Her father had kept her away from any experience with love that she might ever have known. He was the only person that Emily loved and cared for, until she met Homer Barron. The loneliness in Miss Emily’s life was the cause of her failure to let go of the ones that she loved. For instance, her father was the only person that she had, so when he died, she refused his death so that she could hold onto him to have him in her life still. So the reason that Emily killed her lover, Homer, was to keep him in her
Her father was the one that kept her sheltered most of her life. She never really came out the house for anything, besides her servant, Tobe. Towards the middle of the story Miss Emily’s funeral was referred to a symbol as the “fallen monument” (209), which could have meant that it was once a beautiful and wealthy home, but as time passed it grew very old and deprived. Also, Miss Emily’s hair is one of the symbols, after her father’s death she decided to cut her long hair. Her hair could symbolize her being free of her father controlling her life.
Her house growing up was once lively and grand, and stood elegantly beside others on what had been the most select street in town. “But garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood; only Miss Emily’s house was left” (1). One at a time, her neighbors passed away, eventually leaving Emily and her house as the last vestige of her era. The heart of the town had been shifted towards the more open views of the north, and like the old south, Emily had been left alone to deteriorate along with the rest of her kind. Emily’s father was a strict man who was very set in his ways.
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” centers around the lives of townspeople obsessed with a fellow Southern woman who has shut herself out from their community. Although the lineage of Miss Emily Grierson has deep roots in the community, she is anything but a normal citizen. Dominated by a controlling father, whose death leaves Miss Emily very alone, she ostracizes herself from the town by having limited contact with the outside world for the remainder of her life. The community itself does little to coerce Miss Emily out of her forced seclusion. A few routine visits from the townspeople, companionship from Homer Barron, who is found as a skeleton in her house upon her death, and assistance from her house keeper Tobe is the only interaction Miss Emily has with the outside world.
He had worked hard to be there. Akeelah was a single parent child and missed her dad a lot. We can see her talking to him even when he is no alive which shows that she missed him. This way, when she watched Dylan’s father pressurizing him made her realize that the spelling be was very important for him. It was Dylan’s last chance to win the Bee.
A ROSE FOR EMILY In almost every story, authors try to subtly employ ideologies throughout to give their readers something think about and figure out while they are reading. Such is the case in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.” Faulkner uses hints of post-colonialism, Marxism, and symbolism throughout “A Rose for Emily” in order to criticize the South. One way in which Faulkner shows his criticism for the South is through his use of symbolism. Faulkner’s main character, Emily Grierson, seemingly represents the South. Emily’s decline throughout the story, both physical and societal, parallels the decline of the South after the Civil War (Dilworth 111).
Her husband left early on in Emily’s life and her mother was forced to leave her with friends or send her to day care. “…and I did not know then what I know now- the fatigue of the long day, and the lacerations of group life in the kinds of nurseries that are only parking places for children” (Olsen 707). Emily got nowhere near the amount of attention she needed. Maggie, on the other hand, was always with her mother. Maggie’s mother was also older and better suited to be a mother because she was older and more experienced however, Maggie’s father also left the family.
The townspeople’s curiosity is typical of what might be found in most small towns, their interests and entertainment lie within the personal lives of others. Emily just happened to be the only occupant of the town with status; it is obvious that she would become the object of everyone’s ridicule. It is like they were obsessed with her; “when she got to be thirty and still single, we were not pleased exactly, but vindicated,” (Faulkner). The Griersons, so rich and powerful, thought very highly of themselves, as a result, their daughter suffered, no man was good enough for Emily. Their “patriarchal chauvinism [and need for purity in] womanhood, [became a] conflict between community and [the] individual,” (Fang).
She lived in a home with two parents who cared for her. Her home was very stable, because of this Pecola was sent to live there because her father “…had burned up his house, gone upside his wife’s head, and everybody as a result, was outdoors.”. Being outdoors in Claudia’s eyes was a very bad thing because that meant you had nowhere to go. The relationship Claudia and her sister developed with Pecola sometimes helped her because they looked out for her when they could. The author showed the extreme detachment Pecola has from society, caused by racial and life hardships.
It is evident that as time passes, the people of Jefferson as well as her dying father become forceful (needs to be a different word) towards her. Faulkner makes it obvious to the reader in the story’s opening scene that her and her father have always been old fashioned. Her father always scared away potential suitors for his daughter, because they didn’t meet his expectations. While the story is never given an exact date, the narrator makes it clear to the reader that the characteristics and customs were long outdated, even for the deep south. Emily is a character, along with her family and possessions are all antiques from a time since gone, the very embodiment of the old south.