A Rose for Emily Response Writing
Theresa Novicky
YCCC Eng 112
February 6, 2013
A Rose for Emily A Rose for Emily is told in the third person point of view, however it is unclear who’s actually narrating. The story tells of Emily’s strange and insane behavior over the years. Her father dies and Emily doesn’t want to accept the fact that he is dead, the town has to threaten her in order to retrieve the body. The people of the town saw her as an obligation, and allowed her to remit her taxes. Emily lived in solitude for most of her life. She killed her husband shortly after their marriage; the town found his body decaying in the upstairs bedroom after her funeral. It’s unclear who is actually narrating the story, though it appears to be someone in the community. The person telling the story probably lives in the town, and most likely near by. She probably isn’t family because she doesn’t tell of Emily before the age of eighteen. It doesn’t seem that she is friends’ with Emily because she doesn’t have any direct interaction with her. “Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation” Here she is talking about Emily as if she has seen her most of her life and knows a lot about her character. The narrator describes what other people think of her in the community. She knows that people have sympathy for Emily and says: “That was when people had begun to feel really sorry for her.” The narrator seems to know how everyone sympathizes with Emily because of “insanity in the family.” She speaks in the manner of a “nosy neighbor” type. “it got about that the house was all that was left to her.” “Got about” points to someone who is in the know with local gossip. This woman knew every move Emily made, it seems as though she is older then Emily since she was present at her funeral, “and so she died. Fell ill in the house filled with dust and shadows” The nosy neighbor appears to be wealthy because she has a lot of time to spare outside of spying on Emily. She seems
YCCC Eng 112
February 6, 2013
A Rose for Emily A Rose for Emily is told in the third person point of view, however it is unclear who’s actually narrating. The story tells of Emily’s strange and insane behavior over the years. Her father dies and Emily doesn’t want to accept the fact that he is dead, the town has to threaten her in order to retrieve the body. The people of the town saw her as an obligation, and allowed her to remit her taxes. Emily lived in solitude for most of her life. She killed her husband shortly after their marriage; the town found his body decaying in the upstairs bedroom after her funeral. It’s unclear who is actually narrating the story, though it appears to be someone in the community. The person telling the story probably lives in the town, and most likely near by. She probably isn’t family because she doesn’t tell of Emily before the age of eighteen. It doesn’t seem that she is friends’ with Emily because she doesn’t have any direct interaction with her. “Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation” Here she is talking about Emily as if she has seen her most of her life and knows a lot about her character. The narrator describes what other people think of her in the community. She knows that people have sympathy for Emily and says: “That was when people had begun to feel really sorry for her.” The narrator seems to know how everyone sympathizes with Emily because of “insanity in the family.” She speaks in the manner of a “nosy neighbor” type. “it got about that the house was all that was left to her.” “Got about” points to someone who is in the know with local gossip. This woman knew every move Emily made, it seems as though she is older then Emily since she was present at her funeral, “and so she died. Fell ill in the house filled with dust and shadows” The nosy neighbor appears to be wealthy because she has a lot of time to spare outside of spying on Emily. She seems