I.

Title of the Literary Piece

“A Rose for Emily” is a short story written by William Faulkner, an American writer
who lived in Mississippi. He is known for his distinctive literary style that combines
baroque, modernist and Southern Gothic traditions in his pieces. This short story was
published in 1930.
In his piece A Rose for Emily, he used some allegorical symbols wherein most of
the characters and events in the story have hidden representations. This piece reflects
mostly about resistance to change, isolation and rigid social structures. The rose was
never really mentioned in the story but as the readers dug deep into it; we understood
what it truly meant. It is a mix allegorical representation of life, love, obsession, and
tragedy. Life, as it mirrors how the living of the people in a particular community looks like
after the American civil war. Love, for it reflects longingness for love and her deep love for
her father. Obsession, for the story shows how longingness for love directs into obsession.
Lastly, it represents tragedy for letting someone endure sufferings through other’s actions.
The rose itself has its thorn-like physical characteristic of its body and represents well the
traits of the protagonist to be beautiful yet mysterious and dangerous. According to William
Faulkner when he was interviewed in the University of Virginia, Emily; the main character
deserves to be given a single rose which she never received in her life at all.

II. Overview of the Literary Piece

The story began in the funeral of Miss Emily Grierson in their mansion in the town
of Jefferson. The narrator reminisces Miss Emily’s life while attending her funeral. Emily’s
father was so authoritative and strict that no man in their town was ever suited in his eyes
to be his daughter’s lover. When her father died, Emily refused the reality. She didn’t bury
his father’s remains not until the authorities were forced to bury it. From then on, she
isolated herself from people in their town. She followed their family’s tradition of not paying
taxes because they believed in Colonel Sartoris order that they were exempted from
paying such.
Emily then met his lover Homer Barron, a northern Yankee man she dated every
Sunday. People in their town pity her as she seems to be lowering her standards for
entertaining such a man from the North. They call the attention of Emily’s relatives in
Alabama. Despite the rumors about Homer that he is a homosexual and her relatives’
disapproval of their relationship, Emily continued seeing him. One day, Emily was seen
buying an arsenic from a druggist and declares that she will be killing rats in their mansion.
Someone in the neighborhood assumed that she would really kill herself but as they also
learned that she bought a set of brush that has initials of Homer Barron in it in a jewelry
store, and some wedding stuffs and decorations. The gossip about Miss Emily to kill
herself suddenly vanished and all they talk about instead is that Emily and Homer will be
getting married.
One night Homer was seen entering the Grierson’s mansion. After that night he
was not seen anymore. The neighbors assumed that he was just preparing for their
marriage. Days after that night, a disgusting smell in Emily’s mansion started to suffocate
the whole town. They thought that it was just the rats that she poisoned. No one ever tried
to enter their mansion except for Tobe, their black servant. The disgusting smell lasted for
almost two weeks.
 Emily neither goes out of that mansion nor socializes with the people in their town.
The whole town pity Miss Emily as she gets older and older without even having anyone
by her side until her last breath.
A day after her funeral was held, some of the people in Jefferson went to see the
emptied Grierson’s mansion out of curiosity. They forcedly opened the door of a locked-
up room in the mansion and there, they saw a dusty set of brush, and a bottle of wine with
cobwebs on the table. On the bed lies the skeletal remains of a man which they presumed
to be Homer Barron. Beside him was an overused pillow with long, gray hair on it.

III. Lessons/Realizations

1. Importance of Establishing a Well-balanced Social Life - In the story, we

realized how important socialization is. Emily seems to be an introvert and she
distanced herself from the people in their town. The story implies that isolating
ourselves from others may have great impact on our mental health aspect. As the
old saying goes, no man is an island. We can alone for a period of time, but we
can’t live alone forever. There will be times that we will be needing someone’s help
for us to be able to survive in life or at least make a better way of living. It is
necessary for us to be aware that building connections with people in our
surroundings is important for our emotional and mental health. We should have at
least a friend whom we can trust and is comfortable sharing our thoughts and
feelings with.

2. Importance of Empathy- this story made us realize how important it is to show

not just concern but also compassion towards someone especially during their
difficult times. In the story, Emily’s neighbors just pity her but never make any effort
to at least make her feel that there are people who truly understand what she’s
going through. The moment when her father died, no one was there for her.
Sometimes, it is not enough that we just sympathize with someone. We should
always put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, so we know what it feels like to be
in their situation. We may ask ourselves too. “If this happens to me, how will I feel
or what will I do?”

3. Engaging in gossip will cause no good- In the story, people heard that Emily
bought an arsenic poison, and they already had an assumption that she would use
it to kill herself. No one ever verified the real reason on where she will use it.
Instead, they ignored it and what’s even worse is that they keep on giving
unsolicited opinions about Emily’s life. Giving unsolicited opinions about
someone's life then do nothing about it won’t help someone who’s struggling. If we
have nothing good to say, it is better for us not to say any word.

IV. Emotions

1. Sadness and Pity - The story evokes sadness for Emily's loneliness and the tragic
circumstances of her life. Her inability to connect with others and her descent into
isolation are heartbreaking. As the story unfolds, the reader learns about Emily's
life shaped by societal pressures and a controlling father. The townspeople's
gossip and judgement further isolate her. Her desperate attempt to cling to a
 semblance of normalcy through the relationship with Homer, even after his
disappearance, highlights her loneliness. These elements evoke a sense of pity
for Emily, a woman trapped by circumstance and unable to find connection or
happiness.
2. Frustration - The townspeople's gossip and judgement towards Emily causes
frustration to the reader. Their lack of understanding and empathy contributes
more to her isolation. It is really frustrating to think that out of all the people who
speculate rumors about her life, no one at least throw some compassion about her
life.
3. Creepiness– as the readers came to the end of the story, we felt the eerie
ambiance that the author of the story creates. Who on earth would have slept
next to a dead and decaying body of your lover?

V. Transitions/Change

The part of the story that we want to alter is how Miss Emily died. In the original
story, she was seen in one of the rooms downstairs lifeless in a heavy walnut bed with a
curtain and her gray head propped on a pillow yellow and moldy with age and lack of
sunlight. This time, we want to put a twist on the day before she died. We wanted to hear
Emily’s side of the story which never happened in the original story. All we could read is
the collective narration of the anonymous narrator. The altered story will go like this:

One gloomy night, an old man from the neighborhood notices a loud weeping. That
constant weeping of an old woman from Grierson’s mansion has been keeping him up all
night. He tried to ignore it and forcibly close his eyes, but it seems like it’s beseeching him.
He has been keeping his affection for Miss Emily for decades because he never had the
chance to show it for it seems that his intimidation forbids him to do so. This time, as he
heard the loud and sad weeping of the old lady, his compassion for Miss Emily is greater
than his intimidation. He immediately grabbed a small lamp and quickly headed to the
mansion. The weep becomes louder as he gets closer and closer. When he arrived at the
mansion he entered easily as the main door was left open. It seems like it is really waiting
for his coming. He immediately looked for the old woman and he found her in one of the
rooms downstairs. Emily startled as he saw an old man approaching. “Wh–-o a are you?”
She cried in fear. “Fear not, Miss Emily. I am Mr. Thompson. I live next to your mansion. I
often saw you from the window of my house. I've wanted to be friends with you for a long
time, but I am always deceived by my fear of rejection. This time I won’t waste any time
not to make you feel that I can be a friend to you.” he almost knelt to the ground with
sincerity in his voice. She didn’t reply but she wept her tears but still she cried in pain and
turned her back to the old man. “I will listen to you. I can feel the heaviness as you cry.
Come, let me wipe away those tears in your eyes.” He went near the window of the room
where Emily is standing. He grabbed her hand and attempted to wept her tears. Emily
resists. “Too late for your kindness! It’s too late!” She exclaimed. “We can’t turn back time.
I failed to do what I had to and did what I shouldn’t.” She continuously weeps in agony. “I
had no choice then. I am alone. I fear that he might left me like my father did. You have
no idea how miserable my whole life is!” Tears fell in her eyes. “What do you mean?” He
looked in her eyes with his face covered with confusion. Emily looked away. “Leave me
alone! I am not comfortable with the presence of anyone here!” Before he left the room,
he extended his hand and gave her a white handkerchief. “Pardon me for consuming your
precious time. I want you to know that if you want someone to talk to, I’ll always be here.”
She didn’t reply anymore but she still accepted the thing that he handed her.
 The next day, he decided to go to the mansion to ask Emily for a walk with him. In
the mansion, he saw Tobe in the front yard. He asks Tobe to tell Miss Emily that he’s
waiting outside. Tobe went straight to Miss Emily’s room and was astonished to see Miss
Emily laying down on the floor. He called Mr. Thompson to enter the mansion and they
saw Miss Emily lifeless. They immediately called the authorities for help, and they were
still hoping to save her. But unfortunately, Emily died of aged.
Mr. Thompson went home and helped Tobe prepare for her funeral. While they
were cleaning the room where Miss Grierson died, Mr. Thompson saw a tiny notebook.
He scanned it and found out that it is a Diary of Miss Emily. In there she writes all her
feelings and daily life. He also found a letter addressed to Mr. Thompson. She expressed
her appreciation for a short conversation with him and also conveyed how regretful she is
of her whole life. She also confessed what she did to Homer Barron and where they could
find him. They opened a locked door in a room near the attic and from there, they found
Homer's skeletal remains, laying in a dusty old bed. Beside him was an overused pillow
with long gray hair on it.
On the last day of her funeral, Mr. Thompson stood beside her coffin crying his
heart out. He regretted not approaching her earlier. If only he could turn back time, he
would have been there for her during her difficult times. To show his love for her, he offered
him a single rose. A rose for Emily that symbolizes his love and admiration to her. He
believed that even if it’s too late, Emily still deserves to receive love and be loved.

