A Rose For Emily Summary And Analysis Essay

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is a short story that is divided into five sections. In section I, the entire town is at Miss Emily’s funeral, which is held at her home. The mayor, Colonel Sartoris has suspended Emily’s tax responsibilities to the town after her father’s death. But, the new generation of the town isn’t happy with this arrangement. However, they try to get her to pay the tax, but she refuses to pay the taxes. In section II, Emily is single at the age of thirty because her father believes that no man is worthy enough for her. About two years after her father’s death, the tax collecting townspeople have a strange experience about Miss Emily because her house has a peculiar odor that no one knows about. Eventually, the odor is gone after the townspeople sprinkle lime outside of her house. In section III, Emily meets and has an affair with Homer Barron, who is working on the sidewalk building project. Later, Emily goes to the drugstore to buy arsenic. In section IV, the whole town thinks that she plans to kill herself. Homer is last seen entering Miss Emily 's house. Emily never leaves her house and stays …show more content…
Emily 's characteristics are revealed because of the gossip about her that is spoken through the townspeople. After her father’s death, her appearance changes and “she [has] become humanized” (Faulkner, 439). The point of view affects the story because it expresses the changes Emily goes through after she loses the person she loves the most. At the end of the story, she tries to stay away from everyone and remains hidden in her house. The people of the town mention that now and then they “see her at a window for a moment” (Faulkner, 441). The author explains that she stays hidden because she doesn 't have anyone important in her life. Therefore, it causes her and her traditions to fade away within the evolving