William Faulkner

William Faulkner (1897-1962)• Grew up (and spent most of

his life) in Oxford, MS– The model for the fictional

Yoknapatawpha County

• His great-grandfather, Col. William Clark Falkner, who was something of a local legend, greatly influenced Faulkner, who transformed his life into that of the fictional Col. John Sartoris.

• Adventurous boyhood• Never graduated from high

school

William Faulkner (1897-1962)• Too short for the Army, so:

Royal Air Force in WWI• 1924: meets Sherwood

Anderson in New Orleans• Was also a screenwriter

– Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have not

• Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949

• Important interpreter of history—Southern, American, etc…

“A Rose for Emily”• Published in 1930

– Set in Jefferson, MS, the county seat of Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County

• Themes to look for:– Issues of gender, class, and community– Elements of Southern Gothic– The power of the past: Old South– Any “good men”?

“Rose for Emily” study questions1. With what event does the story open?2. How does the narrator describe Miss Emily in the

first 3 paragraphs?3. Explain the conflict between Miss Emily and the

Board of Aldermen.4. What is “the smell”? When does it begin? How is it

gotten rid of?5. What does the narrator say the townspeople think

about the Griersons?6. What do we learn at the very end of Part II about

Miss Emily and her father?

“Rose for Emily” study questions7. Who is Homer Barron? What is his relationship to

Miss Emily?8. What horrifying thing is discovered at the end of

the story?9. Think of the story as a whole: what do Emily and

her family represent for the townspeople and the narrator?

10. From what point of view is the story narrated? Why do you think Faulkner might have chosen to use this point of view? (Note: think of the setting here, and of the larger themes of the story.)

“Rose for Emily” final thoughts• What is the message or prevailing theme of this

story?• What does Miss Emily represent?• Her father?• Homer Barron?• The townspeople?• How does Faulkner use Miss Emily's house as a

metaphor for both her and the themes established by the narrative?

“Rose for Emily” extra credit challenge!In groups of 3 or 4, you will work on a response to the following prompt:Analyze Faulkner’s vision of the South in “A Rose for Emily.”Your response needs to be a single sentence—think of this as the thesis or topic sentence for a hypothetical paragraph you would write on this topic. Remember that it needs to:

• Be argumentative AND analytical.• Go beyond the obvious. In other words, don’t make a simple,

obvious statement about the story. Tell us something meaningful. • Be a strong, efficient sentence.

The group with the best sentence wins (as judged by me—no arguing!) 5 extra points on their class participation grade for the week.

“A Rose for Emily”• “a fallen monument” (1)• “a tradition, a duty, and a care…hereditary

obligation” (1)• Old South

– Colonel Sartoris’s waiving of her taxes (1)– The “next generation, with its more modern ideas”– “I have no taxes in Jefferson” (2)

• The smell– “another link between the gross, teeming world and

the high and mighty Griersons” (3)

“A Rose for Emily”• Emily and her father

– The tableau (4)– Insists he’s not dead (4-5)– “she would have to cling to that which had robbed

her” (5)• Homer Barron (5)

– Why do people say “Poor Emily”? Why do they talk about her behind her back?

• “Then the newer generation became the backbone and the spirit of the town.” (8)

• The room (9-10)