A Rose for Emily essay Essay Example for Free

A Rose for Emily essay EssaySometimes in life, the suppression of ones ambitions combined with the fear of loneliness can lead to a clinging of the familiar. This is evident in William Faulkners little tosh A Rose for Emily in which an emotionally unstable Emily Grierson poisons her lover, bulls eye Barron, to prevent him from deserting her. Because of the Griersons high social status, the townspeople keep up with Emilys every move although she had become a recluse in the years following her oppressive fathers death. With an overall forthright tone, Faulkner creates a surprise ending by using an unconventional plot social structure and conveys the dangerous extremesone may resort to in order for love. At first of all glance, the ending of A Rose for Emily may come as a shock due to the unchronological plot, but in hindsight there are mevery clues that Faulkner uses to suggest an unfortunate resolution.The surprise, of course, is the revelation of Emilys necrophilic tendency to embrace the corpse of Homer. The first ominous hint toward Emilys crime is when a smell developed two years after her fathers death and a short time after her sweetheartdeserted her. This evokes a feeling of curiosity as to what could be causing such a stench in Emilys home that would attract the neighbors attention.Later, when her father died, the doctors had to try to persuade her to let them dispose of the body. Even though her selfish father drove away all of her suitors just so he could keep Emily as a maid, with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her. Because her father was all she had known, Emily refused to let him go even though he robbed her of any opportunity at love. Her clinging to Mr. Grierson after his death strongly foreshadows her future clinging to Homer after she murders him. The next clue involves Emilys purchasing of arsenic from a druggist. When he informs her that thelaw requires a reason for the purchase, Miss Emily just star ed at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye make bold him to try forcing the reason from her. This suspicious action evokes a feeling of suspense as Miss Emilys intentions are still unclear but apparently harmful. Had she planned to use the arsenic only for rats, why would she withhold her reason from the druggist?One final hint is given after Emilys see relatives leave the town and within three days Homer Barron was back in town. He is admitted into Emilys house and the narrator remarks that was the last we saw of Homer Barron. Once more, apprehensiveness is apparent as the narrators statement is usually uttered only when a person is presumed to have died. These hints would certainly split the surprise prematurely had they been told in a conventional, chronological plot.If Faulkner presented them in orderfirst Emilys clinging to Mr. Grierson after his death, her purchasing of arsenic, Homers disappearance into Emilys home, and then the acrid smell emanating from her homethe conclusion would be far more predictable. Through the use of an unchronological, unorthodox plot structure, Faulkner is able toastound the ratifier with an appalling resolution.Although many ominous hints add to the suspense, the resolution remains unknown. Had the events unfolded in consecutive time, the surprise factor of the conclusion would not have been as effective. Emilys embracing of the corpse of her dead lover shows her mental instability as she resists letting go of what is familiar to her, just as she did with her father. A morbid story with an unconventional plot structure, A Rose for Emily provides insight into how a fear of loneliness can drastically affect ones actions and mental state.