William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" draws a vivid picture of the south of the United States the turn of the century. It begins with the narrator mentioning the funeral of the eponymous Miss Emily. Faulkner's style in revealing the consequences of Emily Grierson's life and the shocking revelations of her death is very interesting.

The narrative structure of the piece is interesting in that it does not follow a typical chronological order. The details of the story are revealed

slowly by Faulkner as he allows the sense of suspicion to grow before revealing the murder of the Homer Barron by Emily.

The narrator begins his chronology with the funereal of Emily. The narrator is not named and whilst seeming omniscient in his knowledge of events 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"

The

narrator moves from the funeral back in time to the occasion when the City Authorities attempt to revoke her tax exempt status. 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.

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 language that creates the view of Emily of an institution. As early as the stories second line, Emily is described as a "fallen monument". She is also described in paragraph three as "... a tradition, a duty, and a care ;a sort of hereditary obligation in the town"

She seems to be the product of an earlier era and surrounds herself

with reminders of the past. After the death of her father , his portrait is given prominence in her house, and even rests above her coffin. The image of Emily trying to hold back the encroachment of new generations is shown in the description of her house which is built in the style of the 1870's despite being surrounded by new buildings. Faulkner writes:

"Only Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and

the gasoline pumps"

(ARE pg. 427 HIF)

When Faulkner describes Emily as an old woman, he mentions a gold watch she wears around her neck. The watch descends so low on the chain it is obscured by her belt. Although the watch is unseen its constant ticking is audible:

"...they could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain"

(ARE pg. 427 HIF)

This serves as a symbol of Emily's reluctance to observe the passing of

time as generations pass by, and the world changes.

Emily seems to cling to a by gone era when her family were given prominence. The authority to which I have referred, which Emily exerts over the townsfolk seems to be the residue of the time when her family had genuine power. This authority is never more evident than on the occasion when Emily buys arsenic from the druggist. It takes very few words for her to persuade him to sell

her arsenic. He is prepared to ignore laws to satisfy Emily. This serves as a precursor to the discovery of her suitor Homer Barron's body in her bed some 40 years after his disappearance. The murder of Barron and his position in a marital bed is the ultimate attempt by Emily to halt the onslaught of time, and the dangers it brings.