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Symbolism in A Rose For Emily William Faulkner used a great deal of symbolism in this story. His use of symbolism captivated the reader until the shocking end of the story. Some of the symbolism was blatant while some was vague and disguised. While Faulkner? s use of the color white in this story wasn?
t obvious at first it soon becomes clear that the color white represents innocence and youth. The Grierson house was white and when Miss Emily was a young girl she wore white dresses as opposed to the black attire she wore in her latter years. This represents the innocence of Miss Emily before she becomes a victim of herself and her refusal to change. The yellow color of the wheels of the buggy Miss Emily and Homer Baron rode around town in represented Homer? s cowardice toward marriage.
Another color Faulkner used as symbolism was the color red. Red is the color of love and the bedroom in the upstairs of the house was decorated in red symbolizing her love for Homer. Homer was symbolic too. He represented the North so even though he was Miss Emily?
s love he was also her antagonist. When the druggist writes? for rats? on the arsenic it is symbolic of Homer. He was a? rat?
that came into town and took advantage of Miss Emily because he had no intention of marrying her or staying with her because he was a non-secretive homosexual or bi-sexual? Homer himself remarked? he liked men? . Miss Emily? s hair was symbolic in several ways. First, after her father dies, she cuts it short symbolizing her freedom from her father?
s controlling ways. When she is old, it becomes iron gray symbolizing strength and strong will since iron is a very strong element. Miss Emily got that strength from her father. When Miss Emily was younger, riding in the carriage with her father, his back was to her symbolizing his control and also being a barricade between Miss Emily and any potential suitors. The whip he held was a sign of strictness, power, and protectiveness he had towards Emily.
When Miss Emily? s father dies, her refusal to admit that he died shows her unwillingness to accept change. The watch Miss Emily wore tucked out of sight in her belt is also symbolic of this. Another symbol of her unwillingness to change was her refusal to allow the new guard to put the numbers of her house for free mail delivery and her use of old paper and old ink in her answer to the demand for tax payment. Her refusal to pay taxes and her dilapidated house also reflected her unwillingness to change. The Grierson house represents the Old South and is symbolic of an age gone by.
The poor upkeep of the house relates to Miss Emily and her poor upkeep. The fact that cotton wagons and gasoline pumps flanked the house represents the conflict between the Old South (Miss Emily) and the New South (the changing town). Faulkner also used the stench that permeated the air around Miss Emily? s house as symbolism. It symbolized the sour faultiness in southern thinking or logic; that the town would rather cover up the smell (townsmen with the lime) than uncover the cause. The bedroom where Homer was found dead symbolized a few things.
First, it symbolized Emily. It was upstairs representing the high and mighty Grierson's and it was secluded from everyone like Miss Emily was for the majority of her life. Finally, it had to be broken into like the townspeople had to break into Miss Emily? s life.
The decorations in the bedroom were symbolic of the love that Miss Emily so desired. The tarnished silver set bearing Homer? s initials in the bedroom represented Emily? s tarnished reputation because of Homer.
Miss Emily herself was symbolic in this story. In the beginning she was young and vibrant like the South used to be but toward the end she was unkempt and ugly characterizing the unhealthy traditions of the Old South and its stubborn followers. Her conflict was symbolic of the conflict of acceptance versus un acceptance that was present in the South at that time. The rose was also symbolic in this story.
The rose is sometimes a symbol for silence or secrecy so something said or done is not to be repeated. The rose represented the secret that was upstairs hidden away from the rest of the world, Homer? s dead body. Miss Emily had preserved it much like someone would preserve a rose. Miss Emily? s?
preserving? Homer was symbolic of her ultimate refusal to accept change.
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Research essay sample on Miss Emily Emily
