Emily The Poison example essay topic

In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily", Faulkner's details about setting and atmosphere help the reader understand the actions and reactions of Miss Emily. Throughout the story, Faulkner gives hints that eventually lead up to the shocking revelation of Emily's character. At first glance, Emily seems like a lonely woman with little self-confidence and low self-esteem. Faulkner portrays her and her family with high statuses and while she did carry herself with dignity, people in the community only gave her respect based on fear of what she could do to them. It wasn't until after her death when her true character was revealed when the skeleton of her lover, Homer Barron, is discovered in a room in her house.

Not only did Emily poison him, but a gray hair is found next to the skeleton, indicating that she had been sleeping with a corpse for years. It all just goes to show that some people are not what they seem. Above all, Emily's love life was controlled by her father, a man of high class stature who was looked up to by the community. He chose the men he wanted Emily to go out with and chased off those he did not like. He had probably intimidated her into thinking that every man she met was no good for her. When he died, it sounded to readers like freedom for Emily.

After all, she could finally be free to date whomever she wanted to without her father to chase them off. However, from years of his past actions, she really didn't know how to be in a relationship with somebody and unfortunately became barricaded in her home. Even though Emily didn't go out much, let alone socialize, she did have a gentleman friend, Homer Barron, whom she soon developed feelings for. Like any woman, she dreamt of getting married, starting a family, but most of all, being loved; she was sure Homer was the one who would fulfill all of her dreams and rescue her from being alone. Unfortunately, Homer had different feelings about their relationship and didn't feel the same way about her as she did about him. Even while knowing this, Emily still went along with her wedding preparations, even buying invitations and wedding clothes while Homer went out of town for a few days.

At this point, Emily was growing fearful of being left alone again. With the fear of losing Homer and being left alone, she decided to poison him. She went to the drug store to purchase arsenic. The druggist repeatedly asked what she had wanted it for as he was unable to sell poison without knowing the reason for the purchase. He never got an answer and possibly just gave Emily the poison out of fear and respect. Emily put it to use right away.

She felt that if she could not have Homer while he was alive, she could be with him and keep him forever if he were dead, in which she did. Because of her isolation in her house, none of the townspeople were aware of how sick she had become. Not until after her death did the truth about Homer emerge. Needless to say, Emily had a hard life. Everybody who she had ever come to love had left her. Not only that, but between her father, her manservant, and Homer, she had become totally dependent on men to do things for her.

She had always had men to protect and defend her; perhaps, the reason she had barricaded herself in her house after her father died was because she didn't have the self-reliance or individual confidence to live on her own and succeed in her years. Life is sad and tragic; some of it is made for us while the rest is at our hands as it was in Emily's case.