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There are three questions for this week:
What is unusual about the narrative point of view of this story?
For what reasons might the story be told from this atypical point of view?
What might be reasons for the nonlinear timeline of this story?
ALSO: Please post your thesis statement for Essay 1 if you’d like feedback on it. If you don’t yet have a thesis statement, you might post your idea and we can work to shape this into a statement. (I highly recommend that everyone do this).
Please be sure to include your section number at the end of your response. And please address comments to others by name.
94 thoughts on “Week 5 Discussion”
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is told from the first person of the town collectively. The narrator uses the word “we” and this most likely means that he or she is piecing together the recollections of other towns folk to create this story. The different memories of Ms. Emily are sourced from individuals who have interacted with her, heard of her, or saw her from a distance. One reason why the story was told in this point of view could be to create a three-dimensional characterization of Ms. Emily. I believe the author wanted to create the effect of collective agreement between the townspeople about the type of person Ms. Emily was. It wasn’t only one individual who perceived Ms. Emily in this way.
One reason for the nonlinear timeline of this story could be because the author was trying to create a dramatic effect in the plot. He mentioned the Arsenic poison and then digressed to another memory of Ms. Emily. I believe this helped him create some suspense because we did not know exactly what the poison would be used for.
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Hello Syed,
I agree with your interpretation of “A Rose for Emily” that the word “we” is used in this story as the towns people are creating the story as a whole as they all feel the same type of way about Emily. She was isolated from the entire society due to her father. This story was suspenseful and horrific as it progressed further. The author also had a different chronological order for this story so the readers do not figure out the shocking ending too soon.
Hi Syed,
I agree with your interpretation of the timeline, good example bringing up the arsenic poisoning. That was possibly the most prominent instance of foreshadowing, and the author did a good job using it to build suspense, as it was quite clear that the poison would not be used for rats. I also like your idea that the memories are from different people who interacted with her all combined into one cohesive narrator, very interesting to consider it that way!
Syed, thanks for the excellent response. I’m not sure I agree about the three-dimensional view of Miss Emily, but this, of course, is open to debate. I always feel that the narration points to how no one really knows Miss Emily on a deep level and that no really three-dimensional view of her is possible. But I see what you mean about how the bits and pieces of stories combine to flesh out her biography to some extent. And yes, part of the reason for the time distortion is practical. We’d all guess what was going on, I think, if the story was told in a linear fashion.
Section 0503: Hello Syed, I think that your view on this story of it being told by multiple people in the town is a very interesting one and quite honestly does make the most sense. It does seem that people throughout the story are looking back on this event and telling it as they remembered, and I’m sure most do due to the turn of events that occured. As for the nonlinear timeline I 100% agree that it was there for a dramatic effect, like it was there to keep the reader guessing as to what would come next, what place or time will we be in next and so on.
This story “A Rose for Emily” is told by William Faulkner and is designed for freshman literature students. The narrator of this story uses the first-person plural “we” which is unusual. This story is told by the town folks and it is put together to form an entire point of view in this story. This might be because nobody is able to tell Emily’s story from start to finish by themselves. This story’s point of view is told in an unnamed narrative perspective and mostly about the town peoples feelings about Emily. There are also themes of past and change which Emily refuses to comply with and she is isolated from the community. The author might have wanted to make the readers understand that most of the people in this story agreed about how Emily is viewed in this story, There is a nonlinear timeline for this story. It goes in a different order which is forward and backwards. This might be so the readers do not figure out the surprising ending too quickly which is horrific. It is also suspenseful which the readers will get to know about at the end.
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Gagandeep I agree with the point that you made about no one being able to tell Emily story from start to finish by themselves because, she did not really interact with the towns people. I also agree with your thoughts on why the story was told in a nonlinear order but I also though ,that it could have been told in a nonlinear order to match that of miss Emily’s state of mind which was stuck in the past just as she was.
Ariadna, much of your comment to Gagandeep is a repetition of his opinion; however, I do appreciate your observation about Miss Emily’s relationship to time.
Gagandeep, all points are well taken. I’m sure you mean that the story is designed for freshman literature students because it contains so many elements for analysis and discussion of character—not that the story is written as an instructive piece. The horror element is also very intriguing.
Hey Gagandeep. You say nobody is able to tell Emily’s story from start to finish themselves. The fact that the author portrays Emily and her family as high class is really significant and plays a role in this. I think this is one of the reasons why the townspeople are so distant from her and can only judge from a distance. When the downfall of Ms.Emily begins, some of them are quite amused by the fact that she is getting knocked off her high horse. This story took place in the 1860’s to 1920’s, when there was a large divide between social classes. Could it be that the author is trying to convey a deeper message about social statuses and our perception of the wealthy. This scenario can be compared to much of what is going on in today’s current world. Our perception of the top 1% is derived from what we see or hear from the media.
In the story “A Rose For Emily,” the author makes the interesting choice of using a point of view that is neither first, third, or even second person, but rather a sort of collectivist narrative perspective in which the story is told from the perspective of the whole town rather than an individual character or a detached and omniscient narrator. In one of the pieces we read online, it mentions Miss Emily’s personal isolation and the fact that she has no one close to her, in which case the narrative perspective is used to highlight the fact that her life is only caught in glimpses by the people in the town. The nonlinear timeline allows for this almost patchwork effect, in which the pieces of her life are strung together gradually, so that by the end the reveal fits coherently with the narrative of Miss Emily’s life and the suspense is built up to a peak beforehand.
