A rose for emily
William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" draws a vivid picture of the south of the United States the turn of the century. It begins with the narrator mentioning the funeral of the eponymous Miss Emily. Faulkner's style in revealing the consequences of Emily Grierson's life and the shocking revelations of her death is very interesting.The narrative structure of the piece is interesting in that it does not follow a typical chronological order. The details of the story are revealed slowly by Faulkner as he allows the sense of suspicion to grow before revealing the murder of the Homer Barron by Emily.The narrator begins his chronology with the funereal of Emily. The narrator is not named and whilst seeming omniscient in his knowledge of events is clearly identified as a member of the community which surrounds Emily. The use of the pronoun "we" when referring to the townsfolk, as in:The narrator moves from the funeral back in time to the occasion when the City Authorities attempt to revoke her tax exempt status. The narrative then flows backwards and forwards through time revealing significant details of Emily's life and preparing the reader for the shock of Homer's murder. The narrative is also s
Another event which foreshadows the demise of Homer is the death of Emily's father. Both the city authorities and the minister are shown to be subservient to her at different times in the story. This corresponds with the chronological shift as the reader is guided to different parts in Emily's life. After the death of her father , his portrait is given prominence in her house, and even rests above her coffin. In this section Faulkner talks of the way in which the old seem to regard the past:". This authority is never more evident than on the occasion when Emily buys arsenic from the druggist. Both Emily and her house are shown as decayed as if the great lie that has lain undiscovered in her bed has infected the house. "The scene of decay in Homer's "tomb" is a symbol of the folly of Emily's refusal to move on. It takes very few words for her to persuade him to sell her arsenic. He is prepared to ignore laws to satisfy Emily. After the death of her father , his portrait is given prominence in her house, and even rests above her coffin. Both the city authorities and the minister are shown to be subservient to her at different times in the story. Faulkner uses language that creates the view of Emily of an institution. This corresponds with the chronological shift as the reader is guided to different parts in Emily's life.
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Acceptance Essays
