Rose For Emily

In the story “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner incorporates multiple examples of not only setting, but also structure in order to convey the complexities of life in a small Southern town. This story is set during a time period of significant social change. Faulkner provides the most major example of setting when describing the brutal, decaying state of the main character, Miss Emily’s, decaying mansion. While doing so, structure is also heavily incorporated throughout the entire story by Faulkner while the story follows a non-linear timeline which entwines different moments in Emily’s life used to portray the difficult yet cohesive representation of Miss Emily’s character. The structure of the story follows a disorderly timeline that is
The reverse timeline consists of many flashbacks to Miss Emily’s life, which uncovers the perceptions and biases of the people in the town, while at the same time highlighting their own worries and insecurities. Examples of this are touched on multiple times by Faulkner such as, “So THE NEXT DAY we all said, “She will kill herself”; and we said it would be the best thing.”By presenting the story of Miss Emily out of order, Faulkner is able to emphasize on the thoughts and feelings of the townspeople, which is done in order to provide an alternate perspective on Emily’s life which overall goes to show how collective views can shape one's identity and control perceptions of ethics and expectations. Moreover, the setting is ultimately portrayed through the decaying state of Emily’s old-fashioned home. Throughout the story, there are multiple attempts and efforts made by the townspeople in hopes of getting Miss Emily to agree with the cultural and social advancements taking place around the