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Hello Justine, i can agree with you how the author make an interesting choice and using it as first person as a collectivist narrative perspective that’s being told of the whole town. yes, emily personal isolation due to the tragedy of losing her father and how no one was close to her. at the end, i also can agree with you and how you explained very well on the nonlinear of miss emily’s life and the suspense of the built up to the peak.
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Justine, thanks for this clear and concise response. “Patchwork” is a good way to describe how Miss Emily’s life story is told. It reminds me a bit of how people at a memorial recall stories about the deceased, creating a picture of a life. The buildup of suspense is certainly aided by the nonlinear narrative.
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is being told from first person of the town. The reason that might be the story be told from first story from this typical point of view because it shows the mysterious first person narrator and represents the town society and the intimate details and to the rest of the people. Another reason to why this being told from first person because the word “we” as well that’s being considered. from the story, she was isolated from the society due to her father and being left with no one. The reason for the non-linear timeline of this story because it create a suspense dramatic effect in the plot in this gothic horror story, a tragedy that could do nothing about it.
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I agree with the fact that a non-linear timeline adds suspense dramatic effect since it takes focus away from the reader and then transitions to the history of the family that Emily was born into and the person she was until the moment of her death. It also adds empathy for the reader to understand how unfair and unjust was Emily’s life and how she lived a miserable life.
Juliana, please refer comments to others by name. Thanks!
Section #0505
Hi Stephanie,
I can agree with you when you wrote that the narrator left a mysterious feeling for the audience and how her isolation was cause from her father’s death and her partner leaving her. I also like the way you described the way the author created suspense and in a way almost a horror story which I didn’t thing about in that way. The nonlinear timeline was created to catch the readers attention with the way they put the story together.
Evelyn, as I’ve mentioned to a few other students, it’s not quite enough to just agree with what others have said or to compliment them (though this is very friendly). Your posts must add to the conversation. If you simply agree with a colleague, maybe you should wait and read a few other posts that might elicit a more amplifying response.
Hello Evelyn,
yes the author suspense was almost in a way of a horror story, thank you.
Stephanie, thanks for the comments about the narrative voice. I’m not quite clear on what you mean about the “we” being connected to her isolation. Maybe you mean that there would never be a moment when Miss Emily refers to a “we” because of her solitude? Yes, the nonlinear plot keeps the reader from guessing the ending. It is also related to the whole theme of time and how distorted it has become for Miss. Emily.
What a gruesome story! It reminded me a bit of “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe.
” A Rose for Emily” has an unusual point narrative point of view. It is told in first person, but there is not one specific person saying the story, rather the whole town as a collective whole. I believe the story is told this way to engage in the mystery and suspense of the story. Much like gossip, where you get bits and pieces of information from a variety of sources, the entire story has that feel which I believe is also another reason for using a “we”, first person perspective.
The nonlinear timeline of the story may serve the same purpose, where putting things in a seemingly random order, give the story a sense of mystery and also giving it the tone of gossip, where you may not hear all the parts of a story in chronological order.
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Sima, I agree that this is an extremely gruesome story. Like many horror stories, it is also a tragedy. We have to read between all the gossip, as you note, to arrive at what is really the heart of Miss Emily’s story. And yes, you make a good point when you mention the random, disconnected nature of gossip.
Hi Sima, correct me if I’m mistaken, is “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe about a lover that preserved his lover’s corpse in a cave and frequently visits her, nearly every night, even though she was rotten by water at that point?
With your mention, I also found the resemblance uncanny, with both leads not being able to move on with their lives due to their deceased lovers.
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Hey, Kexin and Sima, I love your literary conversation!
Hi Sima. Great reference of Poe’s Cask of Amontillado, I agree. He was the master of gothic literature. The wine cellar where the man is trapped by the other to die a slow death is similar to the way Emily kills Homer even though we don’t get to witness that first hand, but both very gruesome. The Castle of Otranto is another great gothic piece of literature by Horace Walpole I would definitley recommend. I have to say I agree with your statement about the gossip and getting bits and pieces of info from the narration. Its almost like the story is a puzzle that the town is trying to piece together about this sad figure that is Emily.
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Giulia, I have to include you in my compliments to Sima and Kexin. I love when comparative literature raises its head in Dbs about another story!
Sima, I love your reference to Edgar Allen Poe! “A Rose for Emily” highlighted many correlations to his work. “A Rose for Emily” being told in this specific narrative left us with the question of what really happened. Either the author was trying to bring us on our toes in suspense or allowing us to use our imagination and come up with an ending. Either way, I thought this narrative gave a greater dept to the story. I agree, the nonlinear timeline served the same purpose. With it being all over the place, we were able to “piece the puzzle” together in which we thought was suited the best.
