1、Lesson EightA Rose for Emily,William Faulkner,About the author,William Faulkner American Writer1897-1962,The Nobel Prize in Literature 1949 for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel,About the text,Although “A Rose for Emily” is one of Faulkners most frequentl

2、y anthologized short stories and is widely used in the American classroom, Chinese students may find it difficult to understand and appreciate. Some of them may think it is a bizarre story about an old eccentric lady in an American Southern town. It is true that the setting of the story is the Ameri

3、can South. Yet, the theme of the story is universal, transcending the boundaries of time and space. Like many other works of great literature, this short story tells about love, death, honor, pride, change, and loss. In this story, we can see how the author tells a good story skillfully, how he crea

4、tes an atmosphere needed for the storytelling, how he keeps the suspense and unfolds the conflict bit by bit, and how he digs deep into the social world of his character. This story is a rich and modern 20th century literary text. Those who are not so familiar with modern American literature may the

5、refore encounter some obstacles in reading this story: vague references, ambiguities, symbolism, imagery, experimental points of view, jumbled time sequences, avoidance of clear transitions, withholding of vital information, etc. By exploiting those “tricks”, Faulkner hopes to invite us readers to p

6、articipate in the process of seeking the truths of the inner life of the townspeople as they cope with Miss Emily.,Which of the photos below best represents the image of Emily Griersons house before it became an eyesore among eyesores?,A. B. C. D.,The Meaning of the Title,The meaning of the title is

7、 ambiguous, capable of various interpretations. A rose is a clich, symbolizing love and a pledge of faithfulness. From the story we can see Miss Emily was denied love. So, in this sense, the title has an ironic meaning. A rose for somebody can also mean a kind of memorial, an offering, in memory of

8、somebody. Then, who offered a rose for Emily?,Writing style,Flashback and foreshadowing are two often used literary devices that utilize time in order to produce a desired effect. Flashbacks are used to present action that occurs before the beginning of a story; foreshadowing creates expectation for

9、 action that has not yet happened. Faulkner uses both devices in A Rose for Emily.,Additional information I,This story is narrated through a third persons point of view. The story is told from the townspeople. The story starts off with Ms. Emilys funeral. It states that the men through a sort of res

10、pectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant-a combined gardener and cook-had seen in at least ten years. As we can see, Ms. Emily was sort of like a mystery to citizens of the town. The author continu

11、ously uses symbolism in the story. When the deputation came to her house for her taxes, Faulkner describes how the house and Ms. Emily looks. only Miss Emilys house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores, this stat

12、ement explains how the house gives off such a depressing mood. Her skeleton was small and spare;, this line shows us how her appearance showcases death also. When Ms. Emily was younger, her deceased father used to force away all the young men that was in love with her. The summer after her father de

13、ath, she fell in love with a Yankee by the name of Homer Barron. Everyone in the town was whispering about their relationship and wondering if they were married. After a while they stop seeing Homer and decided that they got married. The townspeople then proceeds by saying that Ms. Emily then died a

14、 while after. They didnt know she was sick. After they buried her, they knew that there was one room that wasnt opened. So after they decently buried her they went to see upon the room. When they opened the room they was greeted by great amounts of dust. They also explain that the room decked and fu

15、rnished as for a bridal: upon the valance curtains of faded rose color, upon the rose-shaded lights, upon the dressing table, upon the delicate array of crystal and the mans toilet things backed with tarnished silver, silver so tarnished that the monogram was obscured. They also saw a mans collar, t

16、ie, suit, shoes, and discarded socks. Then shockingly, laying right there in the bed was the man. For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace. What was left of him, rotted beneath what was left

17、 of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay; and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust. Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward

18、, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair.,Additional information II,When one lives his/her life in the public eye it is often difficult to live up to everyones expectations. These repressions often lead these people to use radical methods

19、to fulfill their own needs. In this essay we will use the short story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner to portray the idea that societys view on a celebrity can not only be powerful but also destructive. Miss Emily Grierson is the socialite of her town. Naturally with this status there is a cert

20、ain reputation she has to withhold. She not only represents her family name but in a sense the people of her town. Because she is such a dominant figure the townspeople have put her on a pedestal and are very judgmental of her actions. During the time in which her father was alive Emily was seen as

