AnAnalysisofheImage“Rose”in ARoseforEmily_开题报告

Through A rose for Emily is a short story, William Faulkner truly portrays the changes taken place in America society through the means of symbolism. In particular, the image “rose” is important for readers to understand the symbolic meaning of the novel. Lots of scholars try to interpret the meaning of “rose” from different aspects, such as stylistics, the social background, the narrator in the novel, or from the author’s own experiences, in order to better understand the novel. Through understanding the image “rose” in the novel, we can know better on how William Faulkner uses symbolism to reflect the American society at that time. 

1.1 Foreign Research

Foreign scholars are interested in the roses in literature, and have done a lot of research about the rose in this novel. M Wellan (2005) makes a comprehensive analysis on the symbolic meanings of roses in the literature history. Generally, rose is used as the symbol of love, but in this novel rose has other symbolic meanings.Many other  scholars have proposed their own understandings about the image of “rose”. Through analysis of the plot, Fenson and Kritzer (1966) believe that Homer is just the “rose” mentioned in the title. Weaks (1981) makes it clear that the rose bedroom in Emily’s little attic and Homer’s body, which is like a dried rose, represent the decline of Southern history. In general, most of the Western critics believe that “rose” is the author’s pity for the tragedy of the Southern society. 

There are other analysis such as Gray K L (2013), who also makes comparisons between the novel with Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, and She concludes both novels contain the unique jilting themes, and warn readers the danger of isolation. Also, Burduck M L (1990) focuses on Miss Emily's bizarre affair and how it affronts the chivalric notions of the Old South, the narrator. 

1.2 Chinese Research

A lot of Chinese scholars have begun to analyze the meanings of the image of rose in the novel from different aspects. 

First, scholars analyze the meanings of the rose from the use of symbolism, which is an important technique in the literature works of William Faulkner. Gu Hong (2005) analyzes the lots of symbolic images appeared in the novel, and believes that these symbolic meanings reflect the disruption of the Southern society and its clashes with the modern society development. By combining with the American history, Zhang Jiuquan (2011) thinks that the author wants to use rose to represent Emily’s love, and the author’s complex attitudes towards Emily. In more detail, Zhu Minghui (2010) divide the meanings of the rose into three main parts: Emily’s tragic life, Emily’s feminist consciousness and the subtle relationship between Emily and other people in the town.

Second, some scholars analyze the meanings of rose from the characteristic of Emily. Ding Liming (2009) holds that rose is also a representation of the “devil lover” because rose seems to be beautiful but it actually has thorns. Also, starting from Emily’s character development, Zhou Huiming (2011) starts from the image of rose and then analyzes Emily's process of self-realization and her final tragedy. She holds that it is the readers who send the rose to Emily in memory of her sacrifice in the old Southern society. 

Third, some scholars analyze how the story is narrated and arranged and then gives answers to the possible people who send rose to Emily. Hu Lidan (2010) analyzes from the perspective of the narrator “we” in this novel, and she concludes that it is “we” in the Southern society who send the roses. From the narrative style, Lu Jun (2009) analyzes the chronic order in the novel to discuss how the meanings of rose is reflected. 

Outline

1. Introduction 

2. The Different Meanings of Image “Rose” in novel 

2.1 Representing Emily’s Fate

2.1.1 Emily’s Love Tragedy

2.1.2 Emily’s Failure

2.2 Representing the Declining Society

3. Reflections through the Image “Rose” 

3.1 Reflection of Emily’s Female Consciousness

3.2 Reflection of Faulkner’s Southern Complex

4. Conclusion

3. Bibliography 

Fenson H, Kritzer H. Reading, understanding and writing about short stories[M]. New York: Vintage, 1966.

William Faulkner. Articles on Works by William Faulkner[M], Richardson: Hephaestus Books：2011. 

Minter, David L. William Faulkner, His Life and Work[M]. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980

Weaks, M L. The Meaning of Miss Emily’s Rose[J]. Notes on Contemporary Literature ,1981, 11(5): 11–12. 

Williamson, Joel. William Faulkner and Southern History[M]. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 

 Wellan M. Roses in Literature[J]. American Rose, 2005.

 Gray K L. Comparing Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"[J]. Student Pulse, 2013.

 Burduck M L. Another View of Faulkner's Narrator in 'A Rose for Emily.'[J]. University of Mississippi Studies in English, 1990.

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