The narrative point of view from “A Rose for Emily” is unusual because it is told from a collative narrator which is that of the towns people “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral” “People in our town” ” we were not pleased exactly” and of the town itself like in the book ” The Direction of The Road” by L. E. Guin Ursula K. which is narrated by a large oak trees perspective “A Rose for Emily” uses not only the towns people but also the towns perspective to narrate Miss Emily’s story “Daily, monthly, yearly we watched”. The reason this story is told from an atypical point of view is because no one really knew Miss Emily she never spoke to any of the towns people other than in passing everything they knew about her was based on opinion’s and rumors so in order to narrate her story completely is had to be told from a collative narrative “effect that she no longer went out at all” ” After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all. A few of the ladies had the temerity to call, but were not received, and the only sign of life about the place was the Negro man–a young man then–going in and out with a market basket.”. One reason for the nonlinear timeline could be to mirror the memory of Miss Emily who is stuck in time ” only Miss Emily’s house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores. And now Miss Emily had gone to join the representatives of those august names where they lay in the cedar-bemused cemetery among the ranked and anonymous graves of Union and Confederate soldiers who fell at the battle of Jefferson.” “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” or it could be to invigorate the suspense that leads up to the surprise ending by going from buying poison, to a disappearance, a sudden smell, death of the main character, the finally the recovery of the body of the missing man. ” Like when she bought the rat poison, the arsenic.” ” after her sweetheart–the one we believed would marry her –had deserted her” “And that was the last we saw of Homer Barron” “They waited until Miss Emily was decently in the ground before they opened it.” “The man himself lay in the bed. For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin. The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace”. 0503
Ariadna, many have discussed the function of the nonlinear plot as a mechanism for creating suspense, so I’m glad you have mentioned a possible thematic reason. Your quotes here, such as the description of Miss Emily’s house, bolster your ideas beautifully. In addition to these, there are many quotes in the story that describe Emily as something static, such a picture in a frame or a sculpture– something that does not move or change. Time is frozen for her. We see this too at the end of the story when the old men look back on when they knew her in their youth.
Thesis statement
“ A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett is a coming-of-age story in which a young girl named Sylvia who goes from the innocence of a young child to the understanding of a more mature child during a sort of “walkabout” Sylvia rediscovers herself as she continues to grow.
Ariadna, you need to tweak this a bit. You have a run-on sentence here—two complete sentences strung together without sufficient punctuation. Also, try to be very precise in your language. What is a “sort of ‘walkabout’?” Try to be specific. What is it that leads to Sylvia’s transformation into a more mature person? I don’t think you need the last phrase about how she rediscovers herself as she continues to grow.” I’m very glad you posted. I wish everyone would share his or her thesis statement!
Hello Ariadna, your thoughts on why the atypical way of storytelling was told intrigued me, with the ideas of Miss Emily being stuck in time particularly interesting. I didn’t really focus on that aspect of the text, but it does play an immense importance, with it being focused and alluded to the entire time the story was told. It’s somewhat admirable that she kept her love for so long, yet it is also very wrong, as not letting go is sometimes just a sign of not being quite stable in the mind, though that wasn’t Miss Emily’s fault.
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Kexin, this is the beauty of a discussion board!
Hi Ariadna,
I appreciate your in-depth analysis of how the townspeople played the roll of the voice and point of view of this narrative. That being said, it causes the narrative to have a much more bias perspective in comparison to what Emily may have felt during the special events taking place in the story. Emily was basically left without a voice and could not express her emotions/feelings and could not defend her positioning to why she did what she did. This leaves us – the readers – questioning the reasons behind her actions and behaviors, and for someone like me, I question the emotional roots of her actions and behaviors that caused her to ultimately end up murdering her partner.
I will say, I feel as if I would have enjoyed reading more about your opinion about the actions taking place, instead of your analyses of several quotes from the text.
In this particular text, the reading is divided into separate sections in which we can see and interpret different times and periods in Emily’s life or afterlife, the narrator seems to use the atypical point of view to create a relation between the people that are curious and have visited Emily’s house, maybe the curiosity that they felt after knowing that they were able to see the house after so long or the fact that no one in the small town seemed to know Emily well “the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save had seen in at least ten years. ”
Also to demonstrate the curiosity that the people had for seeing an isolated woman from their community. The reason why the story is divided into sections that tell stories that happened in the past is to be able to comprehend the history that somehow this family brought to the town whether that was just pure gossip or a form of entertainment for the community, also to give a little perspective on why the town how so much curiosity for a woman they never knew or even saw.
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Juliana, that’s an interesting thought–that the story is broken into “sections” of Miss Emily’s life. I think this is very true. Some of the townspeople recall her youth. Others are more interested in her later time with Homer Barron. Clearly, as you note, the feelings of the people are very mixed. The quote you include her points to this beautifully. Have you addressed the issue of the nonlinear time frame?
Hey Juliana ,
I haven’t thought about that,it kinda surprised me when you said the different sections are the different time periods of her lifetime.I didn’t acknowledge the sections, but i agree it could be represent how she change or didn’t change as time was passing her by.
Lizanjela, can you expand on Juliana’s observation a bit more?
Hi Juliana,
I think the town never really knew Emily. The small interactions that some of the people had with Emily combine to make a compelling story of Emily. I agree with your thoughts that the town was curious about Emily, her family, and her house. The question is why they were so curious. Maybe the curiosity was created by the collective story of the people of Jefferson.
