Plot Analysis
“A Rose for Emily” is a short story by William Faulkner, beginning with the funeral of Miss Emily Grierson. The whole town attends the funeral and is eager to peek inside since it is one of the best houses in town. Also, nobody has visited Emily’s house in ten years except for the servant Tobe. This paper, therefore, discusses the short story’s plot and analyzes three characters, Emily, Homer, and Tobe, giving a personal opinion on who is the most victimized.
After Emily’s father dies, Emily begins to date Homer Barron, “a Yankee” who is a northerner. Emily falls in love with him despite her status, prejudices, and differences in traditions. Emily wants Homer for herself, and a horrific scene ensues when Homer leaves town and returns, enters Emily’s house and does not return. The neighbors feel a stinky smell from her house, but the authorities do not interrogate her. After the incident, Emily spent most of her time at home until she died downstairs. After Emily’s burial, a corpse is found upstairs, with long grey hair beside it.
Character Analysis
Emily Grierson
The characters Emily Grierson, Homer Baron, and Tobe help establish their motives from the various events in the short story. The first character, Emily Grierson, is portrayed as a woman attached to his father and Homer. At first, she does not want to accept that her father has died for three days and does not want the father’s body to be buried (Bai et al. 3.1). For fear of losing Homer, Emily decides to poison him since he openly states that he likes men. The two events are scary and show the levels at which Emily would go to stay with those she loved, even if they died.
In the short story, Emily shows three different kinds of motives. Emily wants to show how powerful she is and kills Homer for disagreeing with her. Again, Emily shows the motive that she does not want to lose another man after her father’s death. Lastly, Emily does not accept that Homer is homosexual and kills him.
Homer Baron
Homer Baron, on the other hand, is from the North and beats the odds of surviving in the South despite being despised. He uses his charm to win Emily’s love and becomes the town gossip. Homer’s motives in the story are to drive change and industrialization. He provokes resistance among the Northerners and even wins Emily’s heart, despite the difference in class and traditions, and this proves his motive that Northern Influence was present in Jefferson. Again, by working on the pavements, Homer shows his motives for using his skills to develop another town.
Tobe
Lastly, Tobe’s character is that of an individual who is hardworking, silent, and dutiful (Diani 1.1). This makes him among those who are still close to Emily until the day of the funeral. Tobe displays the personality of serving diligently and acts as a background character, keeping the secrets of her master. Tobe’s motive in the story is to show the role played by African-Americans who were ex-slaves.
Summary
Of the three characters, Emily is the most oppressed since her father dictates her life and even chases suitors away. The town, therefore, ends up blaming the father when Emily ends up single, a situation that makes her oppressed by society. Emily is also a victim of oppression from the new county officials. They are unaware of her arrangement with the former town officials, and she is, therefore, being asked to pay taxes. Lastly, Emily is also a victim of fake love, which makes her cling to Homer and even kill him.
Works Cited
Bai, Xiaojun, et al. “An Analysis of Emily’s Characters in A Rose for Emily from the Perspective of Narration.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research, vol. 11, no. 4, 2020, pp. 611–15.
Diani, Irma. “Structural Analysis of ‘Rose for Emily’: A Short Story by William Faulkner.” International Seminar and Annual Meeting BKS-PTN Wilayah Barat, vol. 1, no. 1, 2019.