Saturday, January 11, 2020
A Rose for Emily and Society in the Eyes of William Faulkner Essay
William Faulkner is truly a remarkable writer. By writing a very short story about a spinster, he shows how society’s moral fiber can hinder the progress of a community. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily,†the author chooses to reveal the growth of a town by using strong characterization, vivid settings and plot development.            Faulkner’s protagonist, Emily Grierson, is the ideal symbol of how the moral fiber of a person can stunt growth. Brought up believing that she was part of high society, Miss Emily’s character showed, through her perspectives, that she is not one to partake in its progress. She did not renovate her house which used to be stylish in its own decade and was very out of place among the â€Å"garages and cotton gins†(Faulkner par. 2) that signified community progress. She refused to put the metal number and mailbox when the postal service was upgraded – also a symbol that she refused to be a part of the society where she belonged. She also gave china-painting lessons, an art form that had long been considered a part of history and very traditional. Faulkner also brilliantly shows that aside from being stubborn about accepting modernization, Miss Emily’s refusal to move on symbolizes the way people can hinder societal growth with their beliefs or behavior. Her refusal to accept her father’s death even after three days when the man passed away shows how her character clings desperately to the past for sanity and stability. The way she had poisoned Homer Barron is symbolic of how holding on to the past can be fatal to progress. She knew that her sweetheart was going to leave her and if this happens, she would not only lose the love she desperately wanted but also the pride that she upheld as a â€Å"Grierson.†Murdering Homer, also considerably a symbol of modernization because of his job as a foreman for a construction company killed Emily’s chances of developing into a better person. Although the author prefers to focus the story on Miss Emily’s character, he also shows how other people’s attitudes toward each other can slacken the pace of progress. William Faulkner enhances this theme well by using other characters in the story to show how the moral fiber of the town slows down its development. Judge Stevens stuck to his gentlemanly ways when neighbors complained about the foul smell coming from Emily’s house. His reply, â€Å"will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad?†(Faulkner 24) showed that he would rather keep his ethical beliefs than solve a crisis in the community. Col. Sartoris, Emily’s reason for not paying taxes, symbolizes how the past can block any attempt in financial development as well. The silence of the Negro housekeeper Emily relied on for years also strengthens the contention that one’s moral beliefs can hinder the truth from coming out for too long. The Negro is a symbol of moral oppression because of the way that society used to treat his race. Because the community would not listen to a black man, he chose to be silent and this caused a great delay in the revelation of what was true. Faulkner’s Narrator also voices out the different perspectives of people about Miss Emily. Believing that she should not behave in certain ways kept them from realizing what was truly happening to the woman. By making Emily the center of gossip and many misinterpretations, the community did not fully develop and did not learn of the truth until it was too late.            By using descriptions of many other items to contrast progress and decay, the author masterfully develops the theme. Aside from the houses, the clothes that the town people wore in Miss Emily’s funeral were considered traditional despite the fact that they were already living in the lap of modern society. The â€Å"yellow-wheeled buggy†(Faulkner 30) on which Emily and Homer drove around the neighborhood also symbolizes how she had almost let go of her morals because of her love for the man. The buggy was colored yellow, a strikingly vibrant color compared to the blacks and whites associated in almost every description of Miss Emily. Her shortened hair after her father’s burial also signifies that her life had been cut by her failure to accept that life needs to move on. The description of how she was discovered dead with her â€Å"head propped on a pillow yellow and moldy with age†(Faulkner par. 54) again reiterates that she had let the future slip away by clinging on to her memories instead of moving on.            More items and descriptions included in the setting also prove to strengthen Faulkner’s theme about progress. Miss Emily’s depiction as an old fat lady â€Å"bloated like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue,†supports the idea that her character had already died emotionally and spiritually because she did not move on with her life. The â€Å"invisible watch ticking†(Faulkner par. 7) symbolizes how time can only delay the revelation of the truth but cannot completely hide it from coming out. The foul smell of Homer’s body being secretly kept also supports the concept that decay cannot be withheld despite the proud front that Emily was showing the public. The skeleton on the bed that had already stuck to the sheets further intensifies the theme that the holding on to the past can be fatal.            Faulkner’s plot development shines through a unique style of narration that not only shows his creativity but also helps support the theme of slow progress development. The author uses a distinctive way of telling the story by going back and forth from the past to the present and in between events. By doing so, Faulkner shows that the past keeps meddling with the present events. Instead of letting readers understand the story as it develops based on a flowing timeline, he uses past incidents and thoughts propping up in every part of the story to explain how Miss Emily’s character decayed with her stubbornness to cling to her yesteryears and beliefs. This style is symbolic of how handing on to memories can slacken the pace of knowing the truth and attaining full development.            William Faulkner is a very brilliant writer who maximizes every detail of a short story to impose a theme on his audience. The behavior of the strong characters relays his message concretely. The settings of the story provide many symbolic items that move the readers to understand the plot and theme very well. Above all, his narrative style of retelling a story is exceptional and unifies the theme to all the other elements of his writing. Miss Emily truly deserves a rose but William Faulkner merits the applause.
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