William Faulkner uses a non-conventional approach in his story, A Rose for Emily, to introduce his story about Emily Grierson and the other townspeople of Jefferson. Instead of following a traditional, linear approach to narrate the order of events, Faulkner divides the story into five episodes (flashbacks about Emily’s life) which cover several decades of time, ranging from when Emily is a young lady being sought after by suitors to the time following her death when the townspeople discover her “secret” in the locked room upstairs. Faulkner not only breaks the story down into five distinct episodes but jumps around from the past, present, and future. I think by moving back and forth in time, Faulkner effectively demonstrates several things.
