“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner describes the peculiar life of Miss Emily, an unmarried and allegedly wealthy woman who is the speak of the town of Jefferson. Faulkner’s use of particular literary devices can be observed throughout the whole story. He meticulously utilizes every single literary device to create the theme in a way that is not instantly obvious to the average reader. This exceptionally clever use of literary devices is what makes

“A Rose for Emily” such a brilliant and famed story in the globe of literature. Some of the most intriguing literary devices that Faulkner weaves into “A Rose for Emily” are setting, symbolism, and imagery, which he makes use of to emphasize a theme based around the progression of time. Faulkner cunningly utilizes the setting of the story to spot an emphasis on the theme of time. The starting of the story, set in an American town during the late 1800s to early 1900s, seems to be established around the mystery and scrutiny of Miss Emily’s residence, which is exactly where a fantastic deal of the story requires location.

The house, as described by the narrator, is a “big, squarish frame property that had when been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the lightsome of the seventies, set on what had when been our most select street” (Faulkner 148). From this description, it is apparent that Miss Emily’s residence is of an older style and has been standing for a substantial quantity of time, which signifies the old age of Miss Emily and her time spent in the town. The narrator continues, stating that “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood only Miss Emily’s home was left, lifting it is stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and gasoline pumps – an eyesore amongst eyesores” (Faulkner 148).

This statement reveals to the reader that Miss Emily’s residence has remained standing throughout instances of alter and development and is now surrounded by much more contemporary homes and establishments. The disapproving tone of the narrator serves as a suggestion that the decayed home of Miss Emily is an undesirable reminder of the past, which emphasizes Faulkner’s theme of time. The house also reflects that Miss Emily herself has not adapted to the modifications that have occurred in Jefferson and has been engulfed by the phenomenon that is time. Faulkner makes use of a wonderful deal of symbolism within his function. It can even be said that the property itself doubles as the setting and a symbol due to the fact of the way it represents the past. Nonetheless, some of the other symbolic objects within the story are smaller and much less apparent than Miss Emily’s residence. For instance, it is stated Miss Emily wore a lengthy gold chain around her neck with an “invisible” watch at the finish (Faulkner 149).

Any kind of watch or clock is an apparent representation of time. But this watch, which was hidden underneath her belt, constantly ticking, is immensely symbolic of time and a single of its most unpleasant effects: death. The watch is purposely placed underneath her clothing with every tick representing the heartbeat of Miss Emily. As time progresses, each the watch and Miss Emily’s heart will cease. The reality that the watch is hidden symbolizes that death is not constantly foreseen. An additional symbol Faulkner makes use of to symbolize the passing of time is dust. At the end of story Faulkner uses dust to show the amount of time that had passed among Miss Emily’s creation of a creepy bridal shrine and the discovery of Homer Barron’s corpse. “Among them lay a collar and tie, as if they had just been removed, which, lifted, left upon the surface a pale crescent in the dust,” states the narrator (Faulkner 156).

Faulkner does not use dust to give description only. Though the collar and tie appear to have just been removed, the dust is there to symbolize that the collar and tie have been really removed lengthy ago. The dust is really a symbol of time and ageing as is leaves its mark on all of the stationary items inside Miss Emily’s house. Faulkner uses imagery abundantly throughout his piece. One particular of the cleverest makes use of of imagery that Faulkner makes use of to portray time is his routine use of the colour gray. The colour gray is typically associated with aging, and Faulkner makes use of it to embody just that. He shows the reader how time has progressed all through the story by describing the color of Miss Emily’s hair in diverse shades of gray. For the duration of the flashback, the narrator states, “When we subsequent saw Miss Emily, she had grown fat and her hair was turning gray” (Faulkner 154). Then the narrator states, “During the subsequent couple of years, it grew grayer and grayer till it attained an even pepper-and-salt-iron gray…” (Faulkner 154).

Lastly the narrator describes Miss Emily’s hair as remaining “that vigorous iron-gray, like the hair of an active man” (Faulkner 154). Faulkner even describes the aging of Miss Emily’s servant, stating “Daily, monthly, yearly, we watched the Negro grow grayer and far more stooped, going in and out with the market place basket” (Faulkner 155). The way Faulkner persistently and liberally uses the colour gray in this portion of the text makes it possible for the reader’s thoughts to produce images of Miss Emily’s servant and herself becoming much more and much more aged, as a result making an illusion of the passage of time. Equivalent to the use of dust, the colour gray seems like it is merely employed for description. Even so, Faulkner meticulously chose to use this colour inside his story in order to perpetuate the theme of time. Faulkner makes use of the setting of

“A Rose for Emily” as well as symbolism and imagery to portray a theme of time progression. Throughout the story, Faulkner makes use of different entities such as the home, the watch, dust, and the colour gray to creatively create an illusion of the passing of time. Every item uniquely represents some sort of element of time, no matter whether it is change, death, or ageing. In the end, Faulkner’s use of such literary devices are the most fascinating part of his operate. Upon close examination, the reader is in a position to interpret each single line of “A Rose for Emily” in a way that is only feasible because of Faulkner’s ingenious writing style.