Emily's Rose example essay topic

Burns 1 Mike Burns English 1454 Sept. 20th, 2003 Emily's life was a fickle and most people will be a victim of circumstance and the times. Some people choose not to let circumstances rule them, but Emily wasn't one of those people. Emily didn't have individual confidence, or maybe self-esteem and self worth, to believe that she could stand alone and succeed at life especially in the face of changing times. She had always been ruled by, and depended on, men to protect, defend, and act for her. From her father, through the manservant Tobe, to Homer Barren, all her life she was dependent on men.

It didn't help that her dad told off every guy that came to her. That really had an impact on her mind. And that really showed when the father died. The few flashes of individuality showed her ability to rise to the occasion, to overcome her dependency, when the action was the only solution available. Like buying the poison or getting money by offering china-painting classes. Emily's life was tragic and sad some of which is made for us and some of which we make ourselves.

Emily had a very hard life, because everything she had loved or held close left her. Her father in my opinion made the biggest impact on her life. Because he made it seem that every man she met wasn't good enough for her. The townspeople even state "when her father died, it got about that the house was all that was left to her; and in a way, people were glad... being left alone... She had become humanized" (219). That sounds like as if her father's death was sort of liberation for Emily.

But when he died he couldn't fight off the guys any more. The townspeople thought that Emily was above the law because of her high class Burns 2 stature. Since the death of her father they saw her as one of them a middle class working person. But unfortunately, Miss Emily became home bound.

Homer and Tobe were like the only two that would socialize with Emily. Tobe was the manservant that would do her chores and go to the store for her. But Homer was the man for Emily. Emily thought that he was the only one for her. "Homer was a forman for a road construction company. Homer is a Yankee, big, dark, ready man, with a big voice and eyes lighter than his face" (220).

With Emily's past high class upbringing Homer would be out of the picture if her father was still around. Emily was just terrified of being alone so she thought that Homer would be the one to reduce her from her fear of being alone for rest of her life. Emily was head over heals for Homer but Homer wasn't feeling the same way towards her. There was a rumor that "even Homer himself had remarked -- he liked men and it was known that he drunk with younger men in the Elk's Club -- he was not a marrying man" (221). Homer left Emily and town for three days and then returned. While Homer was gone, Emily still had it in her mind that they were going to get married.

She bought Homer invitations and clothes. Emily became fearful of Homers departure and feared being left alone again. Because of the fear of losing Homer again and being left alone, she decided to poison him. She felt that if she cannot have him alive than she could keep him with her if he was dead. So she did. No one really knew how bad it was becuase of her seclusion.

The truth about Homers death did not come out till Emily's death. Faulkner talks about Burns 3 The "Rose" for Emily in the title of this story. The "Rose" could be found in the tomb like bedroom that she created. The bedroom wasn't found until Emily's death. "Upon the valance curtains of faded rose color, upon the rose-shaded light" (223). Because of the rose color items, the room had an artifical rose like color.

Homer was dead all those years, among the rose color room everything in this room was Emily's rose. It was locked away for keeping so she would not be left alone.