21、a figure to be admired but never touched. Many sutures she had but according to her father none were suitable enough. Emily was revered as a goddess in the townspeoples eyes. When her father passed it was a devastating loss for Emily. Never being able to develop any real relationship with anyone els

22、e it was like her world completely crumbled around her. Emily tried to hold on to him in some way even though his spirit had left. The townspeople subtlety but open objected to this and eventually took his body away. Although this was a sad moment for Emily it was in a sense liberating. She cut off

23、her hair as a sign of breaking away from her fathers control. For the first time in her life she felt free even though she was already thirty years old. With this restraint being cut and this new found freedom Emily set out to fulfill her desires of finding love and living her own life. In Homer Bar

24、ron a laborer from the north, Emily founded love. This odd relationship shocked the towns people and they were in turmoil over how to resolve this problem. In Emilys distant cousins they found a resolution. With these cousins now placed in town to watch over Emily they believed everything would chan

25、ge back to normal. As time passed the people began to recognize the genuine happiness Emily displayed and instead of rejecting the relationship they embraced it. Despite the joy the two expressed all knew it was a matter of time before Homer would leave Emily, like everyone else did but for the mome

26、nt they vested in her beauty and jubilance. Although the townspeople did not directly come into contact with Emily their views on her and her family greatly affected her life. Their praises and admiration forced her father to keep her sheltered longer than she needed. When she finally was released s

27、he latched on to the first thing who was not intimidated or judgmental of her. Being naive to the burdens of relationships and love Emily was not cautious and dove head first into it. When she realized Homer would leave again she made sure he would always be there by killing him. In his death Emily

28、found eternal love which was something no one could every take from her.,Detailed Study of the Text,Part One The street used to house only the best families. Then great changes took place: garages and cotton gins were established on the street and their existence wiped out the aristocratic traces in

29、 that neighborhood. While the whole street was becoming modern and commercial, only Miss Emilys house remained the same. Although her house was decaying, it still assumed an air of a stubborn and frivolous girl. The cotton wagons and gasoline pumps were ugly enough, but this house, which was old, in

30、 decay, pretentious, and completely out of place, was more unpleasant to look at. This detail shows that the house and its owner share the same character. Miss Emily had lived long and had become a tradition because she represented the aristocracy of the Old South that had lost out in the Civil War.

31、 She was a care because she was old, unmarried, and without family, and the people in the town felt they must take care of her. They felt that taking care of her was their duty and obligation. This obligation passed from generation to generation as long as she lived.,3. Miss Emily would not have acc

32、epted charity. “Not that” is used to say what follows is not true. Charity would be humiliating to Miss Emily. When her father died, Miss Emily was quite poor, but being a proud woman from an august family, she would not accept charity. Colonel Sartoris, born into another aristocratic family in Jeff

33、erson, had elaborate ideas about how white upper class women should be treated. With the decline of the South after the war, these rich white families also declined. He knew that the wives and daughters of the declining plantation owners enjoyed very high but also outdated status. They should be loo

34、ked up to, respected and taken care of. He knew exactly what Miss Emily needed and how she felt now, and thus invented a tale to justify the edict so that he could give her some financial aid without appearing charitable. 4. fat, obese, plump, overweight, large, heavy, chubby, stout, tubby If you wa

35、nt to be polite, dont say that people are fat. Overweight or just large, in American English heavy, would be more polite. Plump is most often used of women and children and means slightly or pleasantly fat. Chubby is most often used of babies and children and also means pleasantly fat and healthy lo

36、oking. Stout means slightly fat and tubby means short and fat. If someone is extremely fat and unhealthy, he/she is obese. Obese is also the word used by doctors.,紀念愛米麗的一朵玫瑰花 美?？思{ 一 愛米麗格里爾生小姐過世了，全鎮(zhèn)的人都去送喪：男人們是出于敬慕之情，因為一個紀念碑倒下了：女人們呢，大多數(shù)則是出于好奇，想看看她屋子的里面。除了一個花匠兼廚師的老仆人之外，至少已有十年光景了，誰也沒有走進過這幢房子了。 那是一幢曾經被粉刷

