“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is a short story that depicts the life of Miss Emily Grierson. Author Harold Bloom says that the story is so enjoyable because of Faulkner’s use of literary techniques such as "sophisticated structure, with compelling characterization, and plot" (14). Through Faulkner’s ability to use such techniques he is able to create an interesting story full of symbolism, contrasts, and moral worth. The story is brief, yet it covers almost seventy five years of the main character Miss Emily Grierson. Faulkner created the character Miss Emily and the events in her life to not only tell a story that will keep you on your toes, but to also give his view on the South’s plight after the Civil War. Miss Emily becomes the canvas in which he paints the customs and traditions of the Old South or antebellum era.
Growing up in Mississippi in the late Nineteenth Century and the early part of the Twentieth Century, William Faulkner saw the horrible things that the south went through during reconstruction. These experiences are what develop Faulkner’s writing style. “Faulkner deals almost exclusively with the Southern scene the Civil War … always behind his work” (Warren 1310). His works however are not so much historical in nature but more like folk lore. This way Faulkner does not have to keep details accurate, instead he messes with the story to share his own views leading the reader to find out his lessons learned from the experience. Faulkner writes a lot and “sympathetically of the older order of the antebellum society. It was a society that valued honor, and was capable of heroic action” (Brooks 145) both characteristics Faulkner loved. These sympathetic views are seen in the story “A Rose for Emily” with Miss Emily becoming a monument for the Antebellum South.
“A Rose for Emily” is a story about Miss Emily Grierson who kills her boyfriend Homer Barron and lives with his body in her bedroom for many years. However; the story is not...