A Rose for Emily
...ext to Homer’s, indicating that Emily had been sleeping with the corpse over the years. The discovery of the corpse and the hair on the pillow was the climactic ending of the story. This paragraph was better left at the end of the story rather than at the beginning when the funeral is first mentioned because the rest of the story would have flashbacks with no real ending. The order in which the events are told is a bit confusing at first. The story begins in the present and then refers back to her father’s death and Colonel Sartoris’ role in her not having to pay taxes. The narrator then leads readers forward 30 years to when the “next generation” was not in agreement with the arrangement made by Colonel Sartoris and paid a visit to Miss Emily. In section II, the story jumps back 30 years to when the stench around Miss Emily’s house became a problem for the neighbors. The narrator then begins to go back further and reveal that Emily’s great aunt, old lady Wyatt, was crazy. Next, she goes into the death of Emily’s father and how her father had driven away all the young men who showed interest in Emily. In section III, the Homer comes into the picture and the narrator describes how the town felt this relationship was a disgrace to her social position. Also, in this section, the narrator tells of when Emily purchased the poison. Section IV goes further into Emily’s relationship with Homer. The ladies of the town persuaded the minister to speak to Emily and then cousins in Alabama were summonsed for their assistance in the matter. After Homer “disappeared,” Emily didn’t leave her house. For a few years she gave lessons on painting china patterns. Other than those few years, her front door closed and was rarely opened. She died at age 74 in a downstairs room (not upstairs with Homer). Section V describes the funeral and discovery of the corpse. As the story progressed, I found it difficult to keep track of what time period was being referenced. The order of the flashbacks was not related in a chronological...