The Theme Of Truth Vs. Reality In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

In A Rose for Emily, William Faulkner writes a pathetic woman, Miss Emily, to show the true lives of the rich and his frustration with society. Faulkner’s goal of Miss Emily’s alienation shows wealthy people’s lives aren’t perfect and how grief can impact people. To show this goal, the author uses the theme of truth vs. reality. For example, “Being left alone and a pauper, she had become humanized”(2), shows that the town people initially thinking that she is better than everyone else; however after she loses her dad, she becomes more ordinary. Even though the town people think of Emily as an eccentric and haughty Southern belle, they envy her; she’s wealthy and the town people are not. However, since Emily isolates herself from her peers, the town people never see her. …show more content…
For example, “We had long thought of them as a tableau; Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground”(3), which shows their wrong perception of her. Additionally, Miss Emily alienates from her neighbors because they are modernized, whereas she still lives in the past. For example, she doesn’t accept free postal delivery. The impact of grief on Miss Emily is evident when she doesn’t leave her house for six months, but the impact seems clearer, once the neighbors enter the house after she dies. Her house has faded rose colors and permeating dust everywhere. The color and dust show exhibits a bleak and miserable ambiance. Therefore, the author uses alienation to demonstrate that rich people lives are not easy and the effect of grief on people. The overarching message tells readers that people do not really know each