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Section #0505
In the story “A Rose For Emily” over the years Emily grew lonely and felt insecure the more the people in town talked about her to the point they drove her to locking herself in her home and not coming out. The unusual thing about the narrator point of view is how the narrator describes how miserable Emily life was and in the order they put it in I was confused at first but then started to understand the reading more. The reasons this story was given from a atypical point of view because the life of Emily was unusual from the moment her father died her life just became a mess and her life went downhill. The way the story was told caught my attention and made me want to read more so that might be another reason it was told in a atypical point of view. The reason might be to confuse the readers to see if they are actually paying attention and so they can create the timeline themselves to have a more active imagination
Evelyn while I agree with you on the fact that when Miss Emily’s father died it was a turning point in her life. I don’t agree with your saying that Miss Emily was lonely and felt insecure because the towns people talked about her she possibly felt like that because she did not let anyone in also Miss Emily and her father thought that they were better than the towns people and never got close to them. And the reason she locked herself into her home and did not come out was not because of the people but because of her own choices first when her father died and after she killed Homer Barron.
Section 0503
The story” A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, is told from a point of view in the first-person plural this is unusual because throughout the story the narrator uses the word “we”, mostly likely the first person view is only one person narrating. But throughout this story, we have several town people contributing to this story without really knowing Miss Emily and they are going to base on their memory rather than her the real truth. I think the story might be told from this atypical point of view because no one really knew the real life story of Miss Emily, everyone assumed what might have happened. Another reason is the point of view can be described as distant and unattached just like Miss Emily , she was a person who was lonely and not showed any emotions. The nonlinear timeline of this story is being used because the narrator wanted to create curiosity, suspense, and tension for the readers.
Lizanjela, your response regarding the narrative voice of the story is excellent. I agree that it is a pieced-together story for the reason you mention. It’s a bit like how people tell stories at memorial gatherings. The only one who could tell the whole “truth” would be Miss Emily, but we do not get to hear from her. Your response to the reason for the nonlinear timeline is quite general. We’re looking for more specific responses. Why/how does the nonlinear structure contribute to curiosity and suspense?
Hi Lizanjela,
I think it was a fine point to bring up the “we” because I feel like the many people who had read this glance over it. Also I like to connect your point of the towns people only describing Emily through there own opinion to the real world because through my eyes and in my generation I seen many instances where someones name is slander just because another describes them as “ugly, ,stupid, freak” and these words are used to describe peoples action or look and it really is a shame because we should embrace rather then bring down. My last point with your comment is I agree with the point of view you were showing because is directly besides who Miss Emily is.
After reading “A Rose for Emily’ by William Faulkner what is unusual about the narrative point of view of the story is how it works similar to a first-person story but it is not. It seems as the town is telling the story through first-person and can share from multiple perspectives about how it feels about Ms.Emily. I would use the word unique over ‘unusual’ as it brings a more suspenseful feeling while reading. The consistent use of the word “we” demonstrates the pieces of information it was able to gather from many townsfolk which gives the readers fragments of the whole picture (figuratively). The story might be told from this point of view to create a new way to display a shared thought among a large group of people but in a way to keep its horror like feeling for emphasizing why numerous people feel this way about Ms. Emily. The nonlinear timeline of this story is most likely made for the plot in cases of nobody knowing Ms.Emily on a personal level to dd more spookiness. The wonders of her relationship with dead bodies of people that were close to her and the poison make the others feel unease. The structure of the text and how it flows also leaves the reader in confusion towards the main plot.
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Thesis Statement:
In “Araby” , the narrator express this childhood memory with a somber tone , which indicates this experience caused him to experience “adult” pain. Meanwhile , in the story “Salvation” the narrator uses more of a humorous tone to describe how this childhood memory didn’t impact severely.
Lizajela, I am so glad you posted your thesis statement (s). Notice that (s)? A thesis statement is one sentence, not two. Your idea is excellent. Now compress this into one sentence that will guide you through your essay. Please feel free to re-post.
Thesis statement :
In “Araby”, the narrator express this childhood memory with a somber tone , which indicates this experience caused him to experience “adult” pain rather with the story “Salvation”, the narrator uses more of a humorous tone to describe how this childhood memory didn’t impact severely.
Lizanjela, please try to streamline your language just a bit. For example, can you say this in fewer words: “which indicates this experience cause him to experience “adult” pain?” Try not to use the same word (experience) in one sentence. We call this a word echo. “Rather” is not the right word here. You might use “while” or just insert a semi-colon between the two ideas. Be sure to use an object after the verb “impact’ e.g. “impact him severely.” Also: “a more humorous tone” rather than “more of a humorous tone.”
All these little details may seem crazy, but I want to help you write more precisely and clearly. You have an excellent thesis, so now I want your statement to be crystal clear!
Brandon, yes, the narrative point of view is unique. Very few stories are written in this way. Part of what happens with me is that I wonder how much of what I am being told is really true. You know how gossip is. It seems that people of the town remember events, but they don’t really know who Miss Emily is. We listen to their accounts of incidents in her life and find ourselves reading between the lines for what is really true. This does add to the mystery of the story. And yes, the author skillfully distorts the timeline so that we do not guess at the ending.
Brandon,
I agree with when you said this story more likely made for the plot in cases of nobody knowing Ms.Emily on a personal level of spookiness. I think in this story, no one knows Emily’s feelings when her father died and how is her life looks like after her father’s death. Also, I agree with what you said the poison makes the others feel unease because when the townpeople saw Emily, they will think she might be crazy. They have a feeling of unease towards Emily and thinking of what does she do with poison.
