Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

The unusual way Faulkner arranges his story, “A Rose for Emily,” affected my experience as I was reading the narrative in numerous ways. By beginning by stating “When Miss Emily Grierson died…” (119) Faulkner set up his story as being about Miss Emily and led me to believe this event was the beginning of the story. Once I got to part two, I realized that Miss Emily’s death was not the first event to take place in this story, but was just what Faulkner chose to write about first. It was then left up to me to try to put together the narrative in chronological order. This kept me focused on the story and also interested in what piece of Miss Emily’s life I would learn next and how that would fit in overall. Another way the mixed order influenced