A Rose For Emily Symbolism

Faulkner uses alot of symbolism in his short story "A Rose For Emily," to express the issues in Southern Society and the resolutions of the problems. The character of Emily is supposed to represent people who didn't accept the new south and the people who wanted to stick to old southern traditions, like racism and white royalty. Emily, who lived during the prime years of the old south, tried to keep the old south traditons even after her father's death, she thought that she shouldn't be taxed because she was of confederate decent. Also, Emily had killed her husband, who was considered a yankee in the town, and that behavior was present during the old south era. Emily lived in the past, and the town enabled her to do so, like the old mayor allowed her not to pay taxes. The house that Emily lived in also represented the old south in that it was getting old and falling apart, and about when this story took place the old south was going down and making the transition to the new south. Also, the towns people represented the new south becuase they were of a new generation and valued the new southern ways, but the townspeople allowed Emily to do whatever she wanted and kind of enabled her to carry out the old southern traditions, like when she made the man at the pharmacy give her poison to kill her husband. The town leaders though I think represented the new south and the new south's ideas, because they tried to catch up with Emily on her taxes and tell her she was no better than anyone else. The older people in the town represented the old south and its traditions and the younger people the new south and its traditions. Through symbolism Faulkner conveys a deeper message in the story, he uses various elements of literature to describe the changes the South is facing and about to face, and he uses vivid descriptions of the characters to convey the view of various groups of people within southern society. Faulkner describes the issuses that may occur between the old south followers and the new south followers through strong symbolism.

Faulkner uses “A Rose for Emily” to address themes of change and progress, especially as it relates to the American South. Although he describes particular individuals within Jefferson (Miss Emily, the older men and ladies, the town leaders), he seems to be using them as symbols for the larger issues that the South was facing at the turn of the twentieth century.  Discuss how Faulkner addresses the themes of progress and change in the South.

New South vs Old South

In the southern states before the civil war, those who owned plantations had slaves and were mostly wealthy land owners. On occasion, plantations in the area would come together to have parties or discussions about current events. When the civil war was going on there were dangers everywhere and something as simple as getting a doctor was now a difficulty. People had to be aware of their surrounds because they never knew when they might be attacked by the Yankees. After the civil war was over with, the south changed quite a bit. Slavery was abolished so the income in the southern states dropped significantly. There were also changes in personal beliefs. For example, not everyone was willing to accept African Americans as equals to them while others were all for it. These differences in the south still go on today to some extent.

Old and New South

After the Civil War the South experienced many changes to its environment and in its nature. The Civil War greatly affected the South and changed the way the South operated, the war changed the Old South to the New South. The Old South consisted of arrogance, self confidence, racism, and an economy that depended on slave work. Before the Civil War there was a sense of arrogance among the Southern people, they thought that they were going to win the war very easily and that it was going to be a walk in the park for them. The men and the women were so confident before the war that the men were excited to depart for the war, and there were many celebrations among the people of the South before the war had begun. Before the war, the white people in the South took advantage of the black people and used them for slaves for labor, and didn't recognize how terrible that they were treating the african americans and the people had grown accustomed to being waited on by the black people and didn't realize how much they depended on the black people to keep their society going. Once the war had started, most of the men were gone and the women of the south had to do much more work and keep up with most of the men's duties while they were gone. Eventually, the Southerners had learned that they were not prepared to fight the war and didn't have the quality or quantity of weapons the North did, and many towns held drives where the women would donate alot of their jewelry to the men so that they could produce weapons. After the war the South officialy made its transformation into the New South, the New South was poor, due to the fact the economy was down due to no slaves, and destructed from the South's terrible defeat in the war. The people also began to realize their mistreatment to the black people and how they would have to move on without their slavery, and find new ways to boost their economy. The New South was very different compared to the Old South, the economy was in the drain, the land was destructed, and the citizens were going to have to make many personal changes, the Civil War truly had changed Southern Society.

The new and old south

Prior to the Civil War, the white southerners lived a life of luxury and became completely ignorant to the world around them due to their false sense of security. The wealthy plantation owners and their families would spend their days attending evening balls and group gatherings, while the slaves worked long and hard hours in the fields. When their was news of a civil war beginning between the southern states and the northern states, the south's arrogance led them to be unprepared for what was in store for their people. Besides dealing with the high rate of casualities and injured men, the families whole style of living came to a sudden halt, and they were forced to adapt to the destruction and lack of help. Towns were demolished and all houses were ransacked. The "New South" consisted of men and women, who had previously not worked a day in their life, to now having to earn a living using any means possible. Land, which was very valuable to them, was lost because the families could not meet the tax requirements. Overall, the self-esteem of the southern states diminished and in order for them to keep going, everyone's sates of mind had to change.

