A Rose For Emily - A Critical Approach

Miss Emily Grierson, a woman whose family was upper class, passed away. While alive, her interactions with the community were the source of much community conversation. These conversations, described in detail in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” provide the reader with an understanding of the past and present social interactions of the townspeople. The stories presented occur in a variety of locations and involve a variety of people. The vast variety of these settings and characters makes it impossible for “A Rose for Emily” to be told by a single individual. The combination of the townspeople’s memories of their interactions with Miss Emily forms the story.
The degree of detail provided when events are described in this short story is astounding. Every event surrounding Miss Emily is painted so clearly that the reader feels like they were there. For example, the “four men crossed Miss Emily’s lawn and slunk about the house like burglars,” (p 257) in an attempt...