In his short narrative entitled “ A Rose for Emily ” , William Faulkner uses both alone and standard methods of word picture for the storyteller and the supporter Emily Grierson to develop his characters. As in all short narratives there are a few level characters. The old African American adult male retainer who serves as Emily Grierson ‘s combined nurseryman and cook has some dark secrets, but leaves town before the reader can acquire his side of the narrative, the cousins who come to see one time in the narrative are female and attend Emily ‘s funeral ; nevertheless, this is all the reader learns about them and eventually Homer Barren is a chief that came to town to pave the pavements. Homer serves briefly as Emily ‘s love involvement, but as
it turns out, Homer is in Emily ‘s life much longer than everyone suspected. The typical storyteller introduces him/herself, and, throughout the narrative, one may larn more and more about the storyteller ; nevertheless, in “ A Rose for Emily ” a corporate “ we ” and “ they ” is used to state Faulkner ‘s narrative, which is alone for a storyteller. “ We did non state she was brainsick so. We believed she had to make that. We remembered all the immature work forces her male parent had driven off, and we knew that with nil left, she would hold to cleaving to that which had robbed her, as people will. ” ( Faulkner 34-35 ) The storyteller in this narrative is 3rd individual limited and is seemingly one of the townsfolk. Young or old, male or female, black or white-the reader ne’er finds out ; nevertheless, 3rd individual limited plants good in this narrative. This makes the reader non be able to set the narrative down because it creates so many inquiries. One wants to go on reading to acquire to the stoping to see what happens.
Though Emily Grierson is the supporter in this short narrative, she is non the typical supporter. Readers are used to acquiring to cognize characters as the writer develops them. The reader may turn attached to them or contemn them. The reader develops empathy, sometimes even call for them, but in “ A Rose for Emily ” Faulkner has limited the character development by
what the reader is told by the storyteller. This leaves several inquiries, and the reader admirations so many things. What the
reader does cognize about Miss Emily Grierson is a great trade of what she does is based on her pride. She uses the Grierson household name and repute and an apprehension with the late city manager of the town to maintain running of the alderman that attempt to roll up her past due revenue enhancements. “ I have no revenue enhancements in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Possibly one of you can derive entree to the metropolis records and satisfy yourselves, ” she said in a dry, cold voice. ( Faulkner 33 ) Indeed her pride is so strong and overmastering it becomes intimidating to more than merely the revenue enhancement aggregators. It ‘s intimidating enough that even the town pharmacist breaks a jurisprudence and put on the line his licence merely to acquire her out of his pharmaceutics. When she asks him for arsenous anhydride he says, “ The jurisprudence requires you to state what you are traveling to utilize it for. ” Miss Emily merely stared at him, her caput tilted back in order to look him oculus for oculus, until he looked off went to acquire the arsenous anhydride, and wrapped it up for her. ( Faulkner 36 ) Another townsperson, the Baptist curate, after passing an afternoon with Miss Emily, refused to of all time travel back once more.
Even with this high sense of pride, this “ good distinguished adult female ” lived as a hermit among dust, soil, and decay. “ It smelled of dust and disuse-a near, dank odor. When they sat down, a swoon dust rose sluggishly about their thighs. ” ( Faulkner 32 ) “ Her grey caput propped on a pillow yellow and moldy with age and deficiency of sunshine. ” ( Faulkner 38 ) The reader does cognize Emily opened her house to immature misss in the town to give China painting lessons ; nevertheless, she did non make this to hold visitants, but in order to hold money to pay her revenue enhancements. After the immature misss stopped coming due to a newer coevals that was non interested in china picture, Miss Emily closed her door for good. Merely her retainer was seen traveling in and out with the market basket. As for Emily Grierson, silhouettes through her dimly lit Windowss were the lone thing seen of her for the following 10 old ages until her decease.
Due to Faulkner ‘s both alone and standard methods of word picture for the storyteller and supporter there are many inside informations the reader does non detect or surmise with any existent grade of certainty until the narrative concludes. For illustration, the reader does non cognize what happened with the nuptials programs, the reader does non cognize why Emily bought the arsenous anhydride, the reader ne’er does nail that odor around Emily ‘s house that merely
the calcium hydroxide took off, or why she did n’t come out of her house for so long and what was traveling on inside that house all those old ages. The reader does non cognize the inside informations of the Black retainer taking attention of her in those concluding yearss and most significantly what happened to Homer Barren. At the terminal of the narrative, even after the flooring disclosure that Emily likes to continue more than old imposts, much is still left up to the imaginativeness and the reader still has a batch of unreciprocated inquiries and wants to cognize the “ juicy ” inside informations ; nevertheless upseting they may be.
If Faulkner had used a different type of storyteller such as an omniscient one, the narrative would hold non had the same consequence on the reader and would be forgettable. However, its Faulkner ‘s alone methods of characterization-specifically his usage of a really limited storyteller that has helped this narrative stand out, doing it the topic of literary analysis documents in college composing categories for many decennaries.
