¶ … Rose for Emily
In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," the noted author doesn't give very strong evidence that Emily Grierson actually killed Homer Barron, and worse yet, that she slept with his corpse for years. Faulkner teases the reader into believing that Emily did indeed commit these horrific acts. In the process of teasing the reader, Faulkner succeeds in producing what amounts to a satire of sensationalized, hackneyed reporting, Thesis: Despite Faulkner's attention to detail in portraying Emily as possibly the murderer, a sharp attorney could counter the circumstantial evidence in a court of law and Emily would be exonerated.
Why does Emily probably kill Homer?
One of the strengths of this story is how brilliantly Faulkner drops hints -- without having to provide any proof -- that Emily either was likely or not likely the perpetrator of this heinous crime. For example a hint that she was not guilty came when the community was trying to figure out why there was such a terrible smell, Judge Stevens said it was "…probably just a snake or a rat that nigger of hers killed in the yard." Hence, blame falls on the black man who worked for her (this was still the Jim Crow era in the South). The word "rat" also came up when people wondered why she bought arsenic; the druggist said it might be "for rats and such," removing blame. A hint that she may have killed Homer given by the narrator was that she was crazy. A great aunt had gone "completely crazy" and so when Emily turned thirty and was still single, "…even with insanity in the family" she wouldn't have turned away potential suitors -- but she did, hence, she must be crazy. Also no one knows whose skeleton...
This is why Homer is killed: he has lied to Emily and to the townspeople, and his deceit is punishable by death (at least, so it seems to Emily -- if Blythe is correct in his analysis). This is why the tension that exists between Emily and the community comes to the forefront in the first place: "Every human lives in a social environment and is influenced by surrounding
Though my loneliness certainly isn't as extreme as Emily's, and I do not think I would want to sleep next to a corpse for years instead of finding people to interact with in the outside world, the sense of being cut off from those around you and kept in a separate bubble is something I can relate to. There are times when I have exactly this feeling as a
The "original paraphernalia" (Jackson 618) from the very first occasion was lost "long ago" (618). The people in this small town instinctively know that something is wrong with the lottery but still they feared "to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box" (618). Here the people do not know why they gather every year; they only know that they have done it for a
Rotten but Not Forgotten: Cherished Corpses in William Faulkner's Short Story "A Rose for Emily" A streak of insanity seems to run through the once-distinguished Grierson family of William Faulkner's mythical town of Jefferson, Mississippi, within his short story "A Rose for Emily." Near the beginning of the story, a surviving, never married Grierson daughter, Emily, is shown demonstrating her extreme reluctance, even three days after her overbearing father's death, to
Along with her psychological behavior, her social behavior was also completely absurd and she proved this when she poisoned Mr. Homer Barron, a Yankee with whom she started dating after Mr. Giererson's death. Faulkner has emphasized on racism and addressed Homer as "a big, dark, ready man with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face," in other words he was a nigger. Emily was aware of the
Rose for Emily William Faulkner was born, raised and wrote in the South and his old Southern roots are shown in his writing. One of the earliest nationally published examples of this writing is A Rose for Emily. In this short story, Emily represents the South while her lover, Homer Barron, represents the North. Though Homer's description is short, his connection with the North is obvious. Miss Emily's long description
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