37、成白色的方形大木屋，坐落在當年一條最考究的街道上，還裝點著有十九世紀七十年代風味的圓形屋頂、尖塔和渦形花紋的陽臺，帶有濃厚的輕盈氣息?？墒擒噹旌蛙埫迿C之類的東西侵犯了這一帶莊嚴的名字，把它們涂抹得一干二凈。只有愛米麗小姐的屋子巋然獨存，四周簇擁著棉花車和汽油泵。房子雖已破敗，卻還是執(zhí)拗不馴，裝模作樣，真是丑中之丑?，F(xiàn)在愛米麗小姐已經加入到了那些大名讓人仰慕的代表人物的行列，他們沉睡在雪松佇立的墓園，那里有一排排南北戰(zhàn)爭時期在杰斐遜戰(zhàn)役中陣亡的南方和北方的無名軍人墓。 愛米麗小姐在世時，一直是傳統(tǒng)的化身，是義務的象征，也是人們關注的對象。打一八九四年某日鎮(zhèn)長沙多里斯上校也就是他下了一道黑人婦女不

38、系圍裙不得上街的命令豁免了她一切應納的稅款起，期限從她父親去世之日開始，一直到她去世為止，這是全鎮(zhèn)沿襲下來對她的一種義務。這也并非說愛米麗甘愿接受施舍，原來是沙多里斯上校編造了一大套無中生有的話，說是愛米麗的父親曾經貸款給鎮(zhèn)政府，因此，鎮(zhèn)政府作為一種交易，寧愿以這種方式償還。這一套話，只有沙多里斯一代的人以及像沙多里斯一樣頭腦的人才能編得出來，也只有婦道人家才會相信。 等到思想更為開明的第二代人當了鎮(zhèn)長和參議員時，這項安排引起了一些小小的不滿。那年元旦，他們便給她寄去了一張納稅通知單。二月份到了，還是杳無音信。他們發(fā)去一封公函，請她在方便的時候到司法長官辦公處去一趟。一周之后，鎮(zhèn)長親自寫信給愛

39、米麗，表示愿意登門訪問，或派他的車去接她，而所得回信卻是一張便條，寫在古色古香的信箋上，書法流利，字跡纖細，但墨水已經退色，信的大意是說她已根本不外出。納稅通知附還，沒有表示意見。 參議員們開了一個特別會議，派出一個代表團去拜訪她。他們敲門，自從八年或者十年前她停止開授瓷器彩繪課以來，誰也沒有從這扇大門出入過。那個上了年紀的黑人男仆把他們引進陰暗的門廳，那里有樓梯通向更加陰暗的樓上。屋子里灰塵彌漫，散發(fā)著久不住人而產生的氣味潮濕、發(fā)霉、令人窒息。黑人領他們到客廳里，里面擺設的笨重家具全都包著皮套子。黑人打開了一扇百葉窗，這時，他們可以看見皮套子已經破裂；當他們落座時，細細的灰塵在大腿周圍冉冉而

40、起，塵粒在屋子里那唯一一縷陽光中緩緩旋轉。壁爐前已經失去金色光澤的畫架上面放著愛米麗父親的炭筆畫像。,她一進屋，他們全都站了起來。一個小模小樣，腰圓體胖的女人，穿了一身黑服，一條細細的金表鏈拖到腰部，落到腰帶里去了，一根烏木拐杖支撐著她的身體，拐杖頭的鑲金已經失去光澤。她的骨架矮小，也許正因為這個緣故，在別的女人身上只是有點富態(tài)，而到她身上就顯得肥胖了。她看上去像一具長久泡在死水中的死尸，浮腫發(fā)白。當客人說明來意時，她那雙凹陷在一臉隆起的肥肉之中，活像揉在一團生面中的兩個小煤球似的眼睛不住地移動著，時而瞧瞧這張面孔，時而打量那張面孔。 她沒有請他們坐下來。她只是站在門口，靜靜地聽著，直到發(fā)言的

41、代表結結巴巴地說完，他們這時才聽到那塊隱在金鏈子那一端的掛表嘀嗒作響。 她的聲調冷酷無情?！拔以诮莒尺d無稅可納。沙多里斯上校早就向我交代過了?；蛟S你們有誰可以去查一查鎮(zhèn)政府檔案，就可以把事情弄清楚?！?“我們已經查過檔案，愛米麗小姐，我們就是政府當局。難道你沒有收到過司法長官親手簽署的通知嗎？” “不錯，我收到過一份通知，”愛米麗小姐說道，“也許他自封為司法長官可是我在杰斐遜無稅可交?！?“可是納稅冊上并沒有如此說明，你明白吧。我們應根據(jù)” “你們去找沙多里斯上校。我在杰斐遜無稅可交?！?“可是，愛米麗小姐” “你們去找沙多里斯上校，（沙多里斯上校死了將近十年了）我在杰斐遜無稅可納。托比！”黑

