Personal Commentary on A Rose For Emily Essay

I dont think Ive ever read a story quite as odd as A Rose for Emily. Im not sure what William Faulkner was trying to say when he wrote it, but Im sure everyone can find some kind of meaning in it. It starts out as a relatively normal story, but turns sick and twisted in a hurry. It seems to be a general overview of the womans life, including family, social life, and love. All of which are nothing too disconcerting until you get to the end.

When Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeralthe women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house (262) When the author opens with this line, it kind of sets the tone for the whole story. I automatically assumed that although she appeared to be kind of a loner, she was also a major part of the town in either a good or bad way. Upon further reading, I found that the author made her seem like any old woman: set in her ways, cheap, and a bit tough to deal with. I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. (263) This conversation with Colonel Sartoris had happened almost ten prior, and she refused to pay taxes when they tried to force her. This reminds me of something my grandma would do. Then the story tells how she dated a man until he disappeared one day. That sounded rather typical to me. All in all, this story just seemed to be about an old woman.

When it started to get weird for me was when the author said how she went to get poison one day. But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for. Miss Emily just stared at him (266) I dont understand why she wouldnt answer him or even make up a reason if she was going to use it to kill herself like many speculated. Also I found it odd that she was a shut in for the remainder of her life after her lover disappeared. From that time on her front door remained closed (267) It seems strange that a woman would become a shut in just because a boyfriend ran away. Then of course the end of the story comes and we find out why no one ever saw him after the one day. I cant believe she let a body lay there and rot for all those years. The smell alone mustve been unreal.

So what started out as a story about a seemingly normal old lady, turned out to be quite unusual. That is what I love about literature; the fact that anything can happen at the turn of a page and that every person can take a different meaning from a story.