Marie Jones Jones 1
Leslie Worthington
Composition and Modern English II
Essay # 1
November 2, 2012
A Rose for Emily: A Struggle between Loneliness and Insanity Readers of “A Rose for Emily” could argue the point - is insanity a learned behavior, brought on by years of abuse at the hands of a father or is insanity hereditary passed down from generation to generation? Within the first two paragraphs of this story William Faulkner allows the reader to picture the home of Miss Emily Grierson. It is described as being a beautiful home from the 1800’s yet thru the years became known as a blemish throughout the town. The home changed in the eyes of the resident’s much the same way the town’s opinion of Miss Emily changed. She was once viewed by the citizens with respectful affection however; this respect quickly changed to disgust once her secret insanity was exposed. Miss Emily was denied true happiness because of her father’s domineering control over her life. The emotional abuse continued even as she grew older. One such example is that Miss Emily’s father would never allow male suitors “We remembered all of the young men her father had driven away“… (36). The first sign of insanity came as the women of the town went to the house to pay respect to Miss Emily in reference to the passing of her father. For three days she denied his death and continued with the belief he was still alive. Finally, on the third day reality set in and she allowed her father to be quickly buried. When the only companion she had

Jones 2 ever known died, Miss Emily could not bring herself to admit his death because of the loneliness she would have to face. Her father was the only man in her life as a young girl and this continued to be her curse as she grew into a woman. The reader might think that the days of denial and confusion were in her past and with her father’s passing she could be free to find a true sweetheart. She sought companionship and a cure for her loneliness. A sweetheart she did find in Homer Barron. Homer was a common laborer and was believed by the town to be socially out of Miss Emily’s league, yet she ignored rumors as she “carried her head high“… (37). Over time her fears of being left alone overpowered her. Miss Emily could never really experience love because of the underlying thoughts of being alone, just as she had been the majority of her life due to her father’s controlling abusive ways. She could no longer ignore the rumors about her beloved Homer. It had been overheard that Homer had stated “he liked men,”(38) not to mention “ it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elks’ Club.”(38). Miss Emily dealt with her fears the only way she could guarantee herself to never again fall asleep alone. In her mind she felt that by killing Homer she could keep him by her side as long as she lived. By poisoning the only sweetheart that ever loved her she would never be lonely again. Much like today, people tend to blame their life mistakes on the abuse and lifestyles they were exposed too during their youth just as Miss Emily endured. However, this needs to be examined carefully when used as an excuse. Unlike the story where Miss Emily never saw her actions as being wrong and where as her insanity controlled her actions. Some people of today choose to make wrong decisions and use insanity as the way out. This group of people does not suffer from day to day living with the constant
Jones 3 question of “what if” as Miss Emily lived with her fear of “what if” she were left alone. These people tend to be impulsive and maybe lack human morals. “After torturous deliberations, a jury acquits John Hinckley "As to the first