Before reading a literary work I tend to read the author's bio. Authors tend to include some of their personal life in the work. Hence, William Faulkner's piece, "A Rose for Emily, " seems to be centered around his hometown of Oxford, in Lafayette County, Mississippi. However, the setting is renamed Jefferson, in Yoknapatawpha County. The time period ranging from pre-Civil War days probable up to the time of his death, 1962. This is evident because Faulkner makes reference to the Civil War and the profound effect it had on southern society. To the point that the main character, Emily Grierson, is buried amongst "anonymous graves of Union and Confederate soldiers who fell at the battle of Jefferson." (622)
             When the story starts out I thought Miss Emily was African American. Then Faulkner mentions the "Old South" and the "Negro" servant, Tobe, going in and out of Miss Emily's house with a market basket. Faulkner also humorously pokes fun of southern aristocratic society. The fact that Emily is tax exempt is an example of the aristocratic authority she possesses over a community that she does not socialize with. He uses language to further create Emily's upper-class persona. Emily is described as a "fallen monument". She is also described in paragraph three as "... a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation in the town."
             Her father is not only the reason for her privileged lifestyle but for her lonely and insane personality, which she became a prisoner to. Her father ruled her life with an iron fist, disproving every man the young girl had; no one was good enough for his daughter. Hence, wanting, needing and keeping a man became a major goal in her life.
             After the death of her father, she was so stuck on keeping a man that she was reluctant about giving up the body. Not surprisingly, the first thing Miss Emily did after her father'
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