Hey everyone! I’ve decided to write about Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, because I must admit; it was the story that left a huge impression on me. To be honest, I was completely bored out of my mind while reading this story (and I love reading) until I reached the ending. When I read that last paragraph, I literally smacked my forehead and said 
As I was reading, I could not stop thinking about how nothing was making sense. Nothing seemed to go together, I could not see the relevance between events, until I almost reached the ending. Then pieces started clicking, and I realized that Faulkner is a genius. In the beginning, the idea of this piece never struck me as a fiction or horror story. The way Faulkner wrote “A Rose for Emily” made it seem as though I were reading a diary or history record or something of the sort, and it seemed as the story went on, it slowly evolved into a magnificent fictional horror story. This element definitely stood out to me the most.
The closest situation I’ve had that might bear the slightest resemblance to this piece would be of my ghost hunting ventures. When I was younger, some friends and I would go to supposedly “haunted” houses, located in the most remote and darkest areas of town to try and see spirits and silly things like that. One house in particular belonged to a little old lady whom had been a serial killer. Her old lady neighbor friend came out and greeted us, and I kid you not, suddenly disappeared when we looked again. I imagined Emily’s house to look exactly like this lady’s house.
I think the author’s most important literary element was the setting of the story, because I feel as though it contributed the most to the story and its’ meaning. It gave a sort of old-fashioned, eerie, gothic feel to the piece, as though it could be a true horror story, with the civil war and old traditions and whatnot. Faulkner’s use and description of the setting set the entire stage for the story, as if it were a guide and a hook to lead the reader throughout the piece. I don’t think I could have kept reading if I didn’t wonder about the creepy house, or how the up-tight confederate woman with her willing African American servant got along with the free-spirited union man.
My only question is why her neighbors and the government did not figure out Emily’s strange “behavior” sooner. The unbelievable stench of rotting flesh that oozed out of her house, the sudden disappearance of her “husband” for (6? 7? 8?) years, her willingness to keep her father’s dead body after he had passed? It would be extremely skeptical to me, and I am positive that even though this was back in the day, people should have noticed that something was not right. If I was her neighbor, and the smell of deceased human body and disappearing husband, well let’s just say I would be pretty scared.
