William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily" tells the story of Emily Grierson, an aloof woman who lives in Jefferson, Mississippi. After her father's death, Emily refuses to pay taxes or acknowledge that he has passed. She is later seen purchasing arsenic, and the townspeople discover Homer Barron's decomposed body in her bedroom after breaking down the door. A strand of gray hair on the pillow suggests Emily killed Homer, denying his death as she did with her father's as a way to avoid change or loss. The story examines themes of isolation, denial of death, and the struggle between the individual and society.
2. Story Background
A short story by American author William
Faulkner, first published on April 30,
1930, in an isue of The Forum. It was
Faulkner's first short story published in a
national magazine.
3. Background of the author
William Cuthbert Faulkner
(September 25, 1897 - July 6, 1962)
An American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the
fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County,
Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of his life.
A Nobel Prize Laureate
One of the most celebrated writers of American literature and is
considered the greatest writer of Southern literature.
4. Title
Faulkner describe the title "A Rose For Emily"as an
allegorical title: this woman had undergone a great
tragedy, and for this Faulkner pitied her. As a salute, he
handed her as rose. A gesture of respect to Emily.
5. Characters
Emily Grierson - is an unmarried woman who lives in a Victorian house
in Jefferson. The townspeople view the Griersons as haughty and aloof,
and based on the actions of Emily's father, this assessment of them may be
correct.
Mr. Grierson - Emily's father, drives away the men who come
to court her. When he dies, Emily refuses to admit that he is
dead or allow burial for several days.
6. Homer Barron - is the Yankee workman who arrives in town to work on
the sidewalks. Although the townspeople consider Homer inferior to a
woman of Emily's class, they learn that Homer and Emily are to be married.
Then Homer disappears from Jefferson.
Tobe - is the man who works as a servant at the Grierson home. For
many years, he is the only person who has had any contact with
Emily.
7. Colonel Sartoris - is the mayor of Jefferson in 1894, the first year
that Emily is unable to pay her property tax. Colonel Sartoris
invents a wild tale involving Emily's father lending money to the
town to save her the embarrassment of having to accept charity. He
tells Emily that she no longer owes any taxes to Jefferson due to her
father's financial support.
Judge Stevens - is a later mayor of Jefferson who must contend
with complaints of a vile odor emanating from the Grierson
house.
8. Setting
''A Rose for Emily'' is set in Jefferson, the
governmental center of the fictional county of
Yoknapatawpha in Mississippi.
9. Plot
Introduction: Jefferson's citizens gather for Emily
Grierson's funeral.
Rising Action: In flashback, readers learn Emily was
told to pay her taxes. A flashback shows aldermen
spreading lime secretly. Another flasback reveals
Emily's purchase of Arsenic.
10. Climax: Townspeople break down the door to a
locked bedroom
Falling Action: Homer Barron's decomposed
body is on the bed.
Resolution: On the pillow beside him rests a
long strand of gray hair.
