Social Class In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

436 Words2 Pages
What role does social class play in the story? In this short story "Rose for Emily" written by William Faulkner social class plays an important role. Miss Emily belongs from a very rich family in the town of Jefferson where her family's pride was held high. She had a father who passed away and she couldn't believe that he was dead for 3 days, this indicated that she was mentally ill. Her father never let Miss. Emily marry any men since they would not meet their social status. Her father and Miss. Emily were like the royalties of the town, who everyone respected. Miss. Emily was to oblige to follow her family traditions. But when society came to know that she is going to be marrying a less affluent person named Homer Barron who was a day laborer, they begin to judge her. The people of the town believe that…show more content…
The separation of the rich to the poor as to where Miss. Emily comes from an opulent family and Homer Barron is an impression of being below her since he is just a laborer. Also she got away from paying her taxes when the newer generation became the mayor of the town and required her to pay the taxes, she considered her more respected than any other. This caused speculation between the minorities. Another part in the story where social class plays an important role is how they showcase Miss. Emily's servant Tobe as a "Negro" which is considered as a lower race. This could be related to the time, since back in the 1800's race was a major issue. The story could mean that Tobe was disrespected since the Judge who was visiting Miss. Emily for the tax purposes referred him as "that nigger of hers..." (Faulkner). The people of the town also don't give him respect by not calling him by his name, instead they call him "Negro". This explains to us how they dehumanized blacks back in that timeframe. They were considered servants and beneath any other

More about Social Class In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

Open Document