Preview

A Character Analysis Of Emily Grierson In 'A Rose For Emily'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
779 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Character Analysis Of Emily Grierson In 'A Rose For Emily'
Character Analysis of Emily Grierson: “A Rose for Emily”

Emily Grierson was a southern belle who represented the old ways of the south. A woman, who was stubborn, unchanging and unable to let go of her haunting past took both her burdens and the old ways of the south to her grave. Throughout the story the narrator refers to her as “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty and a care, a sort of hereditary obligation on the town.” tradition meaning that she was sort of royalty to the towns people because her father was the mayor of the town. This “royalty” gave Emily a sense of entitlement which could be seen throughout the story. An example would be when we she went to the store to buy some poison, she wanted the strongest poison the owner had to offer which was arsenic, a type of rat poison. Although the druggist, by law has to know what she is going to use the poison for, Emily refuses to answer and continues to stare
…show more content…
Another example of this is when her father died, her father sheltered her a lot shooing away boys so she became very isolated early in life. When her father died, she clinged on to the very thing that kept her from living a life of her own because that was the only life she had ever had. This event seemed to have left her in a depressed state where she would never leave the house until she meets a man named Homer Baron. Baron was a Yankee or a man from the north who took an interest in Emily, they were often seen together in town and most people thought that they were married. When Emily found out that baron was not the “marrying type” she decided to take matters into her own hands and killed baron with arsenic so that he would never leave

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When she begins spending time with Homer people believe she is desperate enough for any type of affection that she would completely forget about her family pride and associate with a Northerner, someone beneath her. Emily is seen buying arsenic, a poison and everyone presumes she will use it to kill herself. After Emily’s death the townspeople go to her house and break down the sealed door to the upstairs room. After getting into the room they see all the things for a wedding laid out around the room including a man’s suit. On the bed they find the decaying body of Homer Barron with an acrid smell of poison coming from him.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rose For Emily

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Emily as “a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (part 1…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “A rose for Emily” is a short story about the last member of her family, and her very old father. The story was published in 1930, by a very well respected author, William Faulkner. When Emily’s father dies, she is completely heartbroken and denies that he is really dead.…

    • 62 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Miss Emily is first explained as a nice, sweet, and normal woman, though that all changed as her life went on. The death of her father was the flame that ignited all of this weirdness of Emily. After her father died, Miss Emily did not go out much probably because of grief over the loss of her father. “Because her father is the only man with whom she has had a close relationship, she denies his death and keeps his corpse in her house until she breaks down three days later when the doctors insist she let them take the body” (A1). This statement demonstrates her inability to let go of lost ones.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner has potential to be written in many different genres. Story has many characters with interesting and unique qualities which gives a person who wants to rewrite the story options to make up new scenarios and conflicts between characters.…

    • 195 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily is a lonely, obstinate and abnormal woman. She is hard to accept those who she loved leave her, like her father and the labor. She even killed Homer Barron, kept his body in the room and slept with the body every night—just because Homer Barron didn’t want marry her. By…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Emily Grierson Allegory

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Page

    Emily Grierson is an allegory of the old south and its decline against the up and coming new south. According to the town’s people “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care: a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town…” (404). Emily refused to change keeping with her old southern traditions as the town expanded and evolved around her. This can be physically seen in her house which had once been a favorable place to live, is now dusty and decaying like her traditions. Once she has passed the citizens no longer have her as a hereditary obligation and can being distancing themselves and move farther away from the old…

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When we first hear of Miss Emily , it is the time of her death and funeral, attended by the whole town of curious men and women. Their attitude and reverence towards Emily sparks our interest, a sort of “ respectful affection for a fallen monument” (30). We begin to ask why was she such an important woman and what has caused such an intrigue in her fellow townspeople. The inquisitiveness of the town becomes our own , and we want to know the whole, complete story of Emily’s life. Beginning the story of Emily’s life with her death gives us an opportunity to wonder what made her such an iconic part of this town and the lives of her neighbors there.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "A Rose for Emily", the underlying theme was that nothing is as it appears. The neighborhood that Miss Emily lived in was solely concerned about what other people thought of their community although they claim that it is all for the well being of Miss Emily. Faulkner uses diction that strongly portrays the citizens as nosy and outlandish people, "‘Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer.' But there were still others, older people… could not cause a real lady to forget noblesse oblige… ‘Poor Emily. Her kinsfolk should come to her.'" In our modern language noblesse oblige is not a word that we have even heard of much less use in everyday diction. Having such a phrase brings about a sense of traditional language since noblesse oblige was a phrase often used in a society with aristocrats where there was a gap between the high class and low class. The community only gossiped about Miss Emily, but they have yet to discover who she really is. They gossip as if they know her and are concerned about her well…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The people of the town noticed the obvious lack of independence in Miss Emily’s life before her father passed. “We remembered all the young men that her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will.” After the death of her father, she was faced with the reality of needing to carry responsibility for her own life. Miss Emily, finally free of her tormentous girlhood, suddenly became able to make choices for herself. Even with questionable acts, this character further demonstrated her independence by taking…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this paper, the story of William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily”, I will illustrate how Emily Grierson was living in the past. Firstly, in the beginning of the story, the author’s detailed characterization foreshadowed the irony at the ending of the story. Secondly, Emily’s whole life and faith was controlled and twisted by her father’s selfishness and when her father died, she refused to give up her father’s dead body. Thirdly, she ignored all the public notice and tax collection that was sent to her. Fourthly, she turned her affection and desire to possess Homer that leads him to his death. Finally, the story that started the end of Miss Emily Grierson life was unfolded and the author suggests that Emily’s…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Later in this gothic story Emily Grierson dies (ultimately where the story begins), “our whole town went to her funeral” (Faulkner, 52). Few people had seen the inside of her house in the last decade. Once they buried Emily they quickly opened the upstairs, “which no one had seen in forty years” (Faulkner, 58). When the door was opened they found Homer Barron lying on the bed, decaying. Surrounded in a room full of unworn, unused wedding memorabilia. On the bed beside him was an impression of where a body once laid. On the pillow adjacent to his, “we saw a long strand of iron-grey hair” (Faulkner, 59).…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily’s father considered themselves superior than others in town. . He believed none of the young boys were suitable for Emily, and always chased them away. Her father robs her from many of life's necessities. She misses out on having friends, a boyfriend, being a normal woman and her ability to be happy. This gradually erodes Emily’s chances of ever being married. He controlled her completely until his death, and even continued to control her from beyond the grave .After he died, Emily couldn’t admit he was dead and kept the dead body for 3 days. . Not only does Emily want to hold on to her father's legacy and exemptions, but she wants to hold on to his body--out of fear and denial. She feels protected by the name and reputation he affords her. At the time, no one thought she was crazy. "We remembered all the young men her father had driven away and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will" (Faukner 159) . By separating her so severely from the rest of the town when he was alive, going as far as to make sure she didn't have any lovers or a husband created a lonely, loveless, isolated life.…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Grierson is a mentally incapable woman who has abandonment issues. She killed the man so he could they could be with each other for all time. The entire time that Homer Barron was dead on Miss Emily’s bed she slept next to him. This shows that she is crazy and will do anything to preserve the ones that she lover because she cannot let go of the past and accept that Homer will leave…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rose For Emily Symbolism

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    At the very beginning of the story, when the narrator is describing the house in which Ms Emily lived, we get our first glimpse of symbolism. The way Faulkner describes the house, then and now, actually represents Ms Emily's life. The paint and color of the house represents Ms Emily's conscience. Earlier, the house is clean and white, pure. As time goes on the house becomes decrepit, and sullied, much like Ms Emily's conscience. The "select street" that she lives on in the earlier years, which later becomes infected and surrounded by cotton gins and garages, represents her place in society. While her father was alive, and sometime after he had passed, Ms Emily was considered high class. Suitors were deemed unworthy to claim her. As more and more tragedy strikes her life, people no longer envy, but pity Ms Emily. When Faulkner describes her house as "lifting…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays