Cobarrubio 1
Regina Cobarrubio
ENG 1B
Professor Anguiano
12 , March 2019
Fiction: A Rose for Emily
“One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up,
instead of what they have to gain”. In the short story, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner,
the protagonist, Emily Grierson, was born into a old southern family where she was controlled
by her father. This was a time soon after civil war where she was not able to accept the
reconstruction of the town. She lived a certain lifestyle where everything remained the same until
her father's death. After Emily’s father's passing, her life slowly began to change without her
consent. Emily entered a state of denial. This is when Emily’s life started to spiral out of control.
Although Emily was not willing to accept the change she learns that change is inevitable. The
author uses different fiction elements to help demonstrate and support thesis “change is
inevitable”. Faulkner starts by creating the story’s setting, post civil war, where the town was
undergoing reconstruction. Plot comes in and exemplifies the important events and how they
correlate to the story’s theme. Making connections the reader can use symbolism to connect the
main points and theme of the story.
The setting is extremely important to a story. It can have immense effects on the plot and
the characters. Also, the setting can do more than affect plot events, it can also establish the
atmosphere, or mood, of a story or a specific scene. This short story takes place in a small
fictional town called Jefferson located in the south, shortly after the civil war. That type of
Cobarrubio 2
setting helps create a bigger image and deeper understanding of the story’s theme. This setting
also construct a melancholy and mournfulness atmosphere. The descriptions of the setting push
the reader to gain a sense of the concerns of the towns people amongst Miss Emily’s feelings
moving forward into a new generation, and thus the suspenseful mood is created. The setting
establishing this mood allows the reader to relate to the characters within a story. The home that
Emily shares with her father and eventually inherits is symbolic of Emily's inner state. As the
story opens, the house is lively and fresh, with clean, white walls. Emily also is lively and fresh
in her youth. Her father protects her purity by turning away any men he doesn't believe measure
up to her standards. In this case everyman who showed interest in Emily. As the story
progresses, the house becomes dirty, smelly and foul. The smell was so horrid that the
townspeople began to complain. Soon they took matters into their own hands. As demonstrated
in quote,“They broke open the cellar door and sprinkled lime there, and in all the outbuildings”(
Faulkner P. 79). Four men went to Emily’s doing this in hopes to get rid of the smell. At the
same time, Emily grows older and her spirit more deranged. She plunges into madness, not only
killing her fiance...
