The Effect of Fiction on Me

When I was reading “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the one thing that I felt the most was suspense throughout the entire story. While it tells me from the beginning that Miss Emily is no longer alive, the story unravels some of her past and reveals some weird oddities about her throughout her life. Some of the actions that she commits is intriguing and it left my mind to wonder on what is happening in her life, just like the people in the town did.

One of the weird things the story tells me is that at one point, she wants poison from the druggist. I did not think that it was a big deal since the worker said that he has a lot for rats and rodents, so my thinking was heading in that direction. However, she said “‘I want the best you have. I don’t care what kind’”. The conversation progresses and she buys arsenic home from the druggist with the label on the box “for rats”. If the poison was really for rats, it would not have been arsenic since there are many other options for rodents. