A Haunting Past in Faulkners A Rose of Emily Essay

A Haunting Past In William Faulkner’s short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† Miss Emily Grierson holds on to the past with a grip of death. Miss Emily seems to reside in her own world, untarnished by the present time around her, maintaining her homestead as it was when her father was alive. Miss Emily’s father, the manservant, the townspeople, and even the house she lives in, shows that she remains stuck in the past incapable and perhaps reluctant to face the present. At the beginning of the story, the reader learns that Miss Emily â€Å"is portrayed as ’a fallen monument,’†¦ because she has shown herself susceptible to death (and decay) after all† (West 264). The house can also be perceived as a â€Å"fallen monument†(Faulkner 81) as the narrator†¦show more content†¦He is seen by the townspeople carrying things in from the market, working around the house now and again, and the only person to have contact with Miss Emily during this time. When the Board of Aldermen visited Miss Emily about the taxes she refused to pay, they were admitted by the old Negro into a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow. It smelled of dust and disuse- a close, dank smell. When the Negro opened the blinds of one window, they could see that the leather was cracked, and when they sat down, a faint dust rose sluggishly about their thighs, spinning with slow motes in the single sun-ray. On a tarnished gilt easel before the fireplace stood a crayon portrait of Miss Emily’s father.(Faulkner 82) Miss Emily â€Å"just stood at the door listening quietly until the spokesman came to a stumbling halt. Then they could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain†(Faulkner 82). The watch is very symbolic given that Miss Emily does not want to move on with the times, but if the reader will look at the â€Å"idiom of having something or someone in ones pocket, that is, under ones personal control†(Schwab 215) then one might come to the realization that Miss Emily is even trying to control time. â€Å"The watchs placement in her pocket, its unusually loud ticking, and the chain to which it is attached illustrate both her attempts to control the passageShow MoreRelatedCharacterization within A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner1054 Words   |  5 Pagesusing strong characterization and dramatic imagery, William Faulkner introduces us to Miss Emily Grierson in â€Å"A Rose for Emily†. The product of a well-established, but now fallen family, Emily plays common role found in literature- a societal outcast, who earns her banishment from society through her eclectic behavior and solitary background. Often living in denial and refusing to engage with others, Emily responds to her exile by spending the remainder of her life as a mysterious recluse that theRead MoreGothic Literature: A Rose For Emily, The Tell Tale Heart, and Daddy976 Words   |  4 PagesIn William Faulkner’s, â€Å"A Rose for Emily, Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart,† and Sylvia Plath’s â€Å"Daddy†, are endowed with many features that contribute to their gothic form and success. Faulkner’s,† A Rose for Emily† is characterized by a powerful imagery, plot and setting which are interwoven to create a gothic feeling. The story unfolds in Jefferson, the living fragments of a land that is plagued with civil war. Among the remains of Jefferson is Emily’s house which appears to be the summaryRead MoreEssay on The Scrambling of Time in Faulkners A Rose for Emily1504 Words   |  7 PagesThe Scrambling of Time in Faulkners A Rose for Emily In, A Rose for Emily, Faulkner uses the element of time to enhance details of the setting and vice versa. By avoiding the chronological order of events of Miss Emilys life, Faulkner first gives the reader a finished puzzle, and then allows the reader to examine this puzzle piece by piece, step by step. By doing so, he enhances the plot and presents two different perspectives of time held by the characters. The first perspective (the world