Gothic Literature A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

William Faulkner’s story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is an example of gothic literature. Faulkner shows sadness for the love that is not returned and a drive that Emily uses to get what she wishes for. He has a gloomy and mysterious tone. One of the themes of the story is that people should let go of their past, move on with the present so that they can focus on welcoming their future. Emily was the evidence of a person who always lived in the shadow of her past, because she was afraid of changing for the future. She would not let go of the past throughout all her life, keeping everything she loved in the past with her. Faulkner starts his story by showing the amount of respect that is shown at Emily’s funeral. It is said that the entire†¦show more content†¦The older people thought that she should be ashamed because she was not dating within her social status. After a year of gossip around the town Emily bought the arsenic from the druggist. The druggist t old her that, â€Å"the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for†(547). Emily refused to tell why she needed the arsenic and everyone believed she was going to kill herself. This depicts another gothic element. This is confusion between good and evil, because she might not use the poison to kill herself. The use of this dangerous substance in the story creates a feeling that something bad is going to happen. There is a reason why Emily purchases poison and the fact that she doesn’t what to say why she needs it also indicates that something is wrong, but her social status helps her not to give a reason why she wants poison to the druggist. At this point in the story, Emily’s purchases of the arsenic leaves no doubt that the story is leading to a very dark event. She was then seen at the jewelers buying a man’s toilet set in all silver; she had the initials H.B. engraved on them, everyone by this point knew they would marry, but Barron rema rked that he liked men and he was not the marrying type. â€Å"he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elk’s Club- that he was not a marrying man†(547). Although this goesShow MoreRelatedWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily1181 Words   |  5 Pages Is William Faulkner s A Rose for Emily iconic American literature? Faulkner uses setting, theme and plot to show the ways â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is an iconic American literature. Faulkner saw the Forum magazine with his short story he wrote, â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and found out that was his first national publication. The Mississippi Writers Page says, â€Å"The man himself never stood taller than five feet, six inches tall, but in the realm of American literature, William Faulkner is a giant† (MWP). 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