A symbol is a person, object, or event that suggests more than its literal meaning. In the story 'A Rose for Emily,' the symbolism shows more about the character than is detailed by the author, William Faulkner. Symbolism helps to indicate several things in the story: how Ms. Emily was once innocent but later changes, how her hair and some other items helped to show her resistance to change, how the room where Homer …showed first 75 words of 1327 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1327 total…Meyer. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's P, 1993. 47-53. Schwab, Melinda. A Watch for Emily. Studies in Short Fiction. Ed. Michael J. O'Shea. Columbia, SC: The R.L. Bryan Company, 1991. V. 28. 215-217. Wallace, James. Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily.'. The Explicator. Washington D.C.: Heldref Publications, 1992. V. 50. 106-7. West, Jr., Ray. Atmosphere and Theme in Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily'. Short Story Criticism. Ed. Sheila Fitzgerald. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Inc. Book Tower, 1989. V.1. 148-50.