"A Rose For Emily"

I absolutely LOVE this story. I had the chance to read A Rose for Emily during my TESL course in UPM. This story is written by William Faulkner. This is one of his best pieces. Faulkner's usage of symbolism in such a short piece was very well done. In third person narrative he clearly described a southern belle, named Miss Emily, and what it means to grow up with an image to uphold. However, the prestige that comes with the image can cause damage to one's life as seen in Miss Emily.


Life, love, and normality was left void in Miss Emily's life. As a member of the elite Grierson family, Miss Emily was isolated from the outside world and deprived of having an ordinary life. The same luxurious home that all the people in Miss Emily's neighborhood envied is symbolized as the torture chamber in which Miss Emily lived in for all her days. The home grew an identity to represent Miss Emily. The house is described as "an eyesore among eyesores" and Miss Emily is described in a much more detailed and grotesque image as being "bloated like a body long submeged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue." She is nearly described as a walking corpse. This also sheds light on how everyone in the community grew to view Miss Emily. Even though Miss Emily came from the reknowned Grierson family which symbolized the Southern romantic persona, Miss Emily became a burden on the town because she refused to tidy her home and pay her taxes.


In addition to life and normality, Miss Emily also forfeited love in her quest to uphold her family's name and prestige. When Miss Emily noticed the wandering personality of the only man she ever loved besides her father, Homer Barron, she bought arsenic and killed him. She kept his corpse in her bed where she slept laying next to him every night. This is the part of the story that always stuck with me. I always found it strangely interesting that she was comfortable and secure with a corpse laying next to her every night. I also wondered why Miss Emily felt that true love stopped with Homer Barron. This made me feel as though Miss Emily's only purpose in life was death, so that she could go back to the lifestyle that she knew best, one involving the warmth and comfort of her deceased love ones and deceased husband.


The third person narrative to explain the events surrounding Miss Emily gave a more interesting account of why Miss Emily lived the way she did and the absurdity of her actions. It also gives the feel of being on the outside looking in the way everyone in Miss Emily's town were positioned in viewing the actions that went on inside her home. From this point of view, the story is more shocking and mind-blowing. Faulkner did a superb job with offering the surprise through this person's perspective.


This is definitely a great read and I would recommend it to anyone. I'm happy I read it again.