A Rose for Emily- William Faulkner - Essay Example

Literary Interpretation of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner The short story written by William Faulkner entitled “A Rose for Emily” has been the subject of literary analysis and interpretation due to the unique elements that are viewed in diverse perspectives and points of views. It is the story of Emily Grierson, depicted as the protagonist and a round character, whose personality traits were examined as the story evolved. The narrator, assumed the point of view of a first-person-plural narrator, using ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ for the rationale that the author wanted to impart the narrator as one of the townsfolk who had been an active participant, as intent observer of Emily’s story.

Faulkner opened the story with the incident of Emily’s funeral and the townsfolk’s curiosity to see the inside of her house. The events that led to Emily’s behavior would be proffered to rationalize the climax manifesting the death of Emily’s object of affection. Emily’s character continues to intrigue analysts in terms of her being a villain or the victim in the story. The story was set in the county seat of Yoknapatawpha, Jefferson where focus was placed on Emily’s house, intricately described and used as a one of the prominent symbols of the story.

A general setting was exhibited where events, especially the outcome of the tragic death of Homer and its discovery, unfolded through time. The point of view of ”’our whole town’ emerges the narrator of the story who poses an interesting limited omniscient narrating position for Faulkner to control. The author designates this narrator both as part of the "our whole town" and part of the supposed objectivity through whom the reader must envision the story” (Curry, 392). If foretold from the point of view of an omniscient third person narrator, the effectiveness and credibility of the story would be diminished given that an ordinary spectator could be detached from Emily’s story and could not possibly be an integrated participant of the plot.

Emily’s character had been seen by townspeople as a monument, a tradition whose life has been the subjected to permissiveness and control by her father. When left on her own, her behavior manifests projecting an image of strength by assuming the protagonist character as she was committed to remain victorious in addressing the challenges met (tax collecting aldermen, hardware clerk selling the poison, or Homer Baron attempting to abandon her). The uncanny ways by which Emily addressed her challenges resulted in unexpected tragic events that spurred the townsfolk to be further intrigued by Emily’s character.

Her ability to keep Homer’s death a secret through time and the way she showed her devotion and love for him despite its lifeless condition was more of an alarming revelation manifesting a deeply disturbed character. The character of Emily, who was initially revered from her youth to the time she died, and who lived a mysterious life just like the house where she lived for so many years, shocked the townsfolk into questioning her personality that was capable of the commission of a heinous crime and cleverly remain undetected.

The events that led to Emily’s criminal behavior are factors that would eventually help conclude whether Emily was a villain or the victim in the story. She was a villain in the eyes of Homer, whose life was haplessly ended by her doing – and so, through the crime committed, should it have been discovered earlier, Emily would definitely be regarded by the townspeople as an outcast, a criminal to detest. On the other hand, Emily is also the victim, by allowing herself to be controlled by her father, and by allowing the circumstances in her life to seclude her from society, the restrain had created a chain that bound her to exist in solitary life, alone and distant from the rest of her townsfolk – despite living within their midst.

Work Cited Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” Sourced from Gwynn, R.S. Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Longman. Pp. 139 – 148. 2008. Print.