Elements Of A Rose For Emily Essay

A Rose for Emily Analysis

What makes writers such remarkable short story writers? Authors have a knack of mixing elements together to create a wonderful story where the mind can escape into another world. Famous writers use elements that build the story into a real fantasy world. Elements are essential to composing a short story, novel, screen play, etc. These components are the key and foundation of a narrative that brings the story to life. A Rose for Emily along with many tragic tales consist elements such as character, tone and style, setting, and plot.

Character is the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person. William Faulkners A Rose for Emily portrays the main or central character Emily Grierson who is a static person in the story. Throughout the story she showed little or no change as she hibernated in her house for years. Ms. Grierson came from a noble family whom was regarded as better than others. The Griesons considered themselves a little too high then what the really were. No man was ever good enough for her. Emily is the protagonist of the literary because the whole story revolves around her. The towns people are considered the antagonist which means that they were opposed to or struggled against Emily. Like the time when she was around town with Homer Barron and then some of the ladies of the town thought that is was a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people. The ladies of the town gossiped and speculated upon Ms. Griersons actions. Emily also suffered from a mental illness that would confuse her about date and time. As if she was living in the past and wasnt aware of the year she was living in. For instance, the board of Aldermen paid a little visit to her house to confront her of not paying her taxes. Emily quoted, see Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years which gave the board of Aldermen the idea that she suffered from a mental problem that left her stuck in the past. Another bizarre scene that proved that she was mental was when her father had past away. As the ladies came to her house to pay their respects she insisted that her father was not dead. Of course after three days of talking with her she finally came to her senses and let the towns people bury her father. Emily was not aware of what was really happening around her. She had serious timing issues that kept lock up like a prisoner in her own head in the past. Proceeding her fathers death and after her sweetheart deserted her, Emily Grierson was rarely seen by the nosy towns people. She was a loner and isolated herself in her house for years. Homer Barron, a flat character whom isnt much in the story but obviously plays a huge role in the story, was Emilys lover. Homer was useful in that he was Emilys love that turned out to be a tragic love affair in the end. Mr. Barron was a Yankee who was very vocal. He was a man who liked other men which makes sense why his skeletal remains were found in Emilys home after she died.

The towns peoples tone towards Emily was defamed and cruel at times when it came to Ms. Griersons actions. For example, when Emily bought the arsenic poison, the people of the town said poor Emily. She will kill herself they assumed and thought it would be the best thing. Although Emily detached herself from society and was a delusional person, the town was quick to assume irrational suspicion about her. At the beginning of the narration, it starts of at Emily Griersons funeral. Even though the whole town appeared at her funeral, the inquisitive women showed up mostly out of eagerness to see what theyve been waiting to see; the mysterious dark house that Emily considered her sanctuary for many years. On top of all that the towns people complained of the stench that took place around the dreary home of hers. Despite Emilys mental condition, the attitudes towards her drove her away from society. Therefore, causing her to salvage what she had left of her twisted infatuation love affair with Homer dead or alive. This conflicted tale had an eerie and caliginous style that makes the reader scrutinize whats going to happen next. The out of whack chronological order that Faulkner puts this twisted story in creates suspense for the audience leaving the ending surprising and shocking. According to the town, Emilys house was an eyesore among eyesores. With its stubbornness and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons That smelled of dust and disuse; dank smell. As the southerners would pros eve it to be.

This dismal extraordinary grievous epic short story was taken place in the Old South during the Civil War era in 1894. It was taken place during this time because Faulkner wanted it in this generation so that it better suit the story line. At that period of time people were more strict and did things a lot different then what goes on now days. Emily was her own person that didnt follow what the people of the community said was moral or right. One of the right things to do is to get married when you find a suitor in this specific time period but as far as Emily Grierson goes, she never married. The women of the town thought she should have gotten married a long time ago. For most, the town moved on as Emily was complacent isolated in her home at all times until she died.

There are lots of elements to discuss and one being conflict. The first conflict was the town versus Emily over nonpayment of her taxes. She felt as though she did not owe taxes because Colonel Sartoris exempted her taxes. It was payback for her fathers contributions to the town. The second conflict that occurred is when the neighbors and community complain about the bad odor that lingers from Emilys home. Afraid of confronting Ms. Grierson about the bad smell that is clearly coming from her house, three men took it upon themselves to relieve the unbearable odor. From beginning to end the story goes back and forth or has flashbacks throughout the whole story; therefore the story is not in order. This type of writing builds suspense for the reader making to story more appealing. When the board of Aldermen came to retrieve Emilys taxes, her exposition was that she never had to pay taxes as long as she lives according to Colonel Sartoris. As the story goes on, foreshadowing events begin to occur, such as buying the arsenic. She never specified what the poison was for, the odor that came from her house which neighbors complained about, and lastly the disappearance of Homer Barron. All these events appear to be coincidence that all fingers point to Emily Grierson whom premeditated these actions because most would believe that Homer was going to leave her.

In conclusion, this story was a tragic love story that leaves viewers wondering; what really happened to Homer Barron? Did Emily Grierson really poison him for her own selfish reasons? Well, this is a complex story where you make the decision based on the evidence that is subtly in the story.