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Outcasts In A Rose For Emily

Decent Essays

In trying times, those who do not seem to fit the social norm are considered pariahs. Outcasts, much like Miss Emily is in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”. The tale of a woman conflicted until the day she passes in her lifelong home after a lifelong battle with her father, her own self, and the town around her. As Faulkner opens on her death he creates the foundation for the account that shows just how strongly relationships shape an individual’s past, present, and future. Though some might believe that Faulkner tries to focus on the pitfalls of a sheltered and unstable woman, the story also shows an outdated woman’s attempt at finding happiness in an unfamiliar world. Emily Grierson, an affluent member of the Jefferson County community, begins her life of secrecy behind the doors of her family estate with her father, a man who “assiduously guards” her from the world and all those who …show more content…

She is able to put up a front of normalcy for the town while with him by going about their business normally enough, buying him presents, hinting at marriage(Walker). But due to the strain on Emily, by her father, the town, and her own warped perspective on life, her courtship of Homer Barron ultimately led to his end. After a life of being abandoned by suitors, her father, and arguably the town, she was adamant to sustain her relationship with Homer. Knowing it was the only way to remain in her blissful state, she took her measures to extreme. Nonetheless, his death brought about a change in Emily’s mental state. The struggles were finally resolved. The tension with the town, her past abuse, and her entire life of loneliness, no longer would have an effect on her. Because of Homer’s tomb in the upstairs room, Emily was able to create a world where everything made sense. A world where everything was calm, peaceful, and normal. A world that truly made her

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