William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily is a brilliant short story; not only because of its captivating storyline but also because of the way the author presents this storyline. The story has an intricately complex chronology whereby the author shifts, structures and manipulates time in his presentation of the characters inner lives and motivation. A lot of information about the characters is presented through constant visits to memory as well as through flashbacks. The other conspicuous literary device utilized by the author is the narrative point of view. The three stylistic devices mentioned; non-linear time sequence, memory and narrative point are used by the author to create a complex and multidimensional world where the past and the present co-exist. Consequently, the reader is given a chance to examine how the past and the present influence each other.
In regards to the non-linear time sequence, William Faulkner presents two different visions of time. The first one is based on mathematical objectivity and precision of reality whereby time moves forward relentlessly. In this vision, what is done is done and it is only the present that exists. The second vision is more subjective in nature, Although time moves forward, the events that happened in the past do not stay in the distant memory. Rather, the memory exists unhindered and active no matter how much time has passed or the extent to which things have changed. Even if an individual is physically obliged to the present, his or her past can a very dynamic and vibrant role. Emily is a great depiction of this. She remains steadfastly planted in the subjective time realm. Here, life moves on and she moves along with it. However, she remains commited to the past and its occurrences.
A Rose for Emily relies on memory to bring out its main message. The story portrays an American southern town split between its present and past. The town appears to have a hard time letting its past go as depicted by a phrase form the story which states that “Already, we knew that there was one room in that region above stairs which no one had seen in forty years, and which would have been forced”(Faulkner, 244) . This phrase shows how the memory of the town had been passed on from one generation to the next. A Rose for Emily spins back and forth in time, essentially like a memory, for a period of about seventy-four years. Jefferson town’s struggle to harmonize its present and past are depicted in this story. The town’s events represent an American South that has been caught in limbo for the Post Civil War and Pre Civil Rights period. The South is trying desperately with every new generation to discover better ways of living, better ways that not only honor the good deeds of the past, but also comes to terms with past evils. For instance, the author states that. “When the new generation, with its more modern ideas, became mayors and aldermen, this arrangement created some dissatisfaction” ( Faulkner, 239)Through the use of this memory, it appears that the main character is not to blame for her misfortunes. It is the entire’s towns fault because they have been unable to move from their past and fully embrace the present.
A Rose for Emily uses a plural first person of view. This first person point of view is exhibited by the use of the possessive pronoun “our” in the first line of the story where the author writes: “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral” (Faulkner, 239) In fact, throughout the story, the author uses the possessive pronouns “our “and “we”. The narrator however appears to be speaking from a single voice and this therefore suggest that while “we” is used to self identify an entire community; the narrator is a singular representation of the town. The author however never reveals the identity of the narrator but most likely, he is a naïve, passive and innocuous citizen of Jefferson, the town where the story takes place. There are several reasons why the author could have chosen to use this point of view, particularly in regards to the mysterious narrator. His purpose is to create some kind of closeness between the reader and the story itself. The narrator in his representative role of the town presents Emily as a “fallen monument” (239). At the same time however, he presents her as a lady who is above reproach and who is just too good for Jefferson’s town people. Through various flashbacks and memories, the narrator explores the events that have happened throughout time and that have shaped the current situation. The plural first person point comes in handy in depicting this situation because it is used to show how the entire town and its residents, (the narrator included) is clinging on to its past and how this past and the present influence each other.
In conclusion, it is safe to state that A Rose of Emily is a brilliantly written piece of literature. The author’s main message is that as much as appreciating the past is important, it is also equally important to concentrate more on the present. By using memory, a non-linear time sequence as well as a plural first person point of view, William Faulkner is able to portray the clash that may potentially occur between the past and the present if a way to harmonize the two is not established.
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Allison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. 10th ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2010. Print.
