Foreshadowing In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

The story commences with Miss Emily Grierson’s funeral. There is no one who has been in her house for a decade, except her servant. The town had a unique connection with Miss Emily Grierson from the time it made a decision to stop levying her for taxes in 1894. Nevertheless, the new generation was not glad about the arrangement, and they, therefore, made efforts to make her pay the taxes. She adamantly refused to give in to their demands, and chose to stick with the old arrangement. Emily's father dies but she would not admit it for three days. She then started dating Homer Barron and the town strongly disapproves of this affair. She later dies and after the funeral, and Emily is buried, people go upstairs so as to break into a room that they

First, Faulkner uses foreshadowing in “A Rose for Emily” when Miss Emily purchases rat poison at the drug store and refuses to give an explanation as to why she is buying it. The druggist states, "’If that's what you want. But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for’” (Faulkner 5). Miss Emily stares blankly at the druggist and rushes out without providing an explanation. Faulkner later reveals later in the story Miss Emily poisons Homer Barron, giving an explanation as to why Emily’s neighbors didn’t see Mr. Barron coming in and out of the home like he usually does. The neighbors then see his skeleton in the upstairs room following Miss Emily’s death. Second, Faulkner uses foreshadowing in “A Rose for Emily” when Miss Emily buys the arsenic, the townspeople think, “’[Emily] will kill herself’” (Faulkner 6). The townspeople then see Homer Barron and Miss Emily on a Sunday buggy ride with her head held high. The buggy ride is the last time the townspeople see of Homer Barron’s whereabouts. For the next six months the townspeople do not see Miss Emily unless it is from her upstairs bedroom