FREE ESSAY ON "A ROSE FOR EMILY"

"A ROSE FOR EMILY"

A Rose
In the 1930's people still thrive on gossip, particularly in a small town. People are
overly curious and cruel at times, especially when it comes to Emily Grierson's mental
disorder. In " A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner traces Miss Emily's increasing
dementia and foreshadows the surprise ending. 
The reader begins to see Emily's insanity early in the story. She not only refuses to
accept her father's death, but she also refuses to let the townspeople bury him. The
townspeople do not say she is crazy yet. They believe that she has to "cling to that
which had robbed her"(180). This is the first sign of Emily's vanishing sanity.
Emily's state of mind grows worse after Homer Barron enters her life. Emily is flattered
by the attention of this new man in her life. The townspeople do not approve of him
because of the fact that he is a northern "day laborer"(180). Faulkner foreshadows the
murder of Homer Barron by Miss Emily's purchase of the arsenic and by his sudden
departure from the town.
Faulkner shows the reader yet another sign of insanity by her refusal to accept that she
does owe taxes. Miss Emily is considered "a tradition, a duty, and a care,"(177) an
obligation to this small town. She is led to believe that she owes no taxes by the mayor,
a friend of her fathers. When the next generation of politicians come to collect her
taxes, she only says "see Colonel Sartoris"(178), who any sane member of this small
community would know by this time is dead.
Next, Faulkner uses sense imagery, particularly smell, to show another sign of her
insanity. The smell that comes from her home is so bad that it causes her neighbors to
complain to the judge, insisting on a mandatory clean-up. This horrible smell, however,
does not seem to bother Miss Emily. She continues to remain inside the house day and
night. Shortly after Emily's death, the townspeople find the last clue of Miss Emily's
insanity, Homer Barron's rotten corpse in Miss Emily's bedchamber.
Therefore, in "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner gives the reader foreshadowing clues
throughout the story of Miss Emily's lack of sanity and the surprise ending of Homer
Barron's death. In the beginning of this story the townspeople have a suspicion about
Miss Emily's insanity. Throughout the course of the story their suspicions are proven to
be Emily's reality. 
Bibliography
Work Cited
Chopin, Kate. "A Rose for Emily." Literature for Composition Essays, Fiction, Poetry, and
Drama. 4th ed. Barnet et al. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. 177-183.