A Rose for Emily By William Faulkner Written

“A Rose for Emily” By William Faulkner Written and developed by Mrs. Carol Hanes, Howard College, Big Springs, TX http: //www. howardcollege. edu/homepages/chanes/engl_1 302_tth. htm

Climax t flic n Co Resolution PLOT Exposition: 1. Initial equilibrium 2. complication (Homer) 3. Setting -Small town -South -late 1800 s, early 1900 s -Miss Emily’s house

3. Characterization (What are the characters like? Protagonist/Antagonist? Flat/Round? Static/Dynamic? Stock? ) -Miss Emily Grierson -Miss Emily’s father -Homer Barron -townspeople -the Negro -the cousins

Conflict ( Man vs. Man; Man vs. Himself; Man vs. Nature; Man vs. Society; Man vs. Supernatural ) -Miss Emily vs. her father -Miss Emily vs. herself -Miss Emily vs. Homer -Miss Emily vs. townspeople/cousins

• Climax (The point of the story where the main conflict is resolved. ) -Miss Emily dies.

• Resolution (What does the reader learn after the climax? ) § The room is opened. § Homer’s body is discovered. § The townspeople put all the clues together. – What is the “rose” for Emily?

POINT OF VIEW 1) 1 st person Character (major/minor? participant? reliable? ) 2) 3 rd person Narrator (omniscient/limited/objective) • “When Miss Emily died, our whole town went to her funeral. . ” -First person minor character, participant, unreliable

TONE • Conversational, gossipy. • Mysterious • Bizarre, strange • Grotesque • Southern Gothic

STYLE (The way the author tells the story. ) Long, complicated sentences. (See ¶ 1) -interruptions -big, bookish words (coquettish, ¶ 2) • Lots of description. (See ¶ 6) • Flashbacks. (See ¶ 3) • Not much dialog.

THEME (What general idea or insight does the entire story reveal? Must be stated in general words & must apply to society in general and not just this story. May not state what the story is about. ) • People may resort to desperate measures to prevent being alone in life. • Things, people, and events are not always what they appear to be. • Others?

SYMBOL (An object that suggests more than its literal meaning. An object that points or hints at deeper meaning. Always look at titles, inanimate objects, names, colors, and locales. ) • The rose color? • The title? • The toiletry items? • The pocket watch? • The dust?

CRITIQUES • The plot’s order and time frame • Southern Gothic genre • Her father’s influence – his repression leads her to date a man he would not approve of and then take control in the only manner possible • Necrophilia – she loved and slept with the dead. In what ways? • Passage of time – Emily’s denial of it