A ROSE FOR EMILY

A ROSE FOR EMILY : AN ANALYSIS

A Rose For Emily is a short story written by William Faulkner and was first published on April 30 , 1930 . The story , told from a third person perspective (the townspeople ) and revolves around the life of a spinster named Emily who has been dubbed as eccentric by her neighbors because of her unconventional mode of living

The story starts off with Emily 's funeral with the author giving the readers an idea of the kind of woman Emily is as well as the kind of life

she led . The author begins to describe Emily as someone whom the men see through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument while the women are mostly curious about Emily 's house since no one with the exception of a manservant /gardener , has entered . From these statements , the readers easily grasp the idea that Emily was a mystery to her neighbors and that no one really knew her or her background -which evoked a deep sense of curiosity among the people who lived nearby

Noteworthy in this story is the fact that it begins with the death of the main character Emily Grierson and goes back to the life she led as told by the townspeople . The narrative style of the story is also interesting as there is a strong suggestion that it is the entire town that is telling the story . As noted by Eric Knickerbocker in his analysis of the said short story , the narrative voice suggests the gossipy nature of a Southern town where everyone knows everyone else and noisy neighbors speculate about the affairs of Miss Emily , noting her often antiquated ways and her early retirement . The first explicit example of this occurrence takes place during the flashback in the second section , when , in speaking of her sweetheart , the narrator parenthetically adds the one we believed would marry her (Knickerbocker , 2003

All of these s effectively suggest decay , neglect and a strong sense of entropy -which , according to Knickerbocker , helps readers see the deeper themes in Faulkner 's story

One of more striking traits of this particular story from William Faulkner is his style of using symbolism throughout the storyline which helps readers understand the theme or feelings involved . In the of the house , one can see through the author 's that Emily was not in a very good financial state nor was her house very well taken cared of -- only Miss Emily 's house was left , lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores . The author goes on to describe the house as one that smelled of dust and disuse - a closed , dank smell .Even her appearance was described so eloquently by the author and quickly gives the reader an idea that her life on Earth was not bountiful - Her skeleton was small and spare ' and she looked bloated , like a body long submerged in motionless water , and of...