42、人應聲而來?！鞍堰@些先生們請出去?！?Part II,1. The ladies didnt believe that a man, any man, could keep a kitchen properly. When the terrible smell developed, they thought it was because the manservant didnt keep the kitchen clean. 2. The Griersons regarded themselves as very important and the outside world as vulga

43、r full of people inferior to them. They belonged to tow entirely different worlds. After her father died, Miss Emily shut herself up in the house, retreating to her world of the past. However, the complaints about the smell served as a link between the two different worlds and compelled her to deal

44、with the other world. 3. The next day the mayor received two more complaints. One of them was from a man who came and pleaded to the mayor in a shy and timid way.,4.Miss Emily sat in the window with the light behind her. What people Could see was her silhouette, a dark figure seen against a light Ba

45、ckground. In this image She didnt look like a living person but an idol, or a Goddess. Such a image suited her rigid and stubborn personality, her arrogant character.,4. People in the town felt that the Grierson family regarded themselves more important than they really deserved to be. The fact that

46、 Miss Emilys great-aunt. Old lady Wyatt, had gone crazy had to do with this blind, excessive self-importance. 5.長久以來，我們把這家人一直看做一幅畫中的人物：身段苗條、穿著白衣的愛米麗小姐立在背后，她父親叉開雙腳的側影在前面，背對愛米麗，手執(zhí)一根馬鞭，一扇向后開的前門恰好嵌住了他們倆的身影。 This sentence depicts a central image that tells several things about the relationship between fa

47、ther and daughter in Grierson family. First, the positions of the father and daughter are meaningful. The father was standing in the foreground while Miss Emily was standing in the background. This shows the fathers dominant position and the daughters subordinate role. The fathers spraddling adds to

48、 his image as a stern patriarchal figure. Second, the father turned his back to her, showing that he refused to listen to her, denying her wishes. Then Mr. Grierson was clutching a horsewhip, which was clearly a symbol of power, authority, and strict control. Miss Emilys slender figure suggests vuln

49、erability, and her white dress symbolizes purity, the most valued quality of the Southern white women. The fact that the two of them were framed by the back-flung front door may be interpreted in different ways. One interpretation is that the father was blocking the door, suggesting Miss Emily was u

50、nable to walk out of the house and choosing her suitor freely. Another interpretation is that the door was open for suitors but the suitors were driven away by the father holding a horsewhip.,6. When she got to be thirty and was still single, people in the town were not happy about such a outcome, b

51、ut it did confirm their predictionsMiss Emily was still single because the Griersons held themselves too high for what they really were, and all the young men who had come to court Miss Emily had been driven away by the father. They knew that even though there was insanity in the family, Miss Emily

52、wouldnt have turned down all of her chances if they had really existed.因此當她年近三十，尚未婚配時，我們實在高興不起來，只是覺得先前的看法得到了證實。即使她家有著瘋癲病史，如果真有機會擺在她面前，她也不至于全然放過。 7. Without her fathers over-protection and without much money, she had become a common person like the other townspeople. Ordinary people often become exci

53、ted or worried when they get a penny more or a penny less. Being poor, now Miss Emily would learn to appreciate the value of money like other people in the town. 單身獨處，貧苦無告，她變得通人性了。如今她也懂人之常情，也會多一便士就激動喜悅、少一便士就痛苦失望。,二 她就這樣把他們“連人帶馬”地打敗了，正如三十年前為氣味的事戰(zhàn)勝了他們的父輩一樣。那是她父親死后兩年，也就是在她的心上人我們都相信一定會和她結婚的那個人拋棄她不久的時候。父

54、親死后，她深居簡出；心上人離去之后，人們簡直就看不到她了。有幾位女士冒冒失失地去拜訪過她，但都吃了閉門羹。她居處周圍唯一的生命跡象就是那個黑人男子拎著一個購物籃子出出進進，當年他還是個青年。 “好象只要是一個男人，任何男人，都可以把廚房收拾得井井有條。”婦女們都這樣說。因此，那種氣味越來越厲害時，她們也不感到驚異，那是蕓蕓眾生的世界與高貴有勢的格里爾生家之間的另一聯(lián)系。 鄰家一位婦女向年已八十的法官斯蒂芬斯鎮(zhèn)長抱怨。 “可是太太，你叫我對這件事又有什么辦法呢？”他說。 “哼，通知她把氣味弄掉，”那位婦女說?！胺刹皇怯忻魑囊?guī)定嗎？” “我認為這倒不必要，”法官斯蒂芬斯說?！翱赡苁撬玫哪莻€黑鬼

