A Rose for Emily 

In the short story “A Rose for Emily”, there are several symbols but there are three main symbols that help shape the story and are ultimately very critical to the themes of the story. Those three symbols would be The Skull and Crossbones, the dead bodies found in her home, and finally the rat on the poison bottle.

To begin, first symbol would be the Skull and Crossbones on the bottle. The Skull and Crossbones represent death. I can infer this means death, because the illustration of a Skull and Crossbones’ normally means do not consume, or the product is fatal. And my inference was correct.

Then, the second symbol, the dead bodies in her home represent her isolation, and unwillingness to let go. For example, when her father died, for three days she refused to let anyone remove his dead body. The text does not say why, but I can infer it is because she simply was not ready to let go, her father was all she ever really known.  Another example is Homer Barron, her promiscuous boyfriend that she killed. Even after she killed him, she would still lay in bed with his dead corpse. The text does not say why, but I can assume that it was because she, again, was not ready to let go, and be alone.

And lastly, the final symbol from “A Rose for Emily” would be the “For Rats” label under the skull and cross bones. The “For Rats” label represents a second meaning, and ulterior motive for the poison. The text was previously talking about Ms. Emily’s boyfriend being flamboyantly unfaithful and everyone knowing his promiscuous secrets . So I could assume from the context clues given in the previous paragraphs that the "rat", as in unfaithful, no good, poison was indeed intended for the unfaithful boyfriend, not a rodent.

There are many more symbols in this text, but I feel like The Skull and Crossbones’, the dead bodies in found in her home, and the rat poison were the most important symbols. Those three symbols were the most plot-shaping, tone-setting symbols of the story.