The Use Of Suspense In William Faulkner's A Rose For Emily

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The scrambling of time that William Faulkner created in “A Rose for Emily” uses the element of suspense to create an eerie feeling to enhance the details throughout the story. Faulkner avoids the chronological order of Emily Griersons life and instead hands the reader a perplexing beginning which is filled with suspense and mystery. By doing this, he has magnified the plot of the story which makes the reader shutter with anticipation in light of future events. He also gives each characters their own kept secrets which one must depict through the storyline. Also, by using the elements of suspense and foreshadowing, Faulkner is able to present precise details to the plot and characters. From finding the truth about Emily’s past, to the grim despairing…show more content…
From the very beginning, Faulkner uses suspense to describe Emily’s funeral by saying “The women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house which no one…had seen in at least ten years” (Faulkner 1). This indicates that Emily lacked both family and friends, because she isolated herself from the town. The last anyone had heard from her was 10 years prior to her passing in which she would give china painting lessons (Faulkner 5). Faulkner, created an amazing character that was indeed a mysterious woman filled with many kept secrets from the past. From buying the poison to hiding the body, Emily had suspense written all over her. Also, many towns’ people would see Emily often staring through the windows grief-stricken about the loss of Homer and her father. This only intensified the suspense in the story considering Emily was cloistered from society itself. Also, when her father passed, she told the ladies that “He was not dead” and kept his body in the house for three days (Faulkner 27). This escalated the setting not only in foreshadowing but also reinforced the events that were soon to
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