A Rose for Emily Themes
Isolation
"A Rose for Emily" is a story about the extremes of isolation – both physical and emotional. This Faulkner classic shows us the process by which human beings become isolated by their families,...
Memory and the Past
Gavin Stevens (a William Faulkner character) famously says, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." This idea is highly visible in all Faulkner's work, and we definitely see it here, in "A Ro...
Visions of America
"A Rose for Emily" doesn't look at America through rose-colored glasses, even though many of its characters do. In the aftermath of slavery, the American South shown in the novel is in bad shape. T...
Versions of Reality
"A Rose for Emily" asks us to take off our "rose-colored" glasses and look reality in the face. What we confront is the reality of America in the story, and the reality of the main character's comp...
Compassion and Forgiveness
At first, "Compassion and Forgiveness" might not be apparent in this story. The story can seem downright cruel, the characters wholly unsympathetic, and the plot gross. But when we begin to see the...