William Cuthbert Faulkner is a name that stands tall, undisputedly unquestioned in the golden pages of American literature. The noble prize-winning novelist and short story writer influenced millions of readers of his time and the times to follow, through the magically overwhelming and crafty writings. He is the acclaimed and accepted as one of the greatest writers of the past century who transformed his “postage stamp” of native soil into an apocryphal and artistic setting in which he explored, articulated, and challenged “the old verities and truths of the heart.” William Faulkner was a man who was one of the classically eminent stars who sparkled and dazzled the American literary sky of his time.

The “A Rose for Emily” was Faulkner’s first short story published in a major magazine. Essentially featuring an eccentric spinster, Emily Grierson, the story truly stands by itself and although Faulkner himself very modestly called it as a Ghost story, most critics, all over the world do call it as an extraordinarily versatile and accessible piece of work.  The strange circumstances of Emily’s life and her relationships with her father, her lover, and the town of Jefferson is detailed by an unnamed narrator. The story bases itself on a horrible secret that Emily hides. The subtle modulations and complexities in this remarkable story inspire the readers and compel them to stay glued to the story. Death is prevailing, both factually and metaphorically, in the story. “The day after her father’s death, all the ladies prepared to call at the house and offer condolence and aid, as is our custom. Miss Emily met them at the door,… with no trace of grief on her face. She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days…. ” (William Faulkner, 1993)

It is a short account integrated in the compilation called the Village, anthology that also contains more than a few works like dry September, hair or the evening sun. The works in this compilation have three objects in general, the community, which as we are going to see a very important character as a whole, the solitude of human beings which in the case of Miss Emily is what makes us empathize with this woman. The narrating too is remarkable because the narrator himself does not know everything about what is really happening during the story. In this essay the main task is to build up all the individuality about this strange narrator. Faulkner’s name is remembered and commemorated today as a young and exceptionally talented writer who  never graduated from high school and never received a college degree and lived in a small town in  a very poor state of the nation and yet strived to balance a growing family that was almost at all times in a state of financial depreciation and ruin, and still managed to successfully come out with a series of remarkably charismatic and truly appreciable works during the Great Depression that undoubtedly  uprooted and brought shivers in the economies and lives of numerous American homes. In his novel, he wants his reader not to let death overpower his life. THESIS:  A person should try and let go of his beloved ones after they no longer live and always expect the unexpected, very much like when Emily kills Homer.

Born on September 25, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi, he was the first of the four sons of Murry and Maud Butler Falkner. He was named after his great-grandfather, William Clark Faulkner, the “Old Colonel,” who a lawyer, businessman, politician, planter, Civil War colonel, railroad financier, and a remarkably capable novelist too whose book, The White Rose of Memphis, was no less than a grand success.

In April of 1930, Faulkner was to see the first national publication of his short story, “A Rose for Emily,” in the Forum magazine, followed by “Honor” in American Mercury, and “Thrift,” and “Red Leaves,” in the Saturday Evening Post. However by this time his reasonable success in short stories brought him more publishers. The sanctuary, published now, proved to be bestselling novel until 1939.

After this he came out with These 13, a collection of short stories and the  Light in August, a novel that essentially featured a man of uncertain racial lineage who, as an orphaned child, depicts Faulkner’s explorations of race and the outcasts in the southern country. He dedicated both works to his wife and his now dead young daughter.

Although he produced several wonderful and appreciable novels, Faulkner is till today remembered mostly as one of the best short story writers of all times. Of his vast collection of short stories, the Rose For Emily and The Barn Burning were his best of all works.

The story reflects how past events effect the main character Miss Emily, especially her mental state who seems to live in a world of fantasy where death has no real meaning. Miss Emily refuses to accept or even recognize the death of her father or that of Colonel Satoris. She refuses to acknowledge and accept the reality of the changing world around her and thus surrounds herself with death.

Symbols express unique implication to the reader all through. William Faulkner makes use of symbolism in a fairly good quantity of his works. Faulkner makes the most of conventional symbols, metaphors, and unconventional symbols. In his short story, “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner uses unconventional symbols. These endow with superior perception of the setting, facilitate identify the sensation of Miss Emily’s personality, and engage in a decisive job in illuminating the story’s theme.

Very clearly Faulkner sends out a very useful message through the story. He wants his reader not to let death overpower his life.  He believes that a person should try and let go of his beloved ones after they no longer live. He also wants us to always expect the unexpected, very much like when Emily kills Homer. The concept gets very clear when we recall him saying, “the old verities and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed - love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice.” He further said, “I decline to accept the end of man…. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s duty is to write about these things…. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.” (The Nobel speech, 1950)

The foremost procedure he used was sympathy.

