A rose for Emily William Faulkner When I first read this story I did not understand everything. Only the most important things and the use of time was clear to me. But when we discussed the story in class I could explain some things for myself and I knew the chronological way of the story. When I had read the story again all became clear to me.
First I will tell about Emily s character and in what way she deserves admiration and in what way she can be pitied. Then I will explain the role of time and which consequences it has. Finally I will tell about the horror elements in the story. The character of Emily is not to be described in a few words. She is a very complicated person. She was crazy like more people in her family.
Her great-ant, old lady Wyatt, had gone completely crazy and her father was also a very weird person. He protected Emily so much that she never made contacts with other people. She has no husband. When her father died you are starting to think that Emily is crazy. She kept him home for three days and she denied that he was dead when neighbours asked her about her father. When she had killed Homer Barron and kept him at home as well you do not doubt anymore.
So she is a crazy person, but a lonely person too. Somehow you can, at least I did, understand a little bit of her behaviour. She had always been protected by her father, so he was the only person she had. When he died she was so afraid of being alone that she kept him home for three days. It is horrifying to keep a dead person at home, but it is explainable in her circumstances. When Homer Barron left her she was lonely again so she murdered him and kept him her whole life at home.
Now she would never be alone. This is also an argument for the fact that we pity her. She is afraid of being alone. Another thing that made me feel sad for her is when the neighbours thought she would commit suicide, they did nothing to stop her. That passage revealed that she was very very lonely.
She deserves much compassion, but I do not think she deserved much admiration. She kills a man and keeps the dead bodies of her father and Homer Barron at home for some time. She does deserve a little bit admiration; although she has a rough life she stays alive. The use of time is very important. If the story had been told chronologically their would not be any way of excitement. A good example is the smell.
You know there is a smell and the neighbours do not know where it comes from. At the end of the story you finally discover where the smell comes from. If the story had been chronologically you would first get to know that Emily kills Homer Barron and then you would hear about the smell. It is not exciting anymore. To Emily it is also important, because you are going to feel sorry for her. But she does not deserve it.
In a chronological story you would not feel sorry for her. In this way the writer asks for symphatie. The horror elements are turned out to be horrifying by the use of a non chronological time. When she buys poison it is not clear what she is going to do with it. At the end of the story you know the reason why she bought it and you where the smell comes from. That is very horrible to imagine.
I think it was a very difficult story to read and that is why I read it twice. Because of the information I got in class the story became clear to me. I like it because of the use of time and because I do feel pity for Emily. This is not what she deserves.
It think it is a well composed story.