“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is a brilliant story. Faulkner uses great techniques to try to confuse the reader. The story begins at one point; he throws a twist in the middle and brings the reader back to the ending of the story. This is a fantastic story that gives us an insight of a fallen monument. Faulkner has illustrated some strong irony and symbolism. The story begins in a small (made-up) town where a woman by the name of Emily Grierson died. Emily is described as a “fallen monument” that many people admired as well as questioned.
Emily lived with her father until the last day of his life, and tried to cling a little longer. She had taught some painting classes but with the years her classes stopped. Craziness ran in her family and that is the only thing that could have happened to this poor woman. Through the years her father would run off her guy friends and she began not having a social life. After her father’s death she met a man named Homer Barron and began to go out a little. The town people were happy for her because they now seen her a little more and it was better than to be in a old house all the time.
Emily began to think that some day she and Homer would marry, and when things went wrong she poisoned him. As time passed people began to wonder, and a smell began developing. Although the smell was hitting everyone in the town, no one said anything, instead they sprinkled lime all over her house. Emily died a time later. After the town people heard the new they went to see her to begin the funeral arrangements. Tobby her faithful servant ran off and the town people discover the smell. After all this time Emily had been sleeping with Homer’s dead body until she herself died.
This story had some symbolism. A Fallen Monument” that is what town people classified Emily. A woman who at some point could have had it all but her craziness held her. Emily was once a young woman that latter became an obligation. She was kept in the past and kept clinging to all she had even if it was dead. First, she did not want to admit her father’s death. Then after she poisoned Homer she kept clinging to his body for some time. Her voice had became dry from not talking to people and her body was a sagging bag. She had become crazy, but no one tried to help her, because they thought greatly of her.
For example, after her father’s death Colonel Sartoris told her she would not have to pay any taxes in that town and even after the new generation came in it stayed that way. The new mayor tried to get her to pay her taxes but after some time gave up. The reader can also see he power when she goes to the store to buy some rat poison. The guy helping her knows that there is a policy he must follow and must ask what the poison is for. He tries to get some answers before giving her the poison, but gets no where and ends up caving in and giving her the poison.
Emily was once a strong woman who with time became falling and falling and that is how the name “Fallen Monument” became about. There is also some irony to the story; Emily being from the south falls in head over heals with a Northern. She even thinks about marry him when back in that time people would not do those kind of things. She goes off and buys the necessities for the wedding and stores them in a room. This lady thought she was getting married, but Homer was “not a marring man”. At the end of the story Faulkner talks about a strand of “iron-gray hair,” which belonged to Emily.
It was found in the bed next to Homer’s rotten body. Throughout time all the town people pity her for being alone in that old home, with only her servant. Wondering if she’s all right and how she is taking things. While all this time she has been at home sleeping with Homer’s rotten body. In conclusion Faulkner used some good techniques writing this story. “A Rose for Emily” gets one of my best ratings. All together he creats a story with a good conflict about a woman who can not let go. He show symbolism and irony in the story and puts in some good points.