Examples Of Illuminating The Dark In A Rose For Emily

Rocco Laurito

Professor Freitag

Writing-201

24 February 2023

Illuminating the Dark

As the townspeople of Jefferson, Mississippi crowd to put to rest the isolated Miss Emily Grierson, they also bury their assumptions of her life of love and murder and uncover the missing piece to the horrific puzzle. The unsettling mystery novel that is “A Rose For Emily”, was written by William Faulkner, a deep-rooted Southerner who favored the Confederacy even after the conclusion of the Civil War. In portraying the murderer as the protagonist, Faulkner had hoped to stir enthusiasm within the defeated southern states, encouraging the resistance of Northern values despite surrender. Each element, from Emily’s mysterious life to the dreary town along with the

The most prominent form of foreshadowing throughout the narrative includes the disappearance of Homer Barron, along with the peculiar smell that followed. In relaying the correlation between the two happenings, Faulkner states, “... a short time after her sweetheart — the one we believed would marry her — had deserted her” … “... the smell developed. It was another link between the gross, teeming world and the high and mighty Griersons” (Faulkner 2). Noting how the smell followed after Homer was believed to have left town, the author foreshadows the possibility that Emily had murdered Homer and preserved his dead body within his house. A representation of Emily’s unwillingness to hold onto the past, the speculation about the protruding smell coming from the Grierson home encourages intrigue and suspense from the readers, leading the plot to continue forward. In Emily’s purchase of clothes and a toilet set for Homer, the author hopes to mix confusion within the plot of the story, while also foreshadowing how these clothes will dress Homer’s dead body. He writes, “We learned that Miss Emily had been to the jeweler’s and ordered a man’s toilet set in silver, with the letters H. B. on each piece. Two days later we learned that she had bought a complete outfit of men’s clothing, including a nightshirt, and we said, ‘They are married.’ We were really glad” (Faulkner 5). When initially reviewing this segment, readers are inclined to believe that possibly Emily’s story would not be of calamity and death, as Faulkner shapes what appears to be a loving marriage between Miss Emily and Mr. Barron. Contradicting the apparent atmosphere and tone of the story, this scene plays an essential role in intriguing readers, as they are yet uninformed that this marriage would be made for eternity, and the clothes purchased