What are the elements of fiction in "A Rose for Emily"?
In general, the elements of fiction are
- point of view - the vantage point from which the story is told (i.e. 1st person narrator, 3rd person/ objective narrator, or omniscient narrator
- plot - the sequence of events in the exposition (beginning), rising conflicts, climax, falling action, and denouement (resolution of conflicts)
- character - the personages (these can be static/flat characters who do not change or dynamic/round characters who change in some way
- theme - the moral or lesson which the author wishes to give the reader
- setting - the time and place of the narrative
Now, concerning "A Rose for Emily," you can apply these elements to this story: the setting is important because Emily is an anachronism , out of time and place with the modern world as she clings to the mores of the Antebellum (before) Civil War. Raised by a plantation owner of wealth and prestige,...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
she has enjoyed the favors of the public officials and has not paid taxes for years; however, in the modern setting of this story, she is confronted by the aldermen. And, she is confronted with the "invasion" of loud, boisterous Northerners such asHomer Barron, a changing neighborhood, etc. The story derives much of its Gothic quality as Emily adamantly clings to the ways of the Old South against this personal invasion. (the conflict)
A native of Oxford, Mississippi, William Faulkner once said that he both hated and loved the South. One can understand some of what he meant by the statement after reading "A Rose for Emily."
What elements in "A Rose for Emily" make the story seem more real?
The story is set in the history of the south, the Civil War, Post-Civil War period. The cultural shift and death to a way of life after the South lost the war is accurately depicted by the author.
"Because Faulkner came from a family with an aristocratic bearing and associated with other similar families, he was familiar with the arrogance of characters like the Griersons. Some of these people continued to behave as if they were still privileged plantation owners although their wealth was gone."
Miss Emily, her father and the townspeople, when thought of in terms of the Old South, are very real people. It is easy to believe that Emily was prevented, by her father, from marrying, because he found all her suitors to be beneath her socially.
In the social hierarchy that existed in this period in history, Emily would have been required to marrying someone social equal to her or above her. Her father is depicted as a dominating patriarch, ruling his family, exerting total control over all decisions.
Miss Emily fading, like the last bloom of the Old South, is very believable. Emily is a victim of this upheaval, of the shift that occurs, she is left behind, like a relic lost in time.