AThematicStudyofARoseforEmily大学论文

A Thematic Study of A Rose for Emily

Student Name: han jun chen

Tutor Name: fang minming

Submitted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts

College of Foreign Languages

Zhejiang University of Technology

(May, 2014)

Acknowledgements

This thesis has involved a lot of time and efforts, for it is really a hard task for me to complete. Several months ago, I had the good opportunity to be permitted to fulfill my graduation thesis under the supervision of Mr. Zhou Yuanxiao, who has made some achievements in the cognitive field. I am grateful to him for helping me throughout the writing of this thesis. As a responsible supervisor, he has given me a lot of constructive suggestions from the selection of the reference books on the topic to the arrangement of the framework during the course of my working on this thesis. Due to his serious and earnest instructions, I had a correct and clear understanding on my topic before I made a beginning of this thesis. I must also thank him for a very patient and insightful direction of the early draft and the subsequent revisions. In addition, I thank him for his encouragement and instructions of the essential knowledge on paper's writing in the process of completing this thesis.

I will also give my appreciation to the teachers of the English Department of Shanghai University of Electric Power, who have taught me a lot during the past four years and enable me to finishing this work.

Finally, my thanks also go to my parents and friends who have offered some great help to support me through the task. Without your concern, the completion of this paper would have been impossible.

Abstract

Southern Literature is the most unique genre of American literature, and holds a very important place in its history. William Faulkner is one of the most representative Southern Literature writers of the 20th century. As a regionalist, he is very critical of the American South society. By using local, family, and Mississippi history, Faulkner

creates a fictional southern world, Yaknapatawpha County, which interprets his major theme of the underlying causes for the decay of the American South.

A Rose for Emily is by far the best-known, most frequently reprinted, most widely read, and most discussed short story written by William Faulkner. It relates a tragedy of a solitary and arrogant noble "Southern Lady"--Emily Grierson.

This thesis is intended to perceive into the root causes of the tragedy of Emily Grierson in combination with the social background of the old American South. It will make a detailed analysis on the social and historical causes of Miss Emily's psychological twist from three aspects, the society, the family and her own conflicts, and will further explore the emotion that the author expresses to his character, Emily, and the profound social implications in such a patriarchal system.

The "rose" in the title is Faulkner's tribute to the heroine in his novel. He offers a rose to express his sympathy and appreciation for the woman who struggled under the tyrannical patriarchal system and the moral fetters forced upon the women of the Old American South. A Rose for Emily is not only considered as a dirge for Emily, but also a eulogy dedicated to the downfall of the traditional southern society.

Key words:Emily; American South; patriarchal system; moral fetters; downfall