Ideas for Striking Essay Topics for “A Rose for Emily”

Getting stuck on a subject for a book essay happens more often than not; there are so many different interpretations that can be found for a book. Your teacher may be looking for one thing and maybe only one student out of the whole class gets the idea; but it is better to have thought provoking material rather than being

just like all the others. Some teachers even encourage innovative thinking when it comes to interpreting the themes behind a story.

Original and Striking just like writing was intended

Here is a nice collaboration of ideas that can even be expanded upon if the muse so wishes:

• Miss Emily is such an offbeat character, use that to your advantage and try diagnosing her in the story “A Rose for Emily”; even though she never receives medical treatment it is obvious that she has some characteristics for mental issue. This most obvious is in her bizarre character and the withdrawn stance she has when it comes to society.
• The structure of a story can be sometimes dull, but Faulkner used a very interesting structure for this story. Take a fresh look at the story and analyze why he doesn’t use events in a chronological order but rather he mixes things up. Why does this make his story successful or would it be even better in chronological and linear fashion?
• Faulkner in his Nobel Prize speech states that “humanity will endure”. How does his story suggest this and what characters come out the most successful for their hardships and which characters do not?

Even more Writing Prompts for “A Rose for Emily”

In case the top three topics weren’t enough here are some more to help stir up your inspiration:

• In 1894; what was it that the colonel had done for Miss Emily? Analyze the reasons and the action.
• The day after her father’s funeral what did Emily tell the visitors and more expressly why did the townspeople seem unfazed by what could be possibly something odd to say.
• No one has seen the room upstairs for forty years; after Emily’s funeral the townspeople break down the door, what do they find?
• Make a comparison between William Faulkner’s female Southern character and Harper Lee’s version of the same in To Kill a Mockingbird.
• On Emily Grierson’s personality, what factors do you think either shaped or warped her? Make a list and pick the top five most influential characteristics and analyze them.

Inspiration isn’t hard to find as long as you know where to look for it. Faulkner’s short stories are interesting and full of meaning and surely you’ll come across him again even in your academic career.