A Rose For Emily Character Analysis
"A Rose for Emily" is one of William Faulkner's most enduring short stories. Concerning the life of Southern recluse Miss Emily Grierson, the tale remains a classic example of Southern Gothic story telling through Faulkner's vivid characters.
The main characters of the story are as follows:
- Miss Emily
- Tobe
- Homer Barron
Central to the story is Miss Emily. While the story is told from an unnamed third-person narrator, Miss Emily dominates the tale. She is representative of a bygone era, the Old South that is slowly decaying. From vibrant young woman to eccentric old recluse, Miss Emily locks herself away following the disappearance of her suitor, Homer Barron. She becomes a town landmark, representative of the South's refusal to change. She wants to be able to control every aspect of her life, to the point that everything must remain frozen in time, including her lover, Homer. Paper Masters can compose a custom written research paper on A Rose for Emily Character Analysis that follows your guidelines.
Character Analysis
Tobe, Miss Emily's African-American servant, is also a major character. Silent and dutiful, Tobe is representative of the subservient position that ex-slaves held in the changing South. Tobe does Miss Emily's errands, keeps her secrets, and then disappears once Miss Emily is dead. He is largely silent and thus becomes just another part of the background.
Homer Barron, Miss Emily's suitor, is a Northerner and representative of the antithesis of Miss Emily. Loud and gregarious, he is the ultimate object that Miss Emily wants to control. Miss Emily poisons him and then spends forty years sleeping next to his decaying corpse, as a symbol of her desire to preserve the past.