The use of Literary Elements in A Rose For Emily Essay

An Elemental Analysis of A Rose for Emily

In William Faulkners A Rose for Emily, there are many writing elements that are used to create his short story. A Rose for Emily is a great reading for analyzing the elements of characterization, setting, and symbolism. Faulkner, one of the greatest American writers, used many elements to achieve the optimum goal of shocking his readers, especially in A Rose for Emily. The use of character, setting, and symbolism in A Rose for Emily will be the main focus of this analysis.

First and foremost, characterization is key to almost all fiction and nonfiction alike. Characterization can be defined as the techniques that a writer uses to develop a character. In A Rose for Emily, Emily Grierson is the main character and Faulkner uses characterization to reveal her. He expresses Emilys content of her character through physical descriptions, actions, words, and feelings. Faulkner also expresses her characterization through the direct comments from the narrator about Emilys nature through the feelings, actions, and words of the other characters in the story. Miss Emily lives hidden for many years in her deceased fathers home and has withdrawn herself into seclusion from the community she lives in. No visitor had passed since she ceased giving china-painting lessons eight or ten years earlier (Faulkner 29). Faulkner also characterizes Miss Emily by her attempt to remove herself from society through her actions. After her fathers death she went out very little after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all. A few of the ladies had the temerity to call, but were not received, and the only sign of life about the place was the Negro man a young man then going in and out with a market basket (Faulkner 30). Emily may have wanted to be secluded, but her heart needed companionship. Emilys craving for love and companionship drove her to murder her sweetheart, Homer Baron. Apparently, Emily knew about her intentions when she bought the arsenic poison. Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indention of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair (Faulkner 34). Emilys deepest feelings and hidden longings were lying in the bed. Her pride resulted in the shocking murder of Homer Baron. Faulkner used characterization to describe Emily and her intentions and was successful in bringing his story to life.

Secondly, the setting is of great importance because it helps to create a backdrop for the actions taking place in the story. Faulkner uses this element to give useful insight into the lonely world of Miss Emily. The author portrays the townspeople and Emily in the southern town of Jefferson during the late 1800s. The town of Jefferson was deeply involved in the life of Emily. They watched and debated her every move, being her analysts, they wondered why she did certain things that her father would not have approved of. The townsfolk had their own ideas of who she was and what they wanted her to be. The power that Emilys father had had overcome Emily and can be seen in a portrait of the two that the narrator describes: Emily a slender woman in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door (Faulkner 31). Emilys father does in fact control her like a horse, never allowing her to date anyone. And until his death she indeed does not. After he dies, we find Emily becoming involved with a gay man, Homer Baron, who she then believes that she will probably marry. We eventually find out that Emily kills Homer, but she does not kill him out of anger or hate. It is to believe that on her part, a man has to play a significant role in her life that it drives her to do this unbelievable act of violence. In her mind, this was not a crazy thing to do. Her intention was to be able to hold on to the male figure that she needed in her life. By understanding Emily, one can see how much of an impact setting can have on a characters life. Setting can mold ones thoughts and sometimes make them unbearable to believe. Setting can cause a person to do terrible things as seen in this story.

Thirdly, William Faulkners use of the symbolic rose is essential to the storys theme about Miss Emilys isolation. Often, the rose is seen as a symbol of love and usually portrays everlasting beauty. For centuries, the rose has been used for illustrating an everlasting type of love and faithfulness. Even though a rose may die, it is still held in the highest regard. Emilys rose only exists in the title of the story. Faulkner leaves us, the readers, to use our own interpretations of the roses symbolic meaning. When Miss Emily was younger, she was denied her rose, first by her father and then by the townspeople. Through Faulkners explicit characterization of Emily, it is easy to determine that Homer Baron was Miss Emilys only rose. The reason the Emilys father denied her ability to establish a normal relationship was because Emilys father was a prominent, well-respected southern gentleman, and he would not allow his only daughter to be courted by just anyone. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau (Faulkner 31). The townspeople knew that Miss Emilys chances of a semblance of a normal life dwindled each day. They assumed because of her social status, and her age that she would be a spinster, and expected her to act as such. They were appalled when Homer Baron arrived, and saw him and Miss Emily in town together. They even contacted Emilys out of town relatives to come and talk some sense into her. They could not accept the fact that Emily was coming into herself, and that she may take on a personality that wasnt a representation of their expectations. The townspeople thought when Homer Baron arrived in Jefferson and since he was not of Emilys hierarchy social status, a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer: (Faulkner 32). The townspeople wouldnt expect for Emily to ever be seen in public speaking with Homer, let alone walking about the town. This shows the prejudice of the townsfolk, who before then, sympathized with a girl with a domineering father, but yet when she got older and is attempting to form a normal healthy relationship, the townspeople deny her that intrinsic right.

To conclude this analysis of A Rose for Emily, Faulkner uses many elemental devices to create and to tell his story. The main elements used in Faulkners story include characterization, setting, and symbolism. These three key things drives us, the readers, into a since of disbelieve at the conclusion of the story when we find out how Emily truly feels on the inside and what she accomplishes for herself. These elements are substantial in creating a work of art that can be visualized totally be the reader and leaves the reader shocked.

Works Cited

Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Gioia and Kennedy. 10th edition. New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2007. 28-34.