Why does tobe stay with emily

The reasons exposed previously, note that Emily and Tobe were inevitably bound to stay together. However, Shiroma and other scholars expand on their relationship by offering the following historical note.

Tobe's family was, more than likely, at the service of the Griersons at around the time Tobe was born. He must have grown as a slave since his birth in the Grierson's household and, perhaps, may have even become friendly with Emily. This is very possible. Notice that Emily is not shy in the presence of men, as a rule. She only avoided them when her father would shun her away from them. Yet, Emily is straightforward with Sartoris, with the priest, and with her immediate society while she is dating Homer.

In other words, Emily is no shy violet. That she and Tobe were likely to have formed some sort of strong alliance since their youth is highly likely. It has to be, or else how can you justify their mutual tolerance for decades even after slavery has been abolished? The potential reasons why Tobe left right away after Emily died are, in contrast, a lot more sinister than the reasons why he was loyal and stayed with her until the end.

Let's go back to that alliance that Emily and Tobe must have formed in order to co-exist in harmony for over 40 years in the same house.

Tobe is aware of what is going on and, according to some scholars, may have been an accessory to the murder of Homer Barron. Given that Faulkner had already conceded this in his original manuscript, the most logical conclusion is the following: Tobe had to run, regardless! Who, but Tobe, could have been questioned as to what took place in the room?

Who, but Tobe, has the answers to every question as to what has taken place in that house for the time that it has been sealed to the public? It's through Tobe that Miss Emily survives: he is, quite literally, the only reason she has food to eat:. But besides the fact that Tobe keeps Emily alive and sort of well, we're not given a whole lot of information about Tobe.

His complicity in the murder of Homer Barron and the gruesome vigil that Emily keeps at Homer Barron's bedside is never mentioned He splits town immediately after Emily's death—either to avoid having to divulge her secrets to the town, or because his duty was finally done and he could escape the stinking, rotting crypt of a house. We can't say we blame him, either way.

Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By William Faulkner. Previous Next. Tobe Miss Emily is a tragic figure For example, the narrator states that Miss Emily went to a drug store with the intent to buy arsenic, though she did not specify to the druggist why she wanted it This is significant because it was later revealed how Emily had murdered Homer.

It is implied she murdered him with this arsenic, which means this event foreshadowed the murder of Homer. In addition, the story also foreshadows how Miss Emily would eventually lose her mind. He had to learn that he was nobody. As his grandfather is on his deathbed and he gives him a word of wisdom and it stuck with him throughout the story. She is a traditionalist throughout the story, and does not progress or modernize.

By using his religion as sanction, he could be a cruel and inhumane man while still having support. The alteration of kind to cruel is an important component to prove the dehumanizing effects of slavery on slaveholders.

This characterization provides a powerful argument that slavery is not only bad for slaves, but slave owners. She gets three reactions her, which exemplify how men react to her throughout the novel. Just a young african american boy, Fredrick Douglass has gone through the terrible morality of slavery.

Douglass was cut off from getting an education as well as freedom. He believed the enslavers to be criminals and nothing less. At one point he wished to be a beast so he could get rid of the toughest of being a slave. During Fredrick Douglas 's time of being slave he was cut off from any education and freedom. On the other side of the Reconstruction, it was filled with missteps. While the Reconstruction gave the slaves their freedom, the idea of it was pessimistic.