Section #0505
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is told from a first person plural format, in which a collectiveness is termed, “we” as the story progresses. This creates a situation in which there are parts of an omniscient view, as the townsfolk use their collective experiences to tell the story. This is unusual to me, as this is the first time I have saw something similar to this. That aside, this format of storytelling is needed for an outsider like a reader to be able to understand information about Miss Emily, and the various different afflictions and experiences that plagued her since her old age to her youth. It’s rather similar to a crime book that I once read, where the crime had already been done, but the different suspects has their backgrounds explored as the story went on, with the final conclusion being reached only after the knots were tied.The narrative might’ve been less interesting to me if the story wasn’t told from this perspective.
The nonlinear timeline would tie to this, as gradually, the townsfolk collectively sink into their own recollections and gossips and flesh out their story, until everything is tied up and the story is ended.
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Thesis statement:
In the text, “A White Heron”, by Sarah Orne Jewett, there is an immediate presentation of the story’s setting, which is “The woods”. This plays a crucial role as the story progressed, and the many scenes of nature that the author gave us only develops the idea that Sylvia has a different interpretation than others.
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Hi Kexin. I agree that this was the most effective point of view to use to tell this story. Learning and gathering bits and pieces of information through the narrator until everything makes sense in the end really makes you feel like an outsider looking in. It makes you feel how secluded the townspeople are, how close knit they are. The gossip like way the information is fed to the reader makes everything more secretive which really pairs well with the story’s crime and tragedy. The fact that it is not told in chronological order does go hand in with the first person plural point of view, as you pointed out. I think both are essential to the story telling. It seems natural that someone who is telling a story that is not their own would do this.
Kexin, I am so glad you posted your thesis statement(s). A thesis statement is one sentence that contains your main idea. Neither of your sentences comprises a thesis statement. Your first sentence just states facts. Your second sentence is vague and nonspecific. What does “a different interpretation than others” mean? How do others interpret scenes of nature? What is “different” about how Sylvia interprets nature? Answer this question: How does the setting of the story help the reader understand Sylvia? A simple, specific response to this question could be a thesis statement. Please do post a new thesis statement! I’m eager to read it.
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In “A Rose For Emily” by William Faulkner, the perspective through which the story is told is very unusual. It is told in first person point of view using “we” but never “I”. Who is “we”? The people of the town in which the story takes place. We never learn which towns person is actually representing the group, through this, the people of the town are unanimous. This aims to suggest that maybe the narrator is not an individual speaking on behalf of the group.. the narrator is the group- the town folk. We see that they share one set of values, one never differing perspective. In reference to the funeral of Emily’s father, the narrator remarks “We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will”(Faulkner). This happens frequently throughout the text, the narrator discussing how the town’s opinions shift, its thoughts. By having the town as the narrator, the town is personified. I think the values of the town are clearer this way, it makes the reader feel the pressure even more so.
Further, the story is not told in perfect chronological order. I believe that a lot of this is done to characterize Emily. For example, they revealed that she had bought the poison- but did not disclose for what until the end. In the scene where Emily bought the poison, it was a critical display of her character. The way she got her way and intimated the salesman. I think telling the story out of order also builds suspense.. Using this same example, we are left eondering throughout the text WHY she bought the poison (though we could infer).
Bryanna, you make the excellent point that the town as a whole serves as the antagonist in “A Rose for Emily.” If you’ve read the article in this week’s folder “Town and Time,” this idea is beautifully reinforced. It’s also interesting to note how the values of the town seem to derive from only one perspective. Yet the story is set in a time of great societal change after the Civil War. We see the generational conflict in the story, and Miss Emily is stuck on the side that remains locked in the past. Great post!
Faulkners “A Rose for Emily” was an excellent read from start to finish. I loved the unique style of the narration which wasn’t told by any single narrator in particular but rather by the collective perspective of the town of Jefferson. It gave the town a feeling of personification as if they were all one, and as this unit, they were fascinated with the life and tragic story of Emily.
The reason that Faulkner used this point of view for the story was so that he could add to the gothic feeling. The town of Jefferson is an American town that is progressing and witnessing the life of Emily as if it is a drama and a tragedy unfolding for them. Old American towns with old American houses like Emilys can take on ghostly lives of their own. It is the sad story of a young girl that is smothered by her father and never gets to have a good life on her own with a husband. She grows into an old woman that never had anyone, all while having an eery mysteriousness about her.
I really liked the non-linear timeline because it shifted from one time period to another which is often very effective in books and even in movies. Flashbacks can set an eery and suspenseful tone for a story. The shift from her early days being unallowed to get courted by men by her father and then to being unable to bury her father showed a woman in turmoil who had been driven mad. The final climax of the story that Homer had been dead upstairs in her house all those years was the perfect ending to this macabre tale.
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Giulia, I love what you write here about how old towns can take on a ghostly aspect, just as an old house can. I’m sure we can all imagine what some of the townspeople were like as they spied on Miss Emily with Homer Barron and whispered about her in their parlors. I think you are right that this filtered narrative voice adds to the Gothic mood of the story. It’s mysterious, and we truly don’t know how much of what we are hearing is true.