There are many differences between the "old south" and the "new south" before and after the civil war. Many of the changes that occurred were directly related with the civil war and the fight for the freedom of blacks in the southern society. In the "old south" southerners were especially arrogant and self assured, they also didn't do the work that made them money instead that was the slaves job. When the idea of having a war over slavery rose in the south many thought that it would be a quick battle that would be easily won, due to the arrogance of the idea that this would change nothing in their society while they fought they did not think of the things needed to win a war. For example, in the north there were mines and more supplies for guns and their bullets but in the south all there was was the assurance that they would win. As the war began and went on, at first, their didn't appear to be any changes except for those to the soldiers who were actually fighting. After a while the army was so far behind in men and supplies, as was the yankees, it began to show more and more that they were not equipped nor did they have the knowledge to fight and win a war. After the war or during the rise of the "new south", most everything was desolate and sad. Many houses and much land had been burned so that they could not wield good crops, also many of the animals that they had once had had been stolen by the yankees as they slowly progressed, winning many battles that made it so that they could do those things. Also, along with the "new south" came the realization to southerners that they would now have to bein working and living off the land themselves with what little that they had left and high property taxes imposed by the controlling army of each area. Now, many of the southerners, lost in a sense, learn to live with what they are given and to try not to show the army tht they are erally hurting due to less money and less hands to do the work that was once being done.

The "old" and "new" south

The civil war changed the face of this country in many ways.  Specifically examine the south during this period of transition.  What impact did the civil war have on southern states.  Describe what is meant by the terms the "old" south and the "new" south, highlighting and discussing differences in the south before and after the civil war. 

In Katherine Mansfield’s short story, “Miss Brill,” the author provides us with a very peculiar protagonist, Miss Brill, who lives not in reality, but rather in a fantasy world which depends on the lives of other people to keep it going. Finding out that Miss Brill is in fact an English teacher is very ironic considering how childish and judgmental she is of everyone around her. She spends every Sunday afternoon listening to the local band down at the park. Viewing her life as a play, she believes that each individual is an actor or actress, and she alone plays a crucial role. It is at first clear that Miss Brill is not entirely sane, when she takes out an old ragged faux fur and begins stroking and adorning the piece, as if it were alive. Once she arrives to watch the band, she immediately begins to pass judgment on the old couple sitting together on a bench. She is disappointed in their “statue” manner and wishes for them to come alive and entertain her eccentric mind. Another example of Miss Brill’s unpleasant personality is when she describes a lady, referred to as the ermine toque, as being dressed quite unusually and having “yellow” hair and skin. If Miss Brill was able to step back and see herself as everyone else does, she would realize that the ermine toque and her and almost identical in their manner and style. Miss Brill is a loner, who does not have the social skills to interact positively with others, so she chooses to paint a glamorous image of herself, instead of facing reality

miss brill

The temperment and nature of Miss Brill, the main character and protagonist, is very immature, judgemental, and delusional. Throughout the entire story, we see through the eyes of Miss Brill a very twisted perception on reality. She makes up and imagines almost every aspect of her life. When she sees people interacting, she creates situations and dialogue for them. She determines what to imagine strictly through her original visual perceptions of these people, and jumps to very many conclusions. In this way, she makes up for her lifes own lack of luster and lives vicariously through others. She also views life as a play, in which everyone acts out their own small part, and in which she is a superstar. This once again shows her egotistical and judgemental way of looking at things. Miss Brill misses two chances for an epiphany in the story. The first time is when she sees an old lady in a worn out and ancient ermine toque getting disregarded by those around her, even when she attempts interaction. Miss Brill fails to see the parallels in her life and in the woman in the ermine toques life. The second time she misses her epiphany is when, while eavesdropping, she hears a young couple talking negatively about her. Instead of realizing her faults and the negative role she takes, she childishly goes off and cries, an unusual reaction from any weathered adult. The protagonist, Miss Brill, leads a sad existence and her participation in the story greattly reflects this.

Miss Brill

Miss Brill is an old woman who thinks she's a very important "actor" in the "play" of her life. In actuality, Miss Brill is actually an immature, judgemental old woman who nobody even wants around. The way she criticizes the people that walk by her is actually her criticizing herself, only she doesn't realize it, therefore she misses her epiphany. She judges people in the public garden every Sunday until she overhears herself being criticized. Miss Brill takes this very badly and acts like a child, without any of the maturity one would expect from an elderly english teacher. She goes home without getting any cake, which she did every time she passed the shop, and sulked in her cupboard of a room, just like a small child might do. Though Miss Brill may believe she's an important actor in people's lives, she is nothing more than an insignificant toddler and will probably never have her epiphany.