VI. Conclusions

The story of William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily reflects on various issues in our
society that the people from the past have experienced before and our generation is still
dealing with. One of them is our response to someone who is evidently into something
that affects their mental health. A part in the story when Miss Emily’s father died, and Miss
Emily refused to bury his father’s dead body is an indication that she might have a mental
health problem. She also isolated herself for a long time but no one in the neighborhood
at least showed even a little empathy for what happened to her. No one ever dared to talk
to her. Even Tobe, the servant, doesn't show any concern about her. All he cares about is
that he’s doing his job to serve in the mansion. In the present time, many of us notice but
fail to make any effort to even reach out. Or just at least make them feel that we are there
for them and we can be someone whom they can talk to. We’re more likely to blurt out
opinions than to understand where they’re coming from. We often ignore the signs and
sometimes belittle their problems and experiences. These scenarios were often observed
in our relatives, even in our family whom we thought was our safe space. What’s even
worse is that they compare our problems to theirs or in other’s problems as if we all have
the same level of how we handle and perceive things.
Another issue that arises in the story is regarding the scandalmongers who kept
on giving unsolicited opinions about Emily’s life. In our country, we are experiencing the
same situation wherein people keep on giving opinions regarding our lives. They make
gossiping a habit and we label them as “Marites”. The scene in the story wherein Emily
bought Arsenic in the drug store is obviously alarming. Imagine, someone in the
neighborhood has already had an assumption that Emily might kill herself but still, they
ignored it. They just kept on gossiping about her life and what’s more bothering is they
thought it was the best thing she could ever do. This is somehow one thing that a few in
our society are experiencing. Instead of showing empathy to someone who has been on
a rough road, we just pity them but never show any compassion. We sympathize but never
empathize.
Another problem that we can analyze in the story is when the neighborhood notices
the disgusting smell coming from Grierson’s mansion. They just let it pass without even
entering and inspecting the mansion at all. In the present time especially in our country,
we never let this happen. Most of us are conscious about the cleanliness of our
surroundings so when something like that occurs in the neighborhood, we immediately
call the attention of our neighbor on where it’s coming from and if they still didn’t take any
immediate actions regarding it, we will raise this to barangay officials.
A Rose for Emily is not just an ordinary literary piece. It mirrors different faces of
our past and we found out that during those times, mental health was not one of the
priorities of the government. They prioritized collecting payment for taxes more than at
least knowing if their constituents were still doing fine. Maybe they do not have proper
mental health awareness in their community that time. Unlike nowadays, we are eventually
becoming aware if someone is showing signs that they might have depression and take
immediate actions to help them. We comfort and empathize with them. We also have help
lines that someone who’s experiencing depression may freely express how they’re feeling.
Mental health awareness is spread all throughout various social media platforms. There
are also seminars that talk about mental health awareness. Depression is something that
we shouldn’t take for granted because mental illness may lead to a hideous crime. On the
other hand, we couldn’t really put all the blame to a villain for committing a crime. As Chris
Coller said, villains are just victims whose story has not been told. May this literary piece
serve not just as a lesson but also a reminder for everyone to be kind and always deepen
our understanding towards someone.