Literary Analysis-A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

 

Authors Note: To begin, I would like to offer my opinion on this story. While I was confused initially by the organization, I realized it was part of the stories plan, one that William Faulkner explored and employed in order to add a shock factor to the overall shocking and gloomy story. I highly recommend reading the story and taking the time to re-read and understand Faulkner's writing. Enjoy! 

                             

                               A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner - Literary Analysis

William Faulkner wrote A Rose for Emily during the late 1920’s, a time after the story’s setting which is placed in a post-Civil War, where tensions between the North and South are still sensitive and social hierarchy still stands. Writing this short story out of any traditional chronological structure allows vivid description about the strange and peculiar actions that Emily Grierson carries out in order to foreshadow the shocking ending of the story while also allowing for a suspenseful and gloomy picture to be painted of Emily's life, and therefore adding shock to the ending of the gothic southern tale. 

Beginning with the the narrator describing the funeral as “-a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument-” turns a sad event into a high celebration. Later describing Miss Emily as “Alive, Miss Emily had been...a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town...” placing a child-like emphasis on Emily, juxtaposing the higher standard initially described. By taking the time to describe the house Emily's family has owned for centuries, one that once held a high standing in society that now is in ruins, almost a direct correlation to Emily, saying that she had once been radiant but now is a reclusive older woman. 

Image from Tumblr, an interpretation of what Emily looks like/represents.

Section two incorporates foreshadowing, speaking to the smell that arose from Emily's home, pointing out subtly that it appeared after "her sweetheart-the one we believed would marry her-" has seemingly left her. By the end of the story, it is clear that the smell was caused by Homers decaying body, which Emily left in an upstairs bedroom.

Image from EssayPro.com

The division of the story is guided by the details presented in the previous section, for example, section one ends with Emily sending off town officials allowing for section two to begin with “So she vanquished them...just as she had...their fathers thirty years before...”. The story is also guided to represent the memory of the narrator. The narrator accounts for details in an unorganized pattern, almost the way one would orally tell a long story. Arguably, Faulkner hope to recreate a storytelling experience on paper. The foreshadowing and clues presented throughout are difficult to notice at first however, they help to add a twist one does not expect in the conclusion and create the mysterious southern gothic feeling William Faulkner is known for.