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 died shows that she loved Homer and her desire to stop change, how Homer's name and actions suggest that he is a homosexual, and how she could not get away from her father's control even after his death.
First, Ms. Emily used to white wear dresses, which symbolize innocence, but she begins wearing black clothes, much like a mourner's style of dress, after Homer presumably disappears. …
