A Rose for Emily

Scattered Thoughts “A Rose for Emily” is an intriguing novel that engages the attention of all audiences because of the creative writing style of William Faulkner. Faulkner uses a means of foreshadowing, suspense, and flashback to form the plot of “A Rose for Emily” by strategically sequencing the elements together. Enough foreshadowing is provided in order to understand the overall setting and character of Emily, but not so much as to as to give away the surprise ending. Faulkner’s ordering of flashbacks are seemingly scattered about, but at the same time very thought out and well planned. What may seem to some readers as useless detail, is later deemed necessary to make loose ends meet. In the first few words, “when Miss. Emily Grierson died…” Faulkner proves his knowledge of the foreshadowing element. This bit of information implies that at some time along the way, Emily will die. Emily’s once beautiful house is now “an eyesore among eyesores.” This is important because not only does it symbolize the south falling apart, but also that Emily is for some reason too weak to tend for her home. Faulkner never once lets out word about the death of Emily, captivating even more attention of the readers. Also by foreshadowing, the reader is able to pick up on the fact that Emily, being a Grierson, is snobby and “better than the rest…nobody was good enough for Emily.” Emily is classified by the town as “a tradition, a duty, and a care…” Foreshadowing is mandatory in this novel because without it, Faulkner would not be able to use the next element, suspense, at all. Suspense is Faulkner’s way of leaving the reader anxious and yearning to read more. Faulkner’s writing expertise signifies suspense by not giving out specific meanings that would give away the ending. Faulkner let’s the readers use their imagination by coming up with ideas in their minds as to what will become of Emily in the end. Suspense is then built up with the flashbacks Faulkner supplies