,A Rose for Emily,William Faulkner,The most important fact is that he was born and bred in the American South and lived there almost all his life.,The Nobel Prize in Literature 1949 for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel,The meaning of the title：what does a rose symbolize?,A rose symbolizing love and a pledge of faithfulness. A rose for somebody can also mean a kind of memorial, an offering, in memory of somebody. A bizarre story of love, death, honor, pride, change and loss. Emily was denied love, the title has an ironic meaning.,Setting, time and major characters,Setting ： The town of Jefferson - the county seat of Yoknapatawpha Time ： no clear time clues, using flashback. Major characters ： Emily, her father and her lover Homer, the people of the town Minor characters ： Colonel Sartoris , Judge Stevens,A Picture of Yoknapatawpha County,Ca circa .1855: Miss Emily is born to the richest family of slave-owners in town. 1861-1865: the American Civil War, Confederate troops from here commanded by Col. Sartoris. 1870:Mr.Grierson, Miss Emilys Father, has the family house built in Gothic revival style ca.1886:Mr.Grierson dies; Miss Emilys inheritance is only the house; she is over 30. ca.1887:Homer Barron, Northern construction foreman, arrives; he and Miss Emily start courting. ca.1888:Homer Barron is seen no more; the smell in the house is noticed. 1894: Young Colonel Sartoris, as mayor of the town , exempts Miss Emily from taxes for life. ca.1919:Young Colonel dies. ca.1927-1928: The tax delegation visits Miss Emily. ca.1929-1930: Miss Emily dies at the age of 74.,Section 1 Emilys funeral as a big event the house and her distinguished family tax incident & the visit by the deputation,The Gothic House,Section 2 smell in Emilys house & complaints in the neighborhood & actions taken to do away death of Emilys father & her delayed disposal,Section 3 Emilys sickness before dating with Homer Barron & passionate love the purchase of arsenic,Section 4 widespread rumors in the town the absolute reclusive life of Emily,Section 5 death of Miss Emily with her house violently invaded discovery of the murder & her necrophilia(恋尸癖),Niche(壁龛 b kn),Key points of the text,who is telling the story? Five different images of Emily reflecting her changes in the story The conflicts in the story The theme of the story,“We” are telling stories about Emily, the people of the town, as the collective narrator or multi-narrative voices. By using the “we” narrator, Faulkner creates a sense of closeness between readers and his story “We” are the ordinary people of the town, representing the gossip of the town. They are , most of the time, not participants but observers of the events.,What is the image of Emily? (Image 1),Small, fat, spare, plumpness, looked bloated like a body, pallid hue, eyes looked like coal pressed into a lump of dough. Miss Emilys watch is a symbol of time. By making her watch invisible, she tried to ignore the passage of time as well as any changes brought about by the passage of time. Tarnish means the loss of the splendor of family,(image 2) “her upright torso motionless as that an idol” this is one of the vivid images of Emily the author creates in the story. Why does the author portrays her in such a way? The fact that she was motionless suited her rigid and stubborn personality.,Can you tell the conflict between Emily and her father in Para.25? (Image 3),Father: a dominant patriarchal figure with power, authority and manipulation Emily: a vulnerable and pure figure with obedience to her father and without freedom to court with suitors.,. What changes happened to Emilys image after her fathers death? (image 4),Having her hair cut short indicates her determination to change her role as an upper-class lady with conservative values, to live a liberated life, to be an independent and stronger woman. This quality of hers can be seen in her courting with Homer Barron, a Yankee foreman, despite traditional social prejudice.,Para.34 -42(Emilys image 5),What do you think her image indicates when she bought arsenic? Haughty black eyes (Para.34) She was compared to a lonely lighthouse keeper extreme loneliness and solitude. A strained flag (Para.41),conflicts,Themes,The decline of the South , especially the South aristocratic class. A dramatization of the conflict between the two different value systems and two social orders.(new &old, N&S) Black mans virtue.,The end,