In a story, we have two circumstances: The first is what happened in the story, and the second, is why did this event occur. The plot helps define the story with a series of events that are arranged in a certain order. The main character, usually the protagonist, is also very important to the story. In this particular short story, A Rose For Miss Emily, the author, William Faulkner, uses the main character Emily to set up the plot. The focus is on the end of this short story, and the events that lead to the dramatic conclusion. Emily has murdered her former lover and has kept his decayed body in her house.
The corpse is located in a room that has long since been transformed into a tomb. This tomb has not changed in decades. Faulkner then proceeds in hinting that Emily has been sleeping with the fleshless body of Homer Barron. After the reader finishes the story, he or she goes back and pulls out events that lead to the conclusion. The reader must ask himself several questions to substantiate these events, such as: Miss Emilys motivation for killing Homer, the identification of Homer Barron, and whether Miss Emily was sleeping with this dead Yankee?
Faulkners introduction of Homer Barron is an essential event in the movement of the plot. He portrays Homer as Emilys lover, and develops his character with her life. Emily and Homer are seen together on a yellow wheeled buggy, riding through town. This scene makes Homer an important character by showing how their relationship together is causing gossip in the town. Then, Homer mysteriously disappears from Emilys life: So we were not surprised when Homer Barron–the streets had been finished some time since–was gone. He just vanished.
Therefore, the disappearance of Homer Barron answers the question of whose body was found in the tomb. Another important event was when Emily bought rat poison. Emily goes into the store and asks to buy poison. When the store owner inquires about Emilys motives for the poison, she gives no response and simply implies: I want the best you have. I dont care what kind (78). She just stares at the man, scaring him into giving her the rat poison. At the end of the story, the reader finally understands the reasons why Emily bought the poison and how she murders Homer.
These events start tying the story together to help move it towards developing a more dramatic plot. The first things to stand out about Emily is her prestigious family, and her house. The reader also knows that there is a bizarre odor coming from her house. The townspeople confer about this current situation and ponder: Will you accuse a lady to her face of smelling bad. Some men than slunk around like burglars spreading lime around the house. The lime was used to cut out the smell.
At first, when the reader comes across this event in the story, it does not seem too significant. However, looking back after finishing the story, the reader realizes that this stench was coming from the rotting corpse inside the house. This strange smell becomes a key asset to the development of the plot. Those were just three events that move the reader ahead to the conclusion. They were main events that were important and clear to the reader. Then, there were smaller events and expectations that gave clues in this short story.
One of these clues is discovered in the numerous conversations, between the townspeople, concerning Emilys family history: People in our town, remembering how old lady Wyatt, her great Aunt, had gone completely crazy at last. This reveals that insanity was prevalent in the Grierson family. Emilys condition of craziness lends evidence to the question of why she sleeps with a dead body, and what may have motivated her into committing a violent crime. Lastly, there is the mention of Emily growing older and her hair getting grayer and grayer until it attained an even pepper-and-salt iron gray.
One would first think that Faulkner is using imagery to help the reader create a mental picture of Emilys looks. However, at the end of the story, we find that this description is one more clue that fills the plot, and draws a conclusion. We can interpret the meaning of the iron gray hair lying on the pillow as Miss Emilys continuation to sleep with Homer Barron. Emilys hereditary insanity, her purchase of the poison, and the peculiar odor coming from her house, were extremely important events. All of these events, that seemed obscure while reading the story, really tie together and make the plot more tense.