55、在院子里打死了一條蛇或一只老鼠。我去跟他說說這件事。” 第二天，他又接到兩起申訴，一起來自一個男的，用溫和的語氣提出意見?！胺ü?，我們對這件事實在不能不過問了。我是最不愿意打擾愛米麗小姐的人，可是我們總得想個辦法。”那天晚上全體參議員三位老人和一位年紀較輕的新一代成員在一起開了個會。 “這件事很簡單，”年輕人說。“通知她把屋子打掃干凈，限期搞好，不然的話” “先生，這怎么行？”法官斯蒂芬斯說，“你能當著一位貴婦人的面說她那里有難聞的氣味嗎？”,于是，第二天午夜之后，有四個人穿過了愛米麗小姐家的草坪，像夜盜一樣繞著屋子潛行，沿著墻角一帶以及在地窖通風處拚命聞嗅，而其中一個人則用手從挎在肩上的袋子

56、中掏出什么東西，不斷做著播種的動作。他們打開了地窖門，在那里和所有的外屋里都撒上了石灰。等到他們回頭又穿過草坪時，原來暗黑的一扇窗戶亮起了燈：愛米麗小姐坐在那里，燈在她身后，她那挺直的身軀一動不動像是一尊偶像一樣。他們躡手躡腳地走過草坪，進入街道兩旁洋槐樹樹蔭之中。一兩個星期之后，氣味就聞不到了。 而這時人們才開始真正為她感到難過。鎮(zhèn)上的人想起愛米麗小姐的姑奶奶韋亞特老太太終于變成了十足瘋子的事，都相信格里爾生一家人自視過高，不了解自己所處的地位。愛米麗小姐和像她一類的女子對什么年輕男子都看不上眼。長久以來，我們把這家人一直看做一幅畫中的人物：身段苗條、穿著白衣的愛米麗小姐立在背后，她父親叉開

57、雙腳的側影在前面，背對愛米麗，手執(zhí)一根馬鞭，一扇向后開的前門恰好嵌住了他們倆的身影。因此當她年近三十，尚未婚配時，我們實在高興不起來，只是覺得先前的看法得到了證實。即令她家有著瘋癲的病史，如果真有機會擺在她面前，她也不至于全然放過。 父親死后，傳說留給她的全部財產就是那座房子；人們倒也有點感到高興。到頭來，他們可以對愛米麗表示憐憫之情了。單身獨處，貧苦無告，她變得通人性了。如今她也懂人之常情，也會多一便士就激動喜悅、少一便士就痛苦失望。 她父親死后的第二天，所有的婦女們都準備到她家拜望，表示哀悼和愿意接濟的心意，這是我們的習俗。愛米麗小姐在家門口接待她們，衣著和平日一樣，臉上沒有一絲哀愁。她告

58、訴她們，她的父親并未死。一連三天她都是這樣，不論是教會牧師訪問她也好，還是醫(yī)生想勸她讓他們把尸體處理掉也好。正當他們要訴諸法律和武力時，她垮下來了，于是他們很快地埋葬了她的父親。 當時我們還沒有說她發(fā)瘋。我們相信她這樣做是控制不了自己。我們還記得她父親趕走了所有的青年男子，我們也知道她現(xiàn)在已經一無所有，只好象人們常常所做的一樣，死死拖住搶走了她一切的那個人。,Part III,It is obvious that there is something else beneath the change of appearances. What is it? It is quite ambiguou

59、s. The images in this passage may be interpreted as a woman stripped of her sexuality. In this portrait, Emily assumes the semblance of a girl instead of a sexually mature woman of thirty. Her cut hair is especially important. Since ancient times, a womans hair has symbolized her sexuality. Emilys hair, along with her sexuality, has been cut short through her fathers pride. The cut hair also introduces religious imagery, for an initiate into nunnery shears her hair as a symbol of her chastity. In addition, the adjectives “tragic and serene” envisage a Madonna