“A Rose for Emily” Theme Analysis Essay
Theme analysis essays are used to identify, describe, demonstrate, and discuss themes from literary works.
Remember a theme is the central/overarching idea of a story, and most stories have more than one theme.
Using your notes from Wednesday, write an essay analyzing the themes “Bad things can happen in small
towns” and “Clinging to the old ways and rejecting progress” based on the story “A Rose for Emily” by William
Faulkner.
Your essay must be typed in MLA format (see the MLA guide from the first day of school). Your paper should
be doubled spaced in Times New Roman size 12 font.
Your essay should have at least 5 paragraphs (body paragraphs should be at least 5 sentences):
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an introduction paragraph stating the name of the text and the author and briefly introducing the
themes you will analyze
1 body paragraph explaining the first theme (cite your quotes from the story to support your analysis)
1 body paragraph to explain the second theme (again, cite your quotes)
1 body paragraph describing how the two themes relate to each other (How did clinging to the
past/old ways cause the “bad things” to happen in the story? Explain)
a conclusion paragraph restating key ideas and leaving your readers with final thoughts
A note on avoiding Plagiarism: When you write literature analysis essays for this class you will be pulling quotes and
details from the text to support your statements. Use internal citations to give credit to the source text.
Example: One example of bad things that happen in small towns is Miss Emily kills her boyfriend (727).
You Will Turn In:
Brainstorming (completed in class on Wednesday): 10 points
Final Copy: 20 points (possibility of up to 5 bonus points, see rubric on back)
Targeted Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well
as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the
course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective
summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information
clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.