Giulia, I love how you separated each question and answered them with such detail. When talking about the non linear timeline I like how you can compare it to a flashback because I can see the correlation and where you were coming from. The ending also goes to show how Homer really could not have an impact on her life because she just did not want him around. She left his body up there for all of these years so who knows what cruel acts she developed as he sat there rotting.
The narrative point of view was of a plural first person. It was a collective telling by the citizens of Jefferson. I think the story was told in this point of view because the story of Emily is exactly that, just a story made up of observations and a bit of imagination of the townsfolk. We are never presented with facts or Emily’s point of view, so we are left with this story told by the townsfolk. I think another reason the author used this narrative point of view because it makes the story of Emily credible because the town collectively believed it. The nonlinear timeline keeps us in suspense of the conclusion. The story starts with Emily’s death, but we don’t know who Emily is. The nonlinear timeline brings us to different times of the town’s experience with Emily, giving us insight into who Emily was, or at least the town’s perspective of who Emily was.
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Kenny, you are so right when you say that as readers we don’t know who Emily is. I think this holds true for the townspeople as well. No one has been close to her since the death of her father, and no one is able to tell the complete story of her life without input from others. We end up filling in some of the blanks with our own imagination, I think.
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The story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner for freshman literature students. This story has an unusual narrative point of view because this story is told from the first person and the narrator use “we” in the story. The reason the story be told from the atypical point of view is that Emily lives her life that might lead town people to believe and feel mysterious. For example, “‘I want some poison,’ she said to the druggist…‘I want the best you have. I don’t care what kind’ ‘Arsenic,’ Miss Emily said. “Is that a good one?” “Is . . . arsenic? Yes, ma’am. But what you want–” “I want arsenic.”… “Why, of course,” the druggist said. “If that’s what you want. But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for.” Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up. The Negro delivery boy brought her the package; the druggist didn’t come back.” In this part, when the druggist asks Emily’s why she needs poison, she didn’t tell what she is going to use poison just stared at druggist. The nonlinear timeline of this story mostly creates the mystery feeling of this story. Also, it shows a different period of Emily’s life story and things that town people experience.
Thesis Statement
In the stories “The White Heron,” the author, Sarah Orne Jewett, develop a significant theme throughout the text by using conflict. Sometimes, someone who offers money to take away what you love, it will change your way of thinking.
Section 0503: What is odd about the narrative point in this story is that it seems to be told from the perspective of a random person who is just watching all of this go down and somehow knows everything that is occurring during this time / situation. I believe that the reasons or Reason the story is told at this a typical point of view is due to the fact that the author wanted non bias or an opinionated standpoint therefore not to influence the readers and how they view the whole situation. The reason I believe there’s a non-linear timeline in the story is because I think the author wanted to always keep the reader interested and or always have us on our toes. Especially for the fact of how much drama occurs within the story or just unexpected turns in general, we as the readers I am sure did not really expect that ending to be so dark. Though, as i mentioned I believe this story was created and set up the way it was to be intriguing and have unexpected outcomes.
Hello Alexis, it is nice meeting you on this platform. I am slightly disagree with your narrative point. I think William Faulkner employs first-person plural with townspeople narrating the story. Instead of a random person who is just watching it all, some interactions are their personal experience with Miss Emily. I believe the author employs different race, social class and generation to demonstrate the complex relationship between Miss Emily. I agree that the ending was phenomenal, it was out of my expectation especially Faulkner ended the story with the hint, “a long strand of iron-gray hair.”
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The narrative of “A Rose for Emily” is unusual because the perspective is that of someone looking at the history of Emily in its entirety while still holding back all that we should know about her. The narrative moves through time as if the events are happening as we read them however we know that is not the case because I the first lines we know that Emily has already died. The narrative is most likely told in this unusual way to preserve the feelings of mystery, fascination and pity that the town must have felt. By telling the story in a non-linear way, the author is able to describe the more in depth journey of dehumanization of Emily. To begin we read the Emily was a woman that was very notable amongst her town, so much so that everyone came for the funeral. However we learn that she was not some great figure but perhaps an increasingly enigmatic woman that we later realize may have been going crazy by herself for quite some time before she died. The ending paragraph of the story reveals that she actually poisoned her husband and kept his body. This progression from normal woman to a woman isolated by her own insanity was described perfectly because the author was able to take seemingly random screenshots of Emily’s life and connect them for the grand reveal.
Hello Justin,
I wouldn’t really describe the perspective as such, although I do know where you’re coming from. I think that saying the perspective is “that of someone looking at the history of Emily in its entirety while still holding back all that we should know about her” is not necessarily true. I think the first part of your statement is too vague because this “someone” has to be there in order for them to know of all the details contained in the story; however, I do think that it is impossible to just have one person telling the story, as the story seemed to have been composed of pieced up bits of whatever people recalled from the events that unfolded. I also think that this “someone” is not holding back what the audience should know about Emily because even if the story was told in a nonlinear timeline, it was done so to preserve the mysterious nature of the story just as you said. I don’t necessarily think that describing Emily’s journey as that of dehumanization is appropriate, I actually do think that it is the opposite as the more we get to the ending and a better understanding of her life and tragedies, the more we and the townsfolk begin to empathize and understand her better. I agree with your description of her progression and the rest that followed it.
