William Faulkner

"A Rose For Emily"

William Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily" is a remarkable story of suspense told out of chronological order with the use of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a literary device in which the author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story. The way that Faulkner told the story built suspense and kept his readers on the edge of what really did happen. Throughout the story, Faulkner's use of foreshadowing of what had happened didn't become apparent until the end. If Faulkner had not used any type of foreshadowing, we would most likely be confused throughout the story, due to the story being out of chronological order as well.

In this story, Emily Grierson is the protagonist, whereas her loneliness is the antagonist. First, Faulkner chose to begin the story with Miss Emily Grierson's funeral then he proceeds to inform us about her past. This flashback informs the reader a little bit about Emily's character. The scene where we were informed about Emily not paying her taxes, Emily tells the city authorities " I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves" (Faulkner 77). When this confrontation happened, Emily kept insisting that they talked to Colonel Sartoris, who had been dead for almost ten years. This was the first clue that Emily has trouble letting go of the past. Emily’s suffering is shown in the story when her father died and the townspeople were stopping by to show their condolence and “she told them that her father was not dead” (78). The way that Emily struggle to hold onto things is a very important part of how her character is and this connects her directly to the ending of the story.

The second part of this story, we again experience another leap out of chronological order. This is when the smell is introduced along with the courtship between her and Homer Barron. When we first read the story, we thought the smell was because of rats by one of the townsperson commenting, “ It’s probably just a snake or a rat” (77). During this section of the story, we are also informed about Emily's purchase of arsenic. Emily says to the druggist, " I want some arsenic. The druggist then replies, " Why, of course, if that is what you want. But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for" (79). This sale is another example of how Faulkner foreshadows the ending. The way Faulkner presented this, may lead the reader to believe that the poison is for Miss Emily, but actually, the arsenic is intended for Homer Barron. Emily’s need for loved ones explains the internal suffering that has to learn to deal with.

The following section that follows the third section didn't fall out of chronological order, but it is where the key elements of this story is held. Homer Barron's character is revealed in this section. Faulkner writes, " Homer himself had remarked- he liked men, and it was known that he drank with the younger men in the Elks' Club- that he was not a marrying man" (79). This statement however, doesn't mean that Homer is a homosexual; it just means that he's not the type that would settle down with anyone, not even Emily. With that in mind, when Homer doesn’t want to be with her, the crisis of the story is shown. In addition, we are told about Emily buying a man's toilet set in silver, with the letters H.B. on each piece. That right there is another form of foreshadowing by Faulkner. This informs us