In "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner the main character, Emily Grierson, is a woman completely isolated from her town. She has grown up her whole life in the same house, with the same butler, and primarily the company of only her father. Emily's family had been wealthy; however after the civil war their money had run short. As the story progresses it is revealed that Emily may be living a stranger life than Faulkner allows the reader to see.

Faulkner uses elements of the view the townspeople have and their gossip about Emily's relationship with her father, and her relationship with Homer Baron to explain her actions. Throughout the story, the gossip from the town informs the reader of their view of Emily's life. It seemed as if no one in the town had anything interesting in their lives, and lived through the gossip of Emily. Her house was in the center of town and was "an eyesore among eyesores" ever since the revolution. As Emily grew older she became stubborn and still believed she did not have to pay taxes and she did not. This further outcastes her from the town, and allowed for further ridicule and gossip

Emily went to the store and bought some poison. The people in the town spoke that Emily was going to kill herself; however they were in for a big surprise, for when Homer returned "a neighbor saw the Negro man admit him at the kitchen door at dusk one evening. And that's the last we saw of Homer Barron." Only entry in to the old house and the blocked off room would truly reveal the secrets of Miss Emily Grierson; because of her seclusion no one really knew how bad the situation was. It was not until Miss Emily herself passed away that the town got a true explanation. Locked away in the upstairs room they found Emily's "rose." Upon knocking down the door they found a dust filled room "upon the valance curtains of faded rose color, upon the rose-shaded lights," they found a man laying among many belongings and next to it the indention of a head in the pillow with a "long strand of iron-gray hair." So now the town had closure on the life Emily had been living.

The townspeople believed this to be part of the reason for her craziness, leaving the rest to the Grierson family history of growing crazy with age. "When her father died, it got about that the house was

Some common words found in the essay are:
Miss Emily, Homer Barron, Homer Baron, Emily Grierson, Throughout Emily's, Emily Grierson's, William Faulkner, miss emily, homer barron, emily grew, life emily, emily's life, emily living, relationship homer, result emily, emily grierson, father died,
Approximate Word count = 786
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)