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The narrative point of view for this one was quite unique since the author decided to tell the story from the townspeople’s perspective. It was more of a collective retelling of the story depending on the scene that is presented, like when Emily had an encounter with the druggist, “I want some poison,” she said to the druggist. She was over thirty then, still a slight woman, though thinner than usual, with cold, haughty black eyes in a face the flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eyesockets as you imagine a lighthouse-keeper’s face ought to look. “I want some poison,” she said (Faulkner par. 34). This part was told by someone who happened to see the interaction. I’m convinced that the story was told from this unusual point of view because it helps the readers visualize just how little the townsfolk know about Emily, and they only seem to know of her from what they’ve heard from talks and gossips. The nonlinear timeline was done so to keep the story mysterious, probably to keep the readers hooked and curious until the very end. I do believe that this was a fitting move for this story, and I don’t think that it could’ve been done so any other way.
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The point of view in “A rose for Emily” the narrator seems to be speaking in both the first and third person perspective. The way William Faulkner told his story of Miss Emily was done in a great manner in my opinion. As the narrator kept unveiling small details of the horrific secret with each transitions of the past to present tense, kept me interested until the end. I think the reason for the nonlinear timeline, made the difference with how the reader would perceive most of Miss Emily’s and the town’s thoughts and opinion. Her lack of trust in the town after her father’s death can be sensed as a defense mechanism for someone in her social status. I believe she still felt her father’s control after his death; for instance his disapproval of any male in their town not being fit to marry her; It can be understandable why Miss Emily felt more comfortable to be in Mr. Baron’s company oppose to her peers.
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“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner did not have a surprising ending. The foreshadowing of the smell coming from her home, the rat poison, etc indicated something extremely rotten was coming from there. But what I didn’t get was how she could tolerate the smell of a dead body. Anyways the story might be told from this atypical point of view to allow people to feel like they are apart of the town and observing/getting to know Emily through different encounters and moments of her life. As I was reading the story and listening to the narration, I felt like I could picture the town and all the people who spoke of her or she had interactions with. Through the different experiences Emily had, I felt like I knew of her even though it was not told through her words and maybe that is because if Emily could tell her own story, it wouldn’t have been accurate. It appeared Emily was not in her right mind, so if she was to tell the story herself, she probably would have had a different understanding/interpretation of her own actions. However the story being told from the town’s perspective, one could maybe sympathize or conclude what led to her choices because they seemed to be in their right mind (yet who really knows). Therefore if she told her story, maybe it would have been a version completely “insane.” And maybe that is the reason for the nonlinear timeline of the story, to reflect what was going on in Emily’s mind, because if her mind was linear I’m sure she wouldn’t have isolated herself or kept a dead body in her household.
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Samantha, so you guessed the ending? I’m impressed.
The article “A Rose for Emily “by William Faulkner is a very interesting , intriguing story especially towards the end . However while reading I realized theres multiple parties speaking during the story to make it seem like others around the town observed Emily and associated with her in a sense . There were key words while reading the text that made me speculate that multiple people were speaking . I believe the author wanted us to think from many different perspectives who associated with Emily . And the author wanted a article to pull people in with a crazy dramatic plot with also a twist that would shock the audience .
Zhanasia Young
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Zhanasia, I appreciate your comments about the narrative point of view. Have you addressed the issue of the nonlinear time frame? (Note that “A Rose for Emily” is a story, not an article).
I found the way “A Rose By Emily” was wrote very interesting. The way it was written gave dept to the story. “A Rose By Emily” was told in the first person, but by the town collectively. Each person in the town had something to say about Ms. Emily, but the narrative formed an unbiased opinion. This narrative was unusual because it almost felt like the story was based on gossip and drama alone. Having the narrative set collectively showed that each person of the town had multiple view points of Ms. Emily but agreed upon one central idea. I believe the story was told in this narrative to show us a more in-dept take on Ms. Emily and how the town felt about her and her story. The nonlinear timeline set a dreadful, suspenseful ending having us wondering what was happening. We are left wondering what may of really happened from a personal point of view rather than an outside source.
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“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, uses a collective narrator from the townspeople to narrate the story. It travels in time as Miss Emily’s physical appearance differ from time to time as different generation of townspeople express their interaction with her. I love how the writer uses this atypical point of view to demonstrate the complex relationship between Miss Emily and the different generation in the society. The writer leaves a trace evidence for the reader to complete the puzzle, the small detail, “a long strand of iron-gray hair” to complete the story. The reasons for the nonlinear timeline of this story is that it does not follow a pattern, leaving it a world of imagination for the reader. The nonlinear timeline also showcased all levels of society and generation that has interact with Miss Emily, with different class, race, appearance and more.
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A “Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is about understanding the narrative’s point of view, it can be determined that it was from a first person’s point of view. This is peculiar because we are looking at the perspective of the town and not just one individual person that is telling the story, it is a collective piece. I think the story was told in this manner because no-one truly knew what happened to Emily and what she felt. Different people saw different parts of her and so in order to get the full picture they molded all the parts together even though their assumptions may or may not be correct. It sort of reminds me of when someone hears a rumor and it gets passed down from person to person and different assumptions are made based on what they have heard and that determines what the story turns out to be in the end. The reasons for the nonlinear timeline is that its bits and pieces of what everyone has heard so that’s why at certain points of the narrative there are random bits of information causing the readers to be a little thrown off and they start to get curious about what really is going on. It gives a more arousing tone so people are more intrigued by what’s going to happen at the end. (ENG 201 0505) [11615]
Mosheur, I agree that this narrative left us not knowing what truly happened. The collective narrative gave us a general understanding of what everyone thought of Ms. Emily, but not specifics. This left us wondering what the true story may have been. You’re right, I was almost like a game of “Telephone”! The nonlinear timeline served the same purpose. We were left in suspense and questioning the real identity and story of Ms. Emily. It was an interesting twist, allowing the readers to build their own story.
