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"A Rose for Emily" Review

Answer the questions below about Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily."

  1. How is Miss Emily's house personified at the start of "A Rose for Emily"?
    Answer: Miss Emily's house is described as "lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay," which demonstrates personification.

  2. What other details does Faulkner give to Miss Emily's house at the start of the story?
    Answer: The house is described as having a "heavily light-some" architectural style; it was once on a "select" street, but the neighborhood is no longer good. It is also the last house on a street that is now mostly a business district.

  3. What does Faulkner mean when he says Miss Emily was "a tradition, a duty, and a care" for the town?
    Answer: By saying that Miss Emily was "a tradition, a duty, and a care" for the town, Faulkner is showing that Miss Emily has lived in the town for a long time, and the town helps her out. The townspeople worry and wonder about her often.

  4. What is the conflict at the start of the story? How is it resolved?
    Answer: The conflict at the start of the story is the town's desire to collect tax money from Miss Emily, but Miss Emily refuses to pay it. The resolution is Miss Emily's refusal to pay.

  5. What does the hidden watch symbolize?
    Answer: The hidden watch symbolizes how Miss Emily ignores the passing of time.

  6. What does the condition of Miss Emily's home reveal about her character?
    Answer: The condition of Miss Emily's home shows that she is determined to live in the past.

  7. What does the conversation between Miss Emily and the aldermen reveal?
    Answer: The conversation between Miss Emily and the aldermen reveals that she thinks she does not owe any taxes because of an arrangement with Colonel Sartoris, whom is dead. She does not know that Colonel Sartoris is dead.

  8. Why does Judge Stevens not want to confront Miss Emily about the smell coming from her house?
    Answer: Judge Stevens does not want to confront Miss Emily about the smell coming from her house because he does not want to be disrespectful.

  9. What do the women in town believe is causing the smell? What does Judge Stevens believe is causing the smell?
    Answer: The women believe that Miss Emily's kitchen is not properly cleaned by Miss Emily's servant, and Judge Stevens believes that a dead snake or rat that has not been disposed of properly is causing the smell.

  10. What is the conflict between Miss Emily and the town when her father dies? If this story were told in chronological order, would this conflict be the first, second, or third conflict?
    Answer: After the death of Miss Emily's father, Miss Emily does not believe her father is dead, yet the townspeople know he is and that he should be properly buried. After three days, she gives in and allows her father to be buried. If this story were told in chronological order, this would be the first conflict of the story.

  11. What is scandalous about Miss Emily's relationship with Homer Barron?
    Answer: Homer Barron is a Northerner and a "day laborer," so he is not considered a proper boyfriend for Miss Emily. Also, although she is poor, she is considered to be too good for him.

  12. What does Miss Emily's conversation with the druggist reveal about her?
    Answer: Miss Emily's conversation with the druggist reveals that she is used to getting what she wants and expects it.

  13. What is ambiguous about Miss Emily purchasing the rat poison?
    Answer: The incident in which Miss Emily purchases the rat poison is ambiguous because she never clearly says what she intends to do with it, and although the druggist states that she must reveal what her plans are for the poison, she merely stares at him. When she receives to poison from him, he has marked "for rats" on the box.

  14. What do the townspeople believe she will do with the rat poison?
    Answer: The townspeople believe Miss Emily will kill herself.

  15. Why do the townspeople believe that Miss Emily and Homer Barron have married?
    Answer: The townspeople believe Miss Emily and Homer Barron have married because she has purchased him an expensive gift set, a silver toilet set, and she has bought him clothes. These are the actions of a married woman.

  16. What does Miss Emily's refusal to allow the town to place numbers above her door and provide her with a mailbox reveal?
    Answer: Miss Emily's refusal of postal delivery reveals that she refuses to accept change.

  17. What do Miss Emily's death and the condition of her house and servant suggest?
    Answer: Miss Emily's death and the condition of her house and servant suggest the end of an era.

  18. Why do the people force open the door to an upstairs room after Miss Emily's funeral?
    Answer: The people force open the door to an upstairs room after Miss Emily's funeral because they are curious about what is in the mysterious room that has been locked for so long.

  19. What does the condition of the upstairs room reveal about Miss Emily?
    Answer: The condition of the upstairs room reveals Miss Emily's final attempt to halt time.

  20. What is the meaning in the sentence "The man himself lay in the bed"?
    Answer: The statement "The man himself lay in the bed" means that there is a man—most likely dead—lying in the bed, and no one expected to find him there.

  21. What do the people find on the pillow next to the body?
    Answer: They find a long strand of gray hair on the pillow next to the body.