Freytag’s Pyramid in A Rose for Emily

Though a non-linear narrative, Faulkners A Rose for Emily fits wellhead into the dramatic structure outlined in Freytags Pyramid. Exposition is pertain around the death of the eponymous character, Emily Grierson, and details her history in the townspeoplesfolk of Jefferson.Moving backward in clipping, a deal between Emily and a originator mayor, Colonel Sartoris, is discussed, in which Emily is remitted of all taxes due to a loan Emilys begin made to the town before his death. This expository in dustation allows the reader to form a more substantive picture of Emily before the narrative rattling begins.Faulkner establishes the tone of the story as cryptic and elliptical. Emily is someone who can only now be known vaguely, by dint of all that can be understand in a few incidents. By failing to disclose in addition a great deal about Emily, Faulkner lends her an air of mystery, thus heightening the readers interest in her character.The story then leaps back in time thirty years, when t here(predicate) was concern in Jefferson over a facial expression coming from Emilys house. This is the arcdegree of rising live up to, in which the narrative acquires tautness in conflict. Now the narrative is propelled forward by the readers curiosity- what is causing this horrible smell? All of this builds on the mystery border Emily, she becomes not so much a woman as an apparition, a vague blur in the mind of the reader.As the narrative proceeds on it constantly moves backward in time, so that the climax occurs at the point furthest in the yesteryear. Emilys purchase of the arsenic precedes chronologically the events of the first, second, fourth, and fifth part parts of the story. A Rose for Emily inverts the traditional narrative structure in which a story generally drives toward some point in the future, delving into the past for its revelations.The purchase of the arsenic must be regarded as the storys climax for it is the only instance in which Emily tak es action within the narrative. She resolves here to take that action, the fruits of which are revealed in the final part of the story when the soma of Homer Barron is found in her bedroom.Part four of the story represents falling action, as with the purchase of the arsenic the fate of Homer Barron has been settled. That the arrival of Emilys family, or kin as Faulkner refers to them, is merely brushed upon in the vaguest terms serves as evidence- the focus of the story is elsewhere. All that is left here is for the story to bunk into the denouement, which comes of course with the discovery of her supposed husbands corpse.Here, Faulkner pulls back the shroud and allows the reader to briefly glimpse some of the mystery behind Emily, and by simply suggesting at one perversion, he hints at a strong host of other strange activities. Thus the story is concluded not by solving the mystery, but rather by increasing its shameful allure.In a story, such as A Rose for Emily, which is as much about ambience as it is about creating drama, a small action can carry great weight. Emilys very presence, dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse, shocks the small town of Jefferson out of entropy and into the life of narrative.Thus, though the story is nominally propelled on by curiosity over a strange odor emanating from her house, it is Emily herself in the end that sustains the interest of the reader. Though Freytags Pyramid is an excellent carry for distilling dramatic structure from an otherwise elusive narrative, its application is limited. While the pattern corresponds to the purely dramatic elements of A Rose for Emily it cannot account for such completing elements such as tone and style, which often facilitate drama just as much as a well-honed structure.Faulkners writing operates obliquely, feeling points of interest and then just as quickly departing from them, leaving a slight fog about the people and places he evokes. The use of Freytags Pyrami d can help shine a light through this fog and offer one a greater insight into the character of this mysterious piece, A Rose for Emily.