In “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, the narrator uses a point of view where his intentions are to have this as a first person perspective. From the eyes of the reader, it is clear that no one was really close to Ms. Emily, the use of the word “we” goes to show that, the ideas they have fabricated about her is a collection of the townspeople thoughts about her. When her father dies, this causes her to become completely isolated and disconnected from those around her. When I watched the film, the character that played her role did a really great job at it because I felt the cruelty and it was if her heart turned completely cold and she was fine with that until her death bed. This can be seen as an atypical point of view because she does not conform to those around her. Atypical meaning that she is not the typical character in this story, she is a cruel outlier and you can say that some despise her. The nonlinear timeline can be seen when the author jumps from her fathers death to the life she lived after and how the qualities she has developed into the mischievous person she is. Even when she is dead her life remains a lurking mystery that no really has content on.
I agree when you said no one was close to Ms. Emily. The story was basically built on rumors and what people in the town saw. I never thought her as a mischievous person mostly because she was always alone. Its mostly when people questioned her she was mad.
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After reading “A Rose for Emily”, the author, William Faulkner, told the story in atypical point of view. It’s read as first person except it’s people from the town, point of view, a group narrative., which isn’t very common in readings. The story is most likely told from this point of view because of its impact, and to share everyone’s thoughts in one, being everyone only got to see bits of her, being no one really knew her. The nonlinear timeline in this story gives it a change to the reader, as well as brings out more about Emily, giving a different path before leading to the end, enchanting the texts impact on the reader in a way.
CJ, your response about the narrative voice is good. I don’t quite understand your response to the second part of the question. Try to be a bit more specific in your discussions.
This narrative is unusual because it is first-person but from the town’s point of view. The author uses “we”. It is almost as if the town itself is telling the story when the town was talking about Emily being single they said: “We were not pleased exactly, but vindicated.” Or when she lost her dad they said: “At last [we] could pity Miss Emily.” It’s like they personally knew Emily but really they only knew what they saw. The biggest reason the story might have been told from this atypical point of view is that it creates suspense. Since it was the town’s point of view you knew what they knew. It wasn’t the entire picture. It helps you imagine what is about to come. The reason the author used this nonlinear timeline is that it set a mystery tone. In a way, it develops the story so the readers could know something is going to happen.
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What is unusual about the narrative point of view is that it is told a first-person but not as a single individual but as a group of people specifically those from the town. I believe it is told this way because it is getting more than one person’s perspective. It is a way to show how the town reacted individually and as a whole. It is not told in chronological order because in the story it tells us about how the people finding out about Emily and how each person reacted to it. It’s like when you hear about something similar and you hear different aspects of the story (what happened to them, when, where, how, etc). You don’t always get the story from the beginning to end you usually have to piece it together yourself.
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Shirley, have you addressed the question about the nonlinear timeline of the story?
“A Rose for Emily,” written by William Faulkner is a story narrated in the first person. There is a lot of the use of the word ” we” I believe because the townspeople were not sure who Emily was entirely so they decided to create a narrative for her. I believe the reasoning for the nonlinear timeline is because no one is able to tell her story from start to finish it also adds a bit of drama.
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Thajmire, please review “Information about Discussion Boards” in COURSE INFORMATION for details about requirements for timing and length of Db submissions.
After reading “A Rose for Emily,” what makes the narrative’s point of view unusual is the continuously depressing tone that carried throughout the story. What is even more unusual is the melancholic tone was also very addictive and eye-catching to the reader – it was hard to not want to continue the story. With that being said, the compelling sadness is what is drawing the reader in, thus may result in being told in an atypical point of view. The beginning of the story set the mood with discussing the stubborn and stand-offish attitude of Emily, with minimal back story, but then as the story progresses, touches on key points about her father’s death and her odd relationship with the partner she ends up killing. The nonlinear timeline kept the reader engaged and looking for more meaning and reasons behind why there was such a negative picture painted about Emily. It is as if the author wanted to manipulate the reader into believing this was a story about someone who was experiencing unwarranted social exile, but in actuality, was bringing it all upon herself through her questionable actions and behaviors.
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When I started to read “ A rose for Emily” what stood out to me was how the narrative was in first person, from towns people point of view, using a lot of “we” which was very unusual because its clear no one was really close to miss Emily. But it all makes sense at the end the reason why the story was told from this atypical point of view. The narrator speaks for the town itself, so when “we”is being used its all the thoughts the townspeople had to say about miss Emily. The reason for the nonlinear timeline of this story was to make the story suspenseful , at least I thought of it that way while I was reading it, the narrator just went with the flow on important, specific events that happened in her lifetime which naturally creates tension to us reader to be intrigued to find out what happens next.
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