“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• In this story, outward appearances conflict in
profound ways with the inner world of the
main character.
• How do details reveal other people’s
perceptions of Miss Emily and her family?
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• Review:
• Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces.
• A resolution occurs when the struggle ends and
outcome is revealed.
• Two types of conflict:
• Internal – occurs within the mind of the a character
who is torn by competing values or needs.
• External—occurs between a character and an outside
force such as another person, society as a whole,
nature, or fate.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• Reading strategy / Concept: Ambiguity
• Intentional ambiguity occurs in a literary work
when one or more elements can be interpreted in
several ways.
• To clarify ambiguity, recognize parts of the
action, characterization, or description that the
writer may have deliberately left open-ended,
uncertain, or even inconsistent.
• Then, look for details or clues in the writing that
help you make an interpretation.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Vocabulary:
• Encroached: intruded
• Vanquished: thoroughly defeated
• Vindicated: cleared from blame
• Circumvent: prevent; get around
• Virulent: extremely hurtful or infections
• Inextricable: unable to be separated or freed
from
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• Character Connection:
• Think about people you see in your community
but about whom you know little.
• In Faulkner’s story, the townspeople know little
about Miss Emily, but they are determined to
know as much about her as they can.
• How do people form opinions of others within a
community?
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict:
• Look at the description of Miss Emily’s house on p.
817: “It was a big, squarish frame house that had once
been white…”
• Faulkner gives Miss Emily’s house specific attributes:
• It is in a “heavily lightsome” architectural style.
• It was once on a “select” street, but the neighborhood
is no longer what it was.
• It is the last home on a street that is mostly a business
district now.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• Conflict: Faulkner presents an inanimate object
as having a conflict: The traits of the house
show a conflict between what it once was and
what it has become.
• The changes in her home parallel changes in
Miss Emily.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
How does literature shape or reflect society?
• An important part of living in a society is
forming opinions of people within one’s
community.
• Those opinions are usually based on both first
and second hand knowledge.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• Colonel Sartoris knew Miss Emily and her
personality well.
• He might have cancelled her taxes and then
invented the story about a loan.
• He knew that she was too proud to accept
charity and found a way to help her without
injuring her pride.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• External Conflict:
• p. 819 –conversation among Miss Emily and the
officials
• She thinks she does not owe taxes, while the
townspeople think she should pay taxes like any
other citizen.
• (It is not an internal conflict because she is certain
to the point. She has no conflicting ideas on the
subject.)
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Characterization:
• Details on p. 819 describing Miss Emily’s appearance
indicate her character.
• The cane indicates her age and infirmity.
• Her “bloated,” pale, and almost grotesque appearance
indicates a lack of activity.
• The description of her eyes suggests ignorance and
greed.
• Faulkner’s description characterizes her as a lonely,
isolated person who has lost touch with the world.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• The American Experience
• Two influential writers: Faulkner and Hemingway
• Read the side note on p. 820. In the story, where
does Faulkner use dense, complex language, and
where does his prose seem more simple and
unadorned?
• Example—on this page, the first paragraph
(prose) is more complex when compared to the
simple dialogue between the neighbor and the
woman.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict:
• p. 821 Some conflicts can be very subtle.
What is the meaning of Miss Emily’s meeting
people at the door rather than inviting them
in?
• She does not want to talk to them; she is
hiding something; and/or she does not think
that she needs help.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict p. 821:
• What conflict arises between Miss Emily and
the town after her father dies, and how is it
resolved?
• The townspeople know her father is dead and
that he should be buried. She says that her
father is not dead. After three days, “she
broke down,” so they quickly bury her father.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• How is the resolution of the conflict involving
her father’s burial different from the resolution
of conflicts reported earlier?
• In this conflict, Miss Emily gives in; in the
others, she wins.
• Why do you think this conflict ends
differently?
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict:
• Emily’s relationship with Homer Barron is a
sources of conflict because of its scandalous
nature.
• He is a Yankee and a “day laborer,” so he is
not a proper boyfriend for her. Although she
is poor, she is considered too good for him.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict:
• What conflict, suggested by references to noblesse
oblige, do the townspeople have with Emily?
• The phrase suggests persistent conflict between
social classes. Both upper and lower classes are
expected to live up to specific expectations, and
not meeting them creates conflict.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict:
• What is the source of the conflict between Miss
Emily and the town when she begins her
relationship with Homer Barron, and how is it
resolved?
• The conflict here is between Miss Emily’s
behavior and what people think that she should
be doing. It is resolved by her continuing to do
as she pleases.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
The townspeople begin to refer to Miss Emily as
“poor Emily” because
• they feel sorry for her;
• they know she has very little money;
• she is not close to any of her relatives.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Clarifying Ambiguity:
• How is the druggist’s actions ambiguous (p. 823)?
What are two possible interpretations about why
he sells the poison to Miss Emily?
• If the druggist believes she wants to kill herself,
he may sell her the poison because he thinks she
would be better off dead.
• He might sell her the poison because he does not
want to injure her pride and does not think she
will actually go through with the suicide attempt.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict: What conflict develops when the town
gets free mail service?
• The service requires that she get a mailbox
and attach numbers to her door, but she
refuses.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict: How do this conflict (the mail service)
and its resolution reflect earlier conflicts in the
story?
• Once again, she has stubbornly refused to
budge when she is in conflict with the town,
and once again they allow her to continue
without forcing her to comply with rules that
apply to the rest of the community.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
• What items does Miss Emily order from the
jeweler?
• A set of silver shaving accessories, each
engraved with the letters H. B.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Conflict / Resolution:
• Is Miss Emily’s death the resolution to the
conflicts in this story?
• Her death resolves the external conflicts
between herself and the town, but as Part V
shows, the townspeople continue to face their
own conflicting ideas about Miss Emily.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Critical Reading p. 827:
#1. a) What happened when the judge tried to get
Miss Emily to pay her taxes? b) What does this
incident reveal about her relationship to the town?
• a) Miss Emily says that she does not have to pay
taxes.
• b) She believes she is exempt from the town’s
laws.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Critical Reading p. 827:
#2. a) What had been the position of Miss Emily’s
family in Jefferson while her father was alive? b)
How does her position change over time? c) What
does she seem to feel about this change?
• a) The family had been a leading family in the
town. b) She is pitied and patronized because she
has fallen on hard times. c) She has become
reclusive but refuses to recognize that her status
has changed.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Critical Reading p. 827:
#3. a) What happens when Emily buys arsenic?
b) What problem do the townspeople notice
shortly after that purchase? c) What do you
think Emily did with the arsenic?
• a) The druggist asks her why she needs
poison, but she refuses to tell him. b) They
notice a bad smell. c) She poisoned Homer.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Critical Reading p. 827:
#4 a) What does the story say about Homer
Barron and his relationship with Emily? b) What
probably happened to Homer, and why?
• a) The spent Sunday afternoons together; they
were dating. b) Miss Emily probably poisoned
him because he would not marry her.
“A ROSE FOR EMILY”
BY WILLIAM FAULKNER PP. 817-827
Critical Reading p. 827:
#5 In what ways does this story comment on discrepancies
between society’s ideas of class, privilege, and respectability
and the darker sides of human nature?
• The story presents a chilling view of the dark secrets that
can hide beneath a superficial respectability and allegiance
to social conventions. One of Faulkner’s key insights is
that Miss Emily’s reputation remains largely unchanged
during her life. The town accepts the character she
presents. Only after her death do they discover how far
from respectability her life had strayed.