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The first task for you after reading the story once will be to straighten
out the plot. The story begins and ends with the "end" of Emily's
story. Try to draw a time line from Emily's life before her father's
death to her own death.
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It is hard to separate the narrator's views about Emily from Emily the
person, since the whole story is told from the former's perspective.
But try to gather factual information about Emily (for instance, her refusing
to acknowledge her father's death, her appearing in public with Homer Barron,
etc.) and describe what kind of person Emily is.
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What does the narrator think about Emily at
different stages of her life? What kind of person do you think the
narrator is. (Notice the frequent use of "we.") How, or in
what sequence, does he tell the story.
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This story is what we call "a gothic story."
The grotesque ending is no less shocking than that in "The Lottery."
Is it in any way prepared for? What does the very ending about the
hair imply?
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What does the title of the story mean? The story, however, is not
only about Emily and her eccentric character. Considering the setting of
the story--both in terms of time and place, what could the story be also
about?
Background:
the South (from Resources
For American Literature)
William Faulkner (1897-1962) is most widely known for his epic portrayal,
in some twenty novels, of the tragic conflict between the old and the new
South. The majority of Faulkner's works are centered around his hometown
of Oxford, in Lafayette County, Mississippi. However, in Faulkner's
fictional literature, the setting is renamed Jefferson, in Yoknapatawpha
County. In addition, names from Faulkner's family, such as Sartoris, consistently
appear throughout his work. In fact, his great-grandfather William Clark
Falkner- the "Old Colonel" -was the model for Colonel Sartoris in various
novels. Overall, Faulkner's numerous stories encompass the time period
ranging from pre-Civil War days through the early 1960's. This author's
fiction recreates more than a century of Jefferson life. People of all
sorts come into sharp focus in his literature. Despite his complex and
usually confusing style, the "old verities and truths of the heart" are
nearly always emphasized.
Relevant links
William
Faulkner on the Web--including Yoknapatawpha Timeline, Glossary,
Additional Resources, Bibliographies, Biographies, Genealogical
Charts.
William
Faulkner: Nobel Prize Speech
An
analysis of "A Rose for Emily" by Celia Rodriguez
