A Rose for Emily
The Plot’s Surprise in A Rose for Emily
William Faulkner strategically uses plot to manipulate time in A Rose for Emily (Faulkner 566-74). The plot is sectioned into five parts. The sections are structured to go from present to past, instead of the more common chronological order. It is this manipulation of time that builds the suspense of the surprise ending.
Part one takes place in what I understand to be present time. The narrator describes that the town’s people attended Emily’s funeral because they had not seen the inside of her house in at least ten years (566). Because of this alienation from the town, she became an object of fascination. She was a tradition to the town, and described as “ a duty, and a care, a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (567). The beginning of part one is about her funeral, but the time-lapse changes very early on as the narrator takes us back to right before her death (567). This is the first indication the reader is given that signifies time has been manipulated and the events are not in sequential order.
At the beginning of part two, you are taken further back in time; thirty years to be exact. This is the time where the plot thickens and starts to create suspense. The author cleverly choses to describe the events of the foul odor the neighbors complain about. Surprisingly enough, the author gives no indication of what the odor is, thus building the curiosity of the reader. Choosing to use this approach, allows the plot to manipulate time, which in turn continuously keeps the reader inquisitive.
Part three takes us back two years further to when Emily’s father died. During this time period, the reader achieves a more accurate understanding of Emily’s character. This is the first real understanding that Emily is not as helpless as she is presumed to be and that she is capable of more than given credit for; for example, buying rat poisoning. The narrator strategically uses plot to give the details in reverse order
William Faulkner strategically uses plot to manipulate time in A Rose for Emily (Faulkner 566-74). The plot is sectioned into five parts. The sections are structured to go from present to past, instead of the more common chronological order. It is this manipulation of time that builds the suspense of the surprise ending.
Part one takes place in what I understand to be present time. The narrator describes that the town’s people attended Emily’s funeral because they had not seen the inside of her house in at least ten years (566). Because of this alienation from the town, she became an object of fascination. She was a tradition to the town, and described as “ a duty, and a care, a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (567). The beginning of part one is about her funeral, but the time-lapse changes very early on as the narrator takes us back to right before her death (567). This is the first indication the reader is given that signifies time has been manipulated and the events are not in sequential order.
At the beginning of part two, you are taken further back in time; thirty years to be exact. This is the time where the plot thickens and starts to create suspense. The author cleverly choses to describe the events of the foul odor the neighbors complain about. Surprisingly enough, the author gives no indication of what the odor is, thus building the curiosity of the reader. Choosing to use this approach, allows the plot to manipulate time, which in turn continuously keeps the reader inquisitive.
Part three takes us back two years further to when Emily’s father died. During this time period, the reader achieves a more accurate understanding of Emily’s character. This is the first real understanding that Emily is not as helpless as she is presumed to be and that she is capable of more than given credit for; for example, buying rat poisoning. The narrator strategically uses plot to give the details in reverse order