Short Stories
“A Rose for Emily”
By William Faulkner
Background Information
• Author: William Faulkner (September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962)
• was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi
• heavily influenced by, his home state of
Mississippi, as well as by the history and culture
of the American South altogether
• Faulkner is considered one of the most
important writers of the Southern literature of the
United States
Background Information
• Southern Gothic
– writing style
– relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to
guide the plot.
• Results from the Civil War
– humbling effect on South
– The South's outdated plantation economy was
devastated by emancipation.
– Some Southern aristocrats found themselves
working the land alongside tenant farmers and
former slaves
• Pay attention to how in “A Rose for Emily,” Emily is a
symbol for this old southern lifestyle/culture
Literary Elements
Flashback
• Flashback:
– presents action that occurs before the
beginning of a story
– present scene in the story is interrupted to
flash backward and tell what happened in
an earlier time.
• In “A Rose for Emily” the story is told by
the narrator through a series of nonsequential flashbacks.
Point of View in “A Rose for
Emily”
– unique.
– The story is told by an unnamed
narrator in the first-person collective.
– The townspeople?
Theme
• Definition: The central message or insight
into life revealed through a literary work.
– The “main idea” of the story
• Theme of “A Rose for Emily”
– Death
– Death and funerals are mentioned both
literally and figuratively in “A Rose for Emily”
Plot
• Plot: Series of related events that make up
a story.
Climax
Rising Action
Exposition
Falling Action
Resolution
• plot of “A Rose for Emily” is not sequential
so the reader is unsure of what will happen,
therefore, creating suspense for the reader.
Complete C-Notes
• Write a 5 sentence summary
• Complete C-Questions:
– 3: Level One Questions
– 2: Level Two Questions
– 2: Level Three Questions
• That’s 7 questions total!
• Do 5 on the first page and 2 on the second
page
• Use the column provided