A Rose For Emily

“A Rose for Emily” is a story that places a lot interest on contrasts. There are several different types of contrasts presented in this story. Some of them are literal and some are figurative. Some involve people and some involve the setting. All of them, however, are important parts of the story which add to the richness and authenticity of the story. They tell of a subtle back story and make it relatable to the reader. The way that all of these details are set against each other, overall, adds an entire layer to the story that takes it from just an interesting story to a piece of work to be studied and analyzed.

The first, and possibly most obvious, contrast is that of the past to the present. This can actually be looked at from the reference of either the characters of the story or perspective of the current readers. Emily and the other characters in the story are being ushered into a new era where nice parts of town are becoming industrialized and streets are being paved, while, mentally, they are still living in the past, not knowing how to catch up to the current way of life. The reader can look at the time described in the book and see an obvious difference between then and now. This helps to put the story in its stereotypical setting and leaves less guesswork up the reader because they can fill in some of the parts not mentioned based on what they know about the time period. It also gives more meaning to the element of change and the passing of time. It places the story squarely in the past.

Another contrast presented is that of the South to the North. The South is equated with the past and the North with the present, or even future. They are attempting to modernize the South through such measures as paving roads and building factories. The old Southern remainders like Emily and Colonel Sartoris represent this clinging to the past that the South seemed to have. Homer easily fits the part of the Northerner attempting to bring the South into the current age. This difference brings some tension from the town’s residents and adds an element of awkwardness to Emily’s relationship with Homer. This shows her attempt at trying to step into the future instead of staying in the past, even though it ends up failing later on. Her clinging to the dead body of Homer is, sadly, not in contrast to her reaction to her father’s death, showing her desperate clutching to the past, just as most of the South was, at the time.

Classes are also a strongly contrasted item in this story, as is true in most of Faulkner’s work.