A Rose for Emily
In William Faulkners A Rose for Emily, symbols are used to explain the plot, the characters behavior, and the theme of the story as it occurs after the Civil War. The major symbols are the house that represents Miss Emily, Miss Emily as the fallen monument, Homer Barron, who represents change, and the rose.
Miss Emily is compare to the decaying house in numerous ways. It gives us an understanding of her fall from grace, her decline in social standing, her stubborn nature and her physical decay. The house is described as a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies located on Jeffersons most selected street (17,18). This symbolizes Miss Emilys wealth and prominence in society. However, with the passage of time, the house and Miss Emily lose their luster and social status. The house becomes an eyesore among eyesores and Miss Emily, the slender figure, becomes bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face (18,19).
While most things have been obliterated from Jeffersons street, we are helped to understand that only the house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay (18). Miss Emily is also portrayed as being stubborn when she refuses to acknowledge her taxes saying, I have no taxes in Jefferson, the death of her father when she told them that her father was not dead, and to receive free mail service, she refused to let them fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox (19, 24). The house and Miss Emily both become a decaying symbol an eyesore among eyesores.
Miss Emily is considered as a fallen monument that represents southern traditions and values. Adhering to these values, Miss Emily turns into a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation (18). The obligation exists after the Civil war, when the south refuses, like Miss Emily, to accept change in view of industrialization. Her lover, Homer Barron, a Yankee, represents northern values where they have adapt to changes from industrialization; the construction company came with niggers and mules and machinery (21).
The town watches as stubborn Miss Emily, the fallen monument fails in her efforts to hinder the towns acceptance of modernization. While Miss Emily went out very little, or people hardly saw her at all, holding on to the past, the town is making changes; garages and cotton grins had encroached along with sidewalks and mailboxes (18). Just like Miss Emily, the south demanded more than ever the recognition of its dignity (21). However this dignity, that of southern traditions and Miss Emily, fades with time.
The title of the story, A Rose for Emily, also adds essence. A rose is normally a symbol of love, passion, beauty, and desperation, which is void in Miss Emilys life. Her father chases away all her suitors; none of the young men were quite good enough for his daughter (20). As a result Miss Emily at the age of thirty has never experienced what it feels like to be in love or the passion that comes from being in love. So when Homer Barron arrives in town, Miss Emily, who is desperate for love, clings to him, viewing him as her rose. However, when Homer does not return her sentiments to get married, Miss Emily poisons him and places him in a room which no one had seen in forty years (25).
At her death, the towns people waited until Miss Emily was decently in the ground before they open or break the door down (25). They unearth a room decked and furnished for a bride, decorated with roses, upon the valance curtains of faded rose color, upon the rose-shaped lights, along with the remains of Homer Barron (25). Just as a rose is preserved by pressing it with the pages of a book, Miss Emily has preserved her rose, Homer, forever. No longer is she desperate or lacks love because her rose never leaves. In Miss Emilys mind she has attained love, and it is death, the long sleep that outlasts love,that conquers even the grimace of love that finally breaks the bond (25).
Work Cited
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Readings for Writing.
Sundance Collection, Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print 17-25
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