“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.


• 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.


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


• 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?


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.


• 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.


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.


• 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.


• 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.)


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.


• 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.


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.


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.


• 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?


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


• What items does Miss Emily order from the jeweler?

• A set of silver shaving accessories, each engraved with the letters H. B.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


“a rose for emily” by william faulkner pp. 817-827

Documents

emilyby william faulkner

internal conflict

external conflict

types of conflict

outward appearances

opinions of people

main character

character connection