The reader gets an emotion of distress for Emily and wants providential things to happen to her. Unfairness is exposed all the way through the novel. By his conversation about how the town pities Miss Emily it makes you feel pity for her also. The storyteller plays a sort of opponent in the story with his judgment of Miss Emily. If you suppose everything the storyteller informs in the story it permits him to twist the story in any way in which he seems vigorous.

Faulkner uses a third person narration in the story as he tries to reveal Emily’s world to the reader as witnessed by a respectable resident. Not only does this allow the reader to understand how the people of Jefferson thought of Emily but makes him aware of many things of her past too.

The story is a marvelous creation of Faulkner. Everything in the story, the setting, the characters and dialogue are all very craftily and placidly written. The story, very cleverly mixed with drama and irony at the end, allows the reader to come face to face with a small town life in the south in the early 1900’s. The story truly stands by itself and although Faulkner himself very modestly called it as a Ghost story, most critics do call it as an extraordinarily versatile piece of work.

There are several ways to interpret the title that William Faulkner has provided his readers with, “A Rose For Emily.” Roses create complex webs of symbolism and connotations. “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town….” (William Faulkner, 1993)

The content and the narrative of the story, support the rose as a significant symbol in the story. Faulkner uses a voice outside of the story within the title to enhance the message behind the story of Emily Grierson. The title, “A Rose for Emily” has several possible interpretations that enhance the meaning of Faulkner’s work. Faulkner symbolically uses the rose as a gesture, Emily giving her respect the town failed to offer her. The town was continuously posing as a prying menace at Emily’s closed doors. Still into her death the narrative voice exposes the town’s extreme inquisitiveness.

Symbols furnish the reader with liberal perception of the setting appealing characters divulge the factual contemplation at the rear of Faulkner’s selection of setting. The central character Miss Emily Grierson, a true Southern Belle, brings the Old South back to life. Miss Emily, similar to the fallen South turns into, “a monument”, ” a tradition, a duty, and a care,” upon the town. In actuality five deaths are talked about or revealed and there are understandable allusions to death all the way through the story.

The narrative commences in section one with the narrator’s memories of Emily’s funeral. He reminisces that it is Emily’s father’s death that prompts Colonel Sartoris to remit her taxes “into perpetuity.” This shows the way to

the tale of the aldermen endeavoring to accumulate taxes from Emily. Faulkner speaks of the fast world around us that compels us to be selfish enough to worry about ourselves and set aside the wrong that goes on around, wrongs that include our problems and issues facing our freedom, our city or town, or even our family and society. The specialty of Faulkner lied in his graceful interpretation of the society. Though the play is intended mainly for the education and entertainment of the young boys and girls it will not be surely shunned by men and women on that account, for part of his plan has been to try to pleasantly remind everyone of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in.

References:

L. Minter David ,William Faulkner:His life and work 1980 - Literary Criticism,ISBN 0801857473 Gray J Richard The Life of William Faulkner: A Critical Biography, Blackwell Publishers, 1994

Faulkner William, 1897-1962 …. Joseph Blotners magisterial “William Faulkner: A Life” (1974), ISBN 0-313-29851-3 alk. paper 1

William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily“: A Study Guide from Gale’s “Short … (December 1983); Language: English; ISBN-10: 0871297213

Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Selected Short Stories. New York: Modern Library, 1993.

The story of “Absalom, Absalom!” takes place during the era from 1833 to 1909.  It is the chronicle of the Stupen family of Jefferson, Mississippi, the patriarch of which is Thomas Stupen who arrives in Jefferson in 1833, arriving with a French architect and several slaves.  Thomas ends up marrying the daughter of a local merchant who gives birth to a son and a daughter.  The children grow in uncultivated northern Mississippi countryside.  Thomas’ son, Henry, goes off to college where he meets a debonair student, Charles Bon, with the two becoming fast friends.  When Henry brings Charles home for Christmas, Charles seems to fall madly in love with Henry’s sister, Judith.  Thomas comes to realize that Charles is his own son from a prior marriage.  When Thomas tries to warn Henry, Henry believes his father is lying to him and leaves with Charles.

After Henry and Charles serve in the Confederate Army, Henry returns home and is told the whole truth about Charles, including the fact that Charles was given birth by a woman who was part black.  This information causes Henry to turn on Charles and when Charles returns to marry Judith, Henry murders him in front of the plantation gates.  Years later, Henry is murdered himself by a half-sister who was born of one of Thomas’ black slaves.

• The story’s presentation was considered innovative when it was written.  Presented as a series of flashbacks as the events were related by different people telling the character Quentin Compson the details they were individually aware of, the story follows Quentin’s efforts to learn more about the history of the Stupen.    As each person relates their knowledge to this twenty year old college student, the dynamics of the tale come into focus. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of this approach and how effectively the approach was used in the novel
  The novel covers several controversial topics, including divorce, incest, racism and slavery.  Select one of these topics and discuss how the story presented the topic, how the topic itself affected the flow and outcome of the story and how these views have changed over the years in our society.

