Rose For Emily

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A Rose for Emily INTRODUCTION "A Rose for Emily" is a short story by American author William Faulkner first published in the April 30, 1930 issue of The Forum. It was Faulkner's first short story published in a national magazine.( Faulkner) PLOT SUMMARY OF TEXT Emily is a member of a family in the antebellum Southern gentry; after the Civil War. She and her father, the last two of the family, and continue to live as if in the past; neither will consent to a marriage for Emily to a man below their perceived status. Her father dies when Emily is about thirty and she refuses to accept that he has been dead for three days. She even keeps the body in her house and does not let anyone take it. This behavior was written off by the community as part…show more content…
The story opens with a brief first-person account of the funeral of Emily Grierson. It then proceeds in a nonlinear fashion to the narrator's recollections of Emily's crazy behavior throughout the years Themes Dust: A shroud of dust hangs over the story, underscoring the decay and decline that figure so prominently. The dust throughout Emily’s house is an appropriate companion to the faded life within. When the aldermen arrive to try and secure Emily’s annual tax payment, the house smells of “dust and disuse.” As they sat themselves, their movement stirs dust all around them, and it serves as a veil for Emily. In a way, the dust is a protective presence for Emily. There is nothing can penetrate Emily’s murky relationship with reality, just like the dust that lingers in her life. Emily’s House: The house itself is a monument. The only remaining emblem of a dying world of Southern way and power. The outside is large and square and lavishly decorated with the inside matching. The street and neighborhood was once part of the elite but now seems that to have fallen. The house is an extension of Emily it is “stubborn and coquettish decay” to the town’s residents. It is a testament to the endurance and preservation of tradition. LITERARY
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