An Analysis of William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily Joseph Collins 12th Grade

In William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, first person narration is used in order to focus on Emily Grierson, a recluse who has captured the attention of the townspeople, and dictates the conversation, gossip, and action of the city. Faulkner uses a plethora of literary traits in order to help progress, convey, and develop this story. The opening sentence of the story immediately lets the reader know that “Miss Emily Grierson died.” Most of the events that follow depict her earlier life, and are directed by the reader’s knowledge of her death. This has a rather potent effect on the reader’s able to glean the pieces of her life together through the non-chronological arrangement of the story. Through this, Faulkner does not take a straight approach in presenting the story, but rather manipulates time in order to spread the story out through several decades, thus making this a story of development. The story is split into five sections, which are all a series of flashbacks. It is only after the beginning of the fifth section that the reader learns that even the first is a flashback. The effect of this is rather potent, because the reader is unable to comprehend what time period the story is being told from.

The inability to...