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 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. Faulkner takes his time in telling the story in order to allow for a more dramatic ending and also to keep the story interesting.
             The narrator begins his chronology with the funereal of Emily. At the beginning of the story the narrator is not named. This helps to add to the mystery of the story and also to a more dramatic use of chronology. While seeming omniscient in his knowledge of events, the narrator 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: "We did not say she is crazy then" shows us the connection between the narrator and the townsfolk. The narrator moves from the funeral back in time to the occasion when the City Authorities attempt to revoke her tax exempt status. The fact that Emily is tax exempt is an example of the authority she possesses over the townsfolk even though she is distant from them. Faulkner uses time to show that Emily is tax exempt in order to show the reader her timeless authority of the towns people. 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 split into five section, this allows for shifts in time and reveals images of Emily at various stages of her life. This is important in showing the ...