case of homosexuality . After the incident the townspeople believed that the Yankee road worker returned to the north . During the incident , Emily Grierson was seen buying arsenic from a local drugstore hence the townspeople assumed that she will commit suicide . Thus , the townspeople continued to gossip about the Emily 's family history of mental illness . From that time , she was rarely seen by the townspeople . She seldom left her home . The townspeople also noted the significant changes both in the body and character of Emily . He became fat and somewhat older (hair turning gray . During her seclusion ' from her society , she began giving lessons in china-painting . She also designed a studio where the daughters and granddaughters of Colonel Sartoris (whom she greatly admired ) went with regularly . After 40 years , she died . An old Negro forced to open the door of a room (where no one was able to see for many decades ) in Emily 's house . To the surprise of everyone , Homer 's corpse was lying on the bed embraced in a curl of love (a long strand of Emily 's hair was found in the second pillow of the bed . The psychosis of Emily Grierson generally was strengthened by the social conditions directed to her (by the townspeople

The first social condition ' that led her to become a psychotic was the sheriff 's tax notification . The former mayor , Colonel Sartoris assured her that , in return for the money loaned by his father to the town , she would be exempted from paying taxes . This arrangement was changed by the new authorities of the town . In one scene , Emily said I have no taxes in Jefferson . Colonel Sartoris explained it to me Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and testify yourselves (Faulkner I . Without due consideration to the arrangement made by the former mayor (who was dead already ) and Emily , the authorities were determined to implement the tax notice given to her This instance was proved when one of the authorities said , But we have . We are the city authorities , Miss Emily . Didn 't you get a notice from the sheriff , signed by him (Faulkner I . This infuriated Emily She argued that although she received the tax notice...

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