What Rose?
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Samantha Major
Professor
English 102-102
October 5, 2006
A Rose?
What Rose? In reading William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily”, readers are forced to crank up their wheels of thought before the story begins. The author’s subtle foreshadowing techniques plays a crucial role in the development of the plot, building suspense and allowing the reader to guess on the story’s overall outcome.
By using the death of the protagonist, Miss Emily Grierson, as the opening exposition, Faulkner begins building the thrilling suspense. The questions of how Emily, this “fallen monument” (80) died and why “…the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one…had seen in at least ten years” (80) arise. Faulkner skillfully foreshadows this event to give the reader a hint to how the story might end. The story is arranged story in this order to avoid revealing the outcome of the story to soon thus aiding in the suspense.
Miss Emily’s house was “..a big, squarish frame house that had once been white…” (80). The next paragraph suddenly switches to Miss Emily in her living days. Faulkner purposely places these paragraphs together to imply that Miss Emily takes on the description of her neglected, decaying house. Because of the plot set up, the reader may not be aware of this connection but becomes aware of this subtle technique when later on in the story Miss Emily’s “…skeleton was small and spare…she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water…” (81).
“I have no taxes in Jefferson…See Colonel Sartoris.(Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost 10 years” (81). The information in parenthesis is stated but at this point the reader is already aware of the fact that Colonel Sartoris is dead. She lives in a house “…which no visitor had passed since… eight or ten years earlier”, and which “…smelled of dust and disuse” (81). This suggests Miss Emily’s possible mental state.
Also, when Miss Emily’s father dies “she told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days…” (81). They had to “…persuade her to let them dispose of the body” (81). This rising action reinforced the idea that she was a little mental or she would resort to irrational behavior to preserve what she loved, her “rose”.
The protagonist Homer Barron, “…a Yankee- a big, dark, ready man…” (83) is introduced. “Presently we began to see him and Miss Emily on Sunday afternoons driving in the yellow-whelled buggy…” then she “ordered a man’s toilet set in silver, with the letters H.B….” (84). It is evident Miss Emily is immensely fond of Homer. The people of the town were saying “They are married” (84). “So we were surprised when Homer Barron…-was gone” (85) Earlier in the story Miss Emily’s internal conflict, dealing with losing those dear to her, became evident. She has grown feelings for Homer and has even reverted back to society. Before she met Homer, Tobe did all the errands around town, while she remained in the house. Now she realizes that she might lose her love once again.
The story. reaches a climax height of suspense when Miss Emily asks the druggist for the poison, “…the best you have” (84), the reader has already concluded what it’s for because the druggist mentioned that it could “…kill anything up to an elephant” (84)(or a human for that matter!) The druggist explains to her that according to law, she is