A rose for emily
The short story, "A Rose for Emily," written by William Faulkner, had by far one of the most shocking and unexpected endings I have ever stumbled upon. Who would have expected to find out that Miss Emily had been sleeping with her lover post-mortem? Although Faulkner dropped hints though out the entire story, such as Miss Emily buying poison, none of the hints prepared the reader for the scandalous finale. I was asked to write about the elements that Faulkner could have used to make the ending less shocking. After reading this story numerous times I came up with a handful of ideas. But before I go over those let me recap the short story briefly. In "A Rose for Emily", Faulkner contrasted the past with the present era. The past was represented in Emily herself, in Colonel Sartoris, in the old Negro servant, and in the Board of Alderman who accepted the Colonel's attitude toward Emily and rescinded her taxes. The present was expressed chiefly through the words of the unnamed narrator. The new Board of Aldermen, Homer Barron (the representative
Now that I have told you a little about the main ideas of the story let me address the original question: what elements could Faulkner have used to make the ending less shocking. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I think this last illustration is to often over looked. This story is written in first person, plural. I think had Faulkner chosen a different point-of-view to write from, the success of the shocking ending would have been compromised. In conclusion I think that the story was excellent, I love endings that are out of the ordinary. Even though I presented several ways Faulkner could have reduced the shock at the ending, I personally wouldn't have wanted him to imply any of one of them. The shocking ending is what makes this story so fun to read. Homer Barron, the Yankee, lived in the present, ready to take his pleasure and depart, apparently unwilling to consider the possibility of defeat neither by tradition (the Griersons) nor by time itself (death). In a sense, Emily conquered time, bu
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Approximate Word count = 707
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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