"A Rose for Emily"

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Question #5

      The point of view of this short story is first-person plural. The point of view in the story comes from the people who live in the town with Emily Grierson. The effect of this point of view is that it conveys a distance and separation between the community and Emily. The community notices abnormal behavior and portrays the unusual and weird behavior of Emily. Moreover, an advantage to first-person plural is that it creates at similar tone of legends and stories about weird people living in a suspicious and creepy house. The community whispers about Emily Grierson and her odd behavior, which creates a tone of mystery. For example, “And as soon as the old people said, ‘Poor Emily,’ the whispering began. ‘Do you suppose it’s really so?’ they said to one another. ‘Of course it is. What else could…’ ” (Faulkner, 286). The mysterious tone of “A Rose for Emily” compels the reader to become more interested in the story. If the story were not told from first-person plural point of view, it would not be as exciting to read. There would be no mystery about Emily. Moreover, there would be no evident portrayal of the separation between Emily and the community.