Tobe In 'A Rose For Emily'

In the story of “A Rose for Emily”, the role of Tobe is that of the manservant of Miss Emily. He is the only person to be able to go in and out of her house following the death of her father. He was by her side as her servant for her whole life, tending to her every need. Even after he knows about the body, he continues to stay faithfully by her side until she dies. The story never actually gives out information as to why Tobe did not just get up and escape from the seemingly insane Miss Emily. Although true, when it is looked deeper into context, and the years that the story was taking place in is factored, the reason behind the loyalty of Tobe makes a bit more sense. Miss Emily’s family were plantation owners. They more than likely owned slaves, and Tobe was more than likely a part of that …show more content…
The story states that, “The Negro met the first of the ladies at the front door and let them in, with their hushed, sibilant voices and their quick, curious glances, and then he disappeared. He walked right through the house and out the back and was not seen again” (Faulkner, 83). He stayed long enough for people to come into the house, however, after he had let them in he disappeared forever. The story itself does not tell the readers why he left, however, it may be due to a number of reasons. With the body being in the house, and him knowing about it, he may have left in order to not have to be forced to reveal all of the secrets that Miss Emily so kept. By leaving, he did not give himself the chance to be interrogated by the people to which discovered this big secret that was being kept by Miss Emily and himself. Another reason may be that he felt as if because of the fact that Miss Emily is dead, his duty to be her servant was over. There was no person to be a servant to, so disappearing and finding life in a new way may have been what he was trying to