The Black Slave Image in A Rose For Emily

【Abstract】：A Rose For Emily talks about the aristocratic lady Emily in the South after the Civil War. In this story， the black slave of Emily is one of the remains of the Old South， and William Faulkner describes him as hardworking， silent and easy to be ignored， which is the typical characteristic of the slaves before the Civil War. Though the slavery was abolished， social stratification and racism still existed.

【Key words】：A Rose For Emily；black slave；Old South，；social stratification；racism

A Rose For Emily is a short story written by William Faulkner， one of the most preeminent American writers of the 20th century. The story takes place in Jefferson， Mississippi， in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Emily Grierson was a member of a family in the antebellum Southern aristocracy. After the Civil War， her family declined， but Emily’s father still drove off all Emily’s suitors below their social status. After her father’s death， Emily fell in love with Homer Barron， a foreman from the North. But she failed to get rid of the constraint of her family dignity and the influence from the town people， so she killed Homer. From then on， Emily had lived a secluded live， sleeping with the dead for 40 years until she died. After her grand funeral， the town people found this secret.

The social stratification in the story is quite clear， from the view of the Old South. Emily and her family represent the top class， town people are in the medium class， and the black slave， “the Negro” in the story， is in the bottom of the society.

Emily， clinging to her pride and dignity， is a typical lady of the Old South aristocracy. She is a contradictory person. She longed for love so that she dated with Homer on Sunday afternoons， while she was also traditional so that at last she chose to kill Homer instead of marrying him. She is hateful because she committed a murder， but she is also pity because love was unavailable in her whole life.

The town people are the narrator of the story. They were keen on making judgments on others’ life and have no principles. They hoped that Emily could abandon the past glory of her family and marry a common man. But when Emily began dating with Homer， they thought she forgot the noblesse oblige and was fallen. They wanted Emily to keep pace with the times and at the same time keep her nobility. The town people in the story are kind of similar to the urban petty bourgeois in Lu Xun’s writings.

The black slave， “the Negro” in the story， is one of thousands of anonymous black slaves in the Old South. He was long neglected by others， and for the town people， he was no more than Emily’s combined gardener and cook. He spent all his life looking after Emily， the odd aristocratic lady， and became her only link with the outside world when she was old. He never talked about himself； indeed， the town people could hardly hear his voice. When Emily died， he disappeared， together with the Old South.

The black slave image in the story is taciturn， hardworking， more like a machine than a flesh. Nobody had talked with him， and nobody knew what he thought， because he was always silent. “We had long since given up trying to get any information from the Negro. He talked to no one， probably even not to her， for his voice had grown harsh and rusty， as if from disuse.” Emily was always the topic of the gossip， the town people cared about her even when she lived an isolated life， but nobody cared about the black slave. And it seemed that the black did not want to be noticed and cared， too. He guided the visitor to the hall and showed them out， admitted Homer at the kitchen door at dusk one evening， met the first of the ladies of the front door and let them in when Emily died. And， most frequently， he went in and out with the market basket， as is descripted by the author——“Daily， monthly， yearly we watched the Negro grow grayer and more stooped， going in and out with the market basket”.

After the Civil War， the South still insisted in the supremacy of the white and planters. The long-time class division and Calvinistic concept made the town people easy to ignore the fact that blacks and whites are equal. Even the blacks were deeply convinced that they were nothing more than their masters’ servants and tools， and that they should not have any thoughts about themselves. In the Griersons， where traditional rules were respected and obeyed， the discrimination against the back was especially serious. The Old South’s way of thinking constrained all the town people in Jefferson. Hence in this story， the black slave is the loneliest person. He lived silently all his life， ignored by the town people， himself， and the whole society. We have no idea about what he is thinking of everyday， nor do we know anything about his past and his future. Would he feel boring about his work？ Why did he choose to stay in the Griersons instead of leaving with other black slaves？ And where will he go after he left the town？

When we give our sympathy to Emily and sigh for her destiny， we should also pay some attention to the black slave， who represents thousands of black slaves that were treated as private possessions rather than equal citizens in the past. The black slave’s tragedy in the story can be attributed to the slavery and Calvinism， but after slavery was abolished and Calvinism no longer prevalent， racism did not disappear. And even in today’s most democratic countries， discrimination against the black still exists， which deserves our contemplation.

References：

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