“A Rose for Emily” was the first short story that William Faulkner published in a major magazine. It was published on April 30, 1930 in an issue of Forum magazine. Faulkner was still struggling to make a name for himself before he published this story. “A Rose for Emily” features many characters that make it an interesting story. Three of the ones that most appeal to the reader are Emily Grierson, Homer Barron, and Toby the servant.
Emily is the main character in this story; she used to be a vibrant, outgoing young girl who loved socializing with people and spending time with her family. After her father’s death she transformed into an introverted old woman who spent the rest of her life hiding away in her house, and alienating herself from human contact. Emily’s life was being told through a series of flashbacks. She seems to be living in a world where time ceases to exist. She threatens to have metallic numbers affixed to the side of her house when the town receives modern mail service, she is isolated from reality which constantly threatens to break through her little world. Emily can be portrayed as some sort of object in this novel because she is always being watched. The townspeople always watch Emily as if she were some sort of object that they knew nothing about. People always wondered what she was doing. They would often see her through her window on some rare occasions, this was considered to be a rare sight since she never left her house.
Homer Barron is a foreman from the north. Faulkner describes him as a large man with a dark complexion, a booming voice, and light-coloured hair. Homer takes interest in Emily and starts taking her out for Sunday drives in his buggy. As the years pass Homers interest in marrying Emily is dramatically decreasing. He disappeared in Emily`s house one day, his corpse was later discovered in one of the rooms in her house. Homer was poisoned by Emily so that he could spend eternity with her; “Then we