The narrator begins his chronology with the funereal of Emily. At the beginning of the story the narrator is not named. This helps to add to the mystery of the story and also to a more dramatic use of chronology. While seeming omniscient in his knowledge of events, the narrator is clearly identified as a member of the community which surrounds Emily. The use of the pronoun "we" when referring to the townsfolk, as in: "We did not say she is crazy then" shows us the connection between the narrator and the townsfolk. The narra

tor moves from the funeral back in time to the occasion when the City Authorities attempt to revoke her tax exempt status. The fact that Emily is tax exempt is an example of the authority she possesses over the townsfolk even though she is distant from them. Faulkner uses time to show that Emily is tax exempt in order to show the reader her timeless authority of the towns people. The narrative then flows backwards and forwards through time revealing significant details of Emily's life and preparing the reader for the shock of Homer's murder. The narrative is also split into five section, this allows for shifts in time and reveals images of Emily at various stages of her life. This is important in showing the changes that have taken place in Emily's life and the effects of the outside on her actions.

An event which foreshadows the demise of Homer is the death of Emily's father. Emily's reluctance to accept the passage of time and allow her father to taken away also shows that time is used to tell the story in a more dramatic way. Her refusal to accept the reality of his death is also example of Emily's fear of the passage of time. Throughout the piece Faulkner offers the reader images of Decay as generations succeed each other. This is also an example of the passage of time. Both Emily and her house are shown as decayed as if the great lie that has lain undiscovered in her bed has infected the house. Even the Gardener's voice is described as having:"... grown harsh and rusty, as if from disuse". These images of decay reach their pinnacle with the gruesome corpse of Homer dressed for bed. The decay is used here in the story to show that is time is left unnoticed the effects of negative. This is the bases of Emily's downfall. As she chooses to avoid the passage of time and the f

Some common words found in the essay are:
Faulkner Emily, Emily Grierson, Emily Faulkner, Emily Grierson's, City Authorities, Rose Emily, Emily Faulkner's, tax exempt, emily's life, emily tax exempt, story dramatic, emily tax, towns people, accept passage, story narrator, city authorities, images decay, emily's reluctance,
Approximate Word count = 1206
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)