Themeaningofthetitle:whatdoesarosesymbolize?•Arosesymbolizingloveandapledgeoffaithfulness.•Aroseforsomebodycanalsomeanakindofmemorial,anoffering,inmemoryofsomebody.•Abizarrestoryoflove,death,honor,pride,changeandloss.•Emilywasdeniedlove,thetitlehasanironicmeaning.ARoseforEmilyWilliamFaulknerWilliamFaulkner'slife:themostimportantfactisthathewasbornandbredintheAmericanSouthandlivedtherealmostallhislife.AbouttheauthorHisMainWritings•Hismajornovels:•TheSoundandtheFury(1929)•AsILayDying(1930)•Sanctuary(1931)•LightinAugust(1932)•Absalom,Absalom!(1936)•TheHamlet(1940)•Hisbooksofshortstories:•TheseThirteen(1931)•Godown,Moses(1942)•TheCollectedStoriesofWilliamFanlkner(1950)WilliamFaulknerBecausethesettingofmostofhisworksistheAmericanSouth,Faulknerisregardedasaregionalwriter.Faulknerdealswithsomeofthemajoruniversalthemesinliteraturesoprofoundlythatheisreadandrecognizednationallyandinternationally.ARoseforEmilyWritingtechniquesFaulknerisamongthegreatestexperimentalistsofthe20thcenturynovel.Hiseffectiveuseofthestreamofconsciousness,multiplepointsofview,symbolismandimaginary,placehimamongtherankofthegreatestmodernwritersalongwithJamesJoyceandVirginiaWoolf.In1949FaulknerreceivedtheNobelPrizeforliterature.WilliamFaulkner.Eachstoryandeachnovelcontributestotheconstructionofawhole,whichistheimaginaryYoknapatawphaCountyanditsinhabitants.•TheirthemeisthedecayoftheoldSouth,asrepresentedbytheSartorisandCompsonfamilies,•andtheemergenceofruthlessandbrashnewcomers,theSnopeses.•Themeandtechnique-thedistortionoftimethroughtheuseoftheinnermonologuearefusedparticularlysuccessfullyinTheSoundandtheFury(1929),thedownfalloftheCompsonfamilyseenthroughthemindsofseveralcharacters.WilliamFaulknerdiedonJuly6,1962.•WilliamFaulknerARoseforEmilyAlthoughitisoneofhismostfrequentlyanthologizedshortstoriesandiswidelyusedintheAmericanclassroom,Chinesestudentsmayfinditdifficulttounderstandandappreciate.SomeofthemmaythinkitisabizarrestoryaboutanoldeccentricladyinanAmericanSoutherntown.It'struethatthesettingofthestoryistheAmericanSouth.Yet,thethemeofthestoryisuniversal,transcendingtheboundariesoftimeandspace.Likemanyotherworksofgreatliterature,thisshortstorytellsaboutlove,death,honor,pride,change,andloss.•InARoseforEmilywecanseehowtheauthortellsagoodstoryskillfully,howhecreatesanatmosphereneededforthestorytelling,howhekeepsthesuspenseandunfoldstheconflictbitbybitandhowhedigsdeepintothesocialworldofhischaracter.Thisstoryisarichandmodern20thcenturyliterarytext.••Byexploitingthosetricks“FaulknerhopestoinviteusreaderstoparticipateintheprocessofseekingthetruthsoftheinnerlifeofthetownspeopleastheycopewithMissEmily.Oncewedo,wewillsurelyenjoyreadingthestory.It'slikeworkingatapuzzle:whenwestarttofigureitout,itwillbecomemoreandmoreinteresting.•The1949NobelPrizepresentationspeechcallsFaulknertheunrivalledmasterofalllivingBritishandAmericannovelists“.Heisregardedasadeeppsychologist.TheshortstoryARoseforEmilylivesuptothathighpraise.WilliamFaulknerARoseforEmilyImplicitChronology(approximate)ThenarrationofARoseforEmilydoesnotfollowanormalchronologicalorder.Instead,itshiftsintimefrequentlyandgivesoutbitsofinformationaboutthemaincharacter,MissEmily,insuchawaythatthereaderhastopiecethemtogetherbyhimself.Thefollowingimplicitchronologyhasbeenworkedoutonthebasisoftheinformationfromthetext.•Cacirca.1855:MissEmilyisborntotherichestfamilyofslave-ownersintown.•1861-1865:theAmericanCivilWar,ConfederatetroopsfromherecommandedbyCol.Sartoris.•1870:Mr.Grierson,MissEmily'sFather,hasthefamilyhousebuiltinGothicrevivalstyle•ca.1886:Mr.Griersondies;MissEmily'sinheritanceisonlythehouse;sheisover30.•ca.1887:HomerBarron,Northernconstructionforeman,arrives;heandMissEmilystartcourting.•ca.1888:HomerBarronisseennomore;thesmellinthehouseis•noticed.•1894:YoungColoneldies.•ca.1919:YoungColoneldies.•ca.1927-1928:ThetaxdelegationvisitsMissEmily.•ca.1929-1930:MissEmilydiesattheageof74.WilliamFaulknerARoseforEmilyWhatisthemeaningofthetitleARoseforEmily?Themeaningofthetitleisambiguous,capableofvariousinterpretations.Aroseisacliché,symbolizingloveandapledgeoffaithfulness.Fromthestory,wecanseeMissEmilywasdeniedlove.So,inthissense,thetitlehasanironicmeaning.Aroseforsomebodycanalsomeanakindofmemorial,anoffering,inmemoryofsomebody.Then,whoofferedaroseforEmily?Faulknerintentionallyleavestheanswerforthereaderstofind.Butdifferentreadersmaycomeupwithdifferentanswers.Ambiguityisoneofthecharacteristicsofthisstory.Studentsshouldbeencouragedtogivetheirowninterpretationsandgiveanswerstoquestionsthatmaycomeupduringtheirreadingandclassdiscussion.•Whotellsthestory?•Thatisnotaveryimportantquestionfor18thcenturyfictionoreven19thcenturyfictionbecausestorieswrittenthenareusuallytoldbyapersonwhoknowseverythingatanymoment.Itiscalledtheomniscient(all-knowing)narrator.•Modernwritersofthe20thcenturyliketoexperimentwithdifferentnarrativevoices.•InARoseforEmilyhechooseswe,thepeopleofthetown,asthecollectivenarrator.Thefirstsentenceofthestorysays,WhenMissEmilyGriersondied,ourwholetownwenttothefuneral...Inthefollowingpartswefrequentl