Custom «A Rose for Emily» Essay Paper Sample

A Rose for Emily is a five part short story that is narrated by the townspeople of Jefferson in Mississippi. The narrator notes that over the years Miss Emily Grierson house in Jefferson has fallen into disrepair and has become an "eyesore among eyesores". He goes on to say that the men attended the funeral because of a respectful affection that they had for a fallen hero while the women attended the funeral because there were curious to see the inside of the house which no one except an old manservant who worked there. The narrator also notes that after Emily's father's death who was an engineer, Homer Barron is seen with Jefferson in a crew of other men who came together to build sidewalks. Emily is seen visiting a druggist where she purchases arsenic.

Since it is required by law, the druggist asks her what the arsenic is for. She doesn't respond and blatantly stares at him until he turns and looks away and finally leaves the room. The arsenic is delivered by an African American boy. As Emily is opening the package, she comes across the sign "for rats" underneath the skulls and bones. The citizens assume that Miss Emily wants to commit suicide. The people in the town contacted two of Emily's cousins so that they could come and comfort her. Homer leaves shortly after they arrive and only returns when Emily's cousins leave the town of Jefferson. Homer is last seen when he enters the home of Emily after which she begins to age, she gains weight and is rarely seen going outside her home and eventually dies.

The fifth section which happens to be the last section starts with Jefferson women entering the Greirson home. As soon as they arrive, Emily's black servant is seen leaving through the back door without even saying a word. Once the funeral is over, the townspeople immediately run through her house during which they came across a room in the second floor that no one had ever seen for more like 40 years. They break the door open only to find a dusty room that is strangely decorated as a bridal room (Faulkner 16). It mostly contained a man's suit, tie shoes and a silver toilet set that Miss Emily had purchased for Homer before he disappeared. Homer's remains are seen lying on the bed dressed in a nightshirt and close to him is an impression of a head on a pillow case where the people find a single long strand of gray hair. With this new found evidence, it is believed that Emily had killed Homer and been lain in the same bed with his corpse until her death.

The mood that has been created in the first paragraph is a sad one. This is because the setting is in a funeral environment. In the story there are five instances of death that have been indicated. For example, the story begins in section one as the narrator is giving an account of Emily's funeral (Faulkner 5). He remembers that it is the death of Emily's father that prompted Colonel Sartoris to remit her taxes into perpetuity that leads to the aldermen attempting to collect taxes from Emily. In addition, as the narrator is telling the story, we see that Emily is described as a woman who is drowned, "she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. For a long time, no one had entered the house that some years back was one of the best in that and this was the only opportunity they had now that it had depreciated in value. The secret room that Emily had hid Barons' bones is a clear indication that she was very sad at the demise of his love (Faulkner 15).

The diction that has been used in the story is very good that makes the story more interesting to read. Throughout the story, the diction according to me is constant thus making the story have a flow and good rhythm. He has used description as a figurative language. For example, he describes the dark and secret room that consisted of his lovers bones. He says that there was a suit, a tie and shoes. The sentence pattern that have been used in the story is that of simple sentence structure. This helps in making the story interesting. In addition, it makes it easy to read and understand thus making it more appealing to the reader (Faulkner 25).

The mood of the story does not change completely; it remains the same till the end of the story. As the story begins, we see that Emily's house has fallen into disrepair and we know very well that it was one of the best houses in Mississippi. In addition we see that the men came to honor the man who had died while the women had only come so that they could enter the house which had been entered for 40 years by anyone. This mood goes on until the story ends.