People act in different ways due to their nature. In the short story “Miss Brill,” written by Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill has a unique way of presenting herself. One trait she possesses is being very judgmental. She likes to intrude on peoples’ conversations and judge how these people should act. But in reality, she’s the one who should be looked at. Miss Brill doesn’t have any friends and lives a life as a lonely, old woman. One other aspect of her nature is that she is very childish and immature. In the story, she goes home, almost crying, after she is insulted by the young couple. Miss Brill went to her house without her almond bread, acting like a child with a temper tantrum. But, she should act more mature, since she’s an English teacher. Someone who is a teacher normally is a role model for the students they teach, but Miss Brill wouldn’t be the right role model for the children. Miss Brill is a character with a very interesting temperament and nature.

Miss Brill

Ms. Brill from the story "Miss Brill" is a very judgemental and lonely person. Katherine Mansfield uses many different foil characters in the book that reflect who Miss Brill truly is. Miss Brill never actually has any encounters of her own but rather she lives through the lives of others because there is no purpose to her life, not realizing that, she continues, listening in on people, to go to the same park every Sunday where her dillusions come alive. When Miss Brill travels to the park she is very judgemental to everyone she sees and imagines herself as if she was in a play and that the park was like a stage and if she didn't go there then she would surely be missed. Miss Brills character i reflected through the many people that she sees, asseses, and judges, yet she still manages to find no fault in herself. For example, when Miss Brill is watching the woman in the ermine toque she believes that what this woman i weraing is ugly but also, when this older woman is turned down by someone she takes a moment then walks away as if nothing was wrong. The ermine touque woman, who is a foil character of Miss Brill, acts as if nothing is wrong and just keeps moving on in life just like Miss Brill does. Miss Brill doesn't see the faults in herself but only the people around her such as the woman who is complaing about glasses who she just wants to shake when, truthfully, she is seeing her own faults in other people but doesn't realize it yet. Another way that she judges the people and, appearing hypocritical, looks at them and sees them as people who have just crawled out of their cupboards when really she is the one crawling out of a cupboard. Miss Brills temperament is that of a childs especially at the end of the story when she is insulted because she was listening in on others conversations and they were talking about her and wondering why she just didn't stay at home and so, like a child, Miss Brill goes home, not even treating herself to a piece of cake because she is so sad. The nature of Miss Brill is that she lives in her own world where everything is just a certain way that she doesn't realize what's missing in her world in reality because of her childish temperament and the way that she lets many things affect her mood in such a way that they will either make or ruin her day.

Miss Brill

Katharine Mansfield, the author of "Miss Brill," uses the protaginist of the story, Miss Brill, to present the story. Miss Brill is a very judgemental character,she goes to a park in France every Sunday and watches the people and makes several judgements about them. Miss Brill sits on a bench and listens to a band and judges how the band plays. When on the bench, Miss Brill will get frustrated if the person next to her doesn't start a conversation with her. With the descriptions that Mansfield makes, you can judge that Miss Brill is a hermit, who doesn't have much of a social life and depends on other people to live her life for her. As the story progresses Miss Brill begins to think that life is a stage and all the people are actors and all of their behaviors are part of the act, and she still sits on the bench observing the people and making assumptions about themand enjoys their behavior. With these attributes Mansfield displays a picture to the reader that Miss Brill has low self esteem because all she does is judge other people and doesn't ever judge herself, also the reader can see that Miss Brill has no social life, is a loner, and is kind of crazy with her thought process that life is a stage. Also, Mansfield creates irony through Miss Brill in that Miss Brill is a teacher and should be an example to children, but with the way she acts you'd think that she is a child. Mansfield creates symbolism through the fox fur that Miss Brill wears, because the fox fur, like Miss Brill, goes out every Sunday, and stays caged in all week, is old and unwanted. Katherine Mansfield did a wonderful job depicting the character of Miss Brill, as a reader you could easily tell that Miss Brill was a judgemental loner, who had no social life, and depended on others to live her life for her, you could tell this thorugh Mansfield's literary elements.

We view the people and events of "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield almost entirely through the eyes and feelings of its protagonist. The author relies upon indirect presentation for her characterization of Miss Brill. Write as full of an account as you can of the nature and temperament of the story's main character.