To piece together the puzzle of “Absalom, Absalom!” takes particular talent that many students lack.    The intricacies of its presentation give many students difficulty.  The novel’s name itself even holds somewhat hidden significance with the name Absalom coming from the Hebrew language, meaning “Father” or “Leader of,” giving a hidden hint of the novel’s nature.  Our skilled writers are available to assist in development of essays on this and many other literary novels.  Contact us today and let us assist you in the writing of your next essay assignment.

William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily was published on April 30, 1930, and it is a short story that occurs in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional county created by Faulkner as a setting for many of his novels. The county is located in northwestern Mississippi and its seat of government is located in Jefferson. In this essay, we will attempt to characterize Emily Grierson, the main character of the story, to further examine her actions, behavior and the symbolism of these.

A Rose for Emily is the story of Miss Emily Grierson and her eccentric and somewhat unconventional life. Based on all her actions throughout the story, one cannot help but wonder whether she was just indeed eccentric or downright suffering from a psychological illness. It is the belief of this writer however, that she is just eccentric and hardly afflicted by insanity. It should be noted the old South went by certain strictly held traditions and beliefs. Emily was a representation of these old norms, and so her actions must be understood in that same context. During those times, women of high class such as Emily played very limited roles in society. Mostly, they were restricted to a show of support for their husbands, and if not, there was a semblance of deference always required towards the men. If anything, Emily’s behavior of keeping Homer’s death a secret affair is merely a symbolism for her finally wanting to break free of those same restrictive traditions. Also, the allusion that she was insane could just be another way for the townspeople to excuse themselves for their ignorance of her. The insanity defense is supported by the comparison between her and her house, which through neglect, eventually crumbles slowly into decay. But this image of a slowly rotting house could stand for Emily’s increasingly eccentric behavior, and should by no means be taken as conclusive symbolism for her becoming crazy. Up to the very end of the story, it can be said that her actions were merely eccentric, perhaps even overly so, but not to the point of being mentally unstable or ill.

In the story, although it is commonly assumed that Emily herself killed Homer (through the use of the arsenic she had bought) there can be other conjectures made, such as her Negro servant being the one to have done it. Had it been Emily, her motivation for killing Homer would have been immediately obvious: she had surely known that he was not really interested in marrying her, and since she believed herself to have finally had love, she couldn’t bring it upon her to lose him. As for her long-time servant being responsible, it was also possible for he too, had motive. Being an extremely loyal helper to Emily, he would also have known about Homer’s true intentions, and in order to avoid Emily from getting hurt, decided to kill Homer that he may “stay” with her forevermore. Furthermore, black is a symbolic representation of death, depression or gloom. The very fact that her servant was black could have special meaning then, especially after factoring in the mysterious death of Homer Barron. With regards to the strand of hair found beside Homer’s decaying body, it can be supposed that either she had lain down with him after he died, or had sex with him after the same. The latter scenario, as unbelievable as it sounds, is one of the many contentions given by critical analysts of the novel.

The story also represents the decay and crumbling of the old Southern gentile class, and Emily is Faulkner’s representation of the past generations. The short story is one of those classified as belonging to the Southern Gothic genre, a type of writing style which has story elements with one form of unfortunate quality or the other, while still having a redeeming factor all the while. Emily fits this characterization of the Southern Gothic genre, as her eccentricity is one of the defining facets of her personality, while her desire to be able to love is another. There are also other possible interpretations to the narrative, such that Emily’s refusal to conform to the wishes of the new county administration runs parallel to the idea of the American South being unable or unwilling to follow in the footsteps of the American North. This is where A Rose for Emily is possibly being related to events after the Civil War. Emily’s refusal is very symbolic of this same incident in American history. She is further representative of the Old South with her southern heritage and actions. Her complete stubbornness and unrelenting attitude towards change represented the very values held by Southern society during those times. Also, her behavior was completely contrasting to the behavior and values being exhibited by the rest of her society at the time (her refusal to pay taxes even after so many years on the grounds of Colonel Sartoris’ proclamation, even though he had long been dead), and this is indicative of the South’s being hard-pressed to adapt and change as compared to the North. And if Emily was Faulkner’s representation of the South, Homer Barron stood for the North, a symbol of modern times and adaptability to change. Ultimately, A Rose for Emily uses grotesque mental imagery and first person plural narration to highlight a society trapped in the vestiges, belief and traditions of the past and its struggles to move into the future.

Works Cited

A Rose for Emily.28 Mar. 2007.Ariyam.com.29 Mar. 2007 <http://www.ariyam.com/docs/lit/wf_rose.html>

A Rose for Emily.2007.Answers.com.29 Mar. 2007. <http://www.answers.com/topic/a-rose-for-emily>