Symbolism In A Rose For Emily By William Faulkner

“A Rose for Emily”, written by William Faulkner, received critical praise when it came out for its use of symbolism. The main idea of the story is that a woman named Emily Grierson killed her lover Homer and for thirty years she slept next to his dead body until she eventually died at the end of the story. “A Rose for Emily” receives critical praise even to this day for its incredible use of diction. William Faulkner’s use of symbolism in “A Rose for Emily” is praised due it being ahead of its time. Although some people believe the death of Homer relates to Emily’s need to cling to love, in reality it represents the decaying of the Southern culture and how they are trying to hold on to it.
“Before the killing of Homer Barron, the townspeople
“Emily reflects "the culture that has produced her," and her "furious isolation is in direct proportion to the town's obsession with her"” (Evans 42). The narrator clearly states that the townspeople viewed Emily as a sort of embodiment of their way of life. The fact that he said this tells us that Emily herself has become a symbol in the eyes of the townspeople. “When the men break into the locked room at the end of the story, "they find that Emily has satisfied their prurience with a vengeance" and just as she had been turned into a symbol, so has Homer” (Evans 42). When Emily kills Homer she becomes an important symbol in the story, but Homer also becomes a symbol through being murdered. Emily killing Homer can be viewed as a symbol of the fear that many people felt when their lives were changing, and the fact that Emily killed Homer can be viewed as the Southern way of life beginning it’s imminent decay. The killing of Homer can be used as a symbol of strength as she finally did something for herself instead of for other people (Evans 43). Whenever Emily killed Homer the author wanted to use it as a symbol of the decaying Southern culture, but many others also had different interpretations to Homer’s murder. It can be suggested that William Faulkner wanted his symbols to have different representations to his many symbols. Faulkner’s use of symbols is very important in his short story “A Rose for
“When the ladies from the neighborhood came to console her, she simply stated that her father "was not dead”” (Caldwell 3). This is when we are first introduced to the fact that Emily had a tough time letting go of things. This hardship could be interpreted as a symbol of denial because of the fact that many Southerners refused to let go of their cherished culture. “It took three days for the town's officials to persuade her to admit her father's death and release his body, which she had kept with her in the house, for burial” (Caldwell 3). Whenever Emily allows the coroners to take away her father’s body, she is shown to have accepted what has happened. Allowing the coroners to take away his body is presenting itself as a symbol of acceptance because of the fact that many people let go of their culture regardless of if they wanted to or not. “Emily Grierson not only refused to accept the death of her intended husband, but also kept him with her always, in an upstairs room in her home, where each night for over thirty years after his death, she slept by his side” (Caldwell 1). Whenever the town found out what Emily had done to Homer they are appalled at the actions she chose to take as a result of not wanting to lose Homer. The actions that Emily took can be interpreted as the fact that many people are willing to do whatever it takes to hold on to what they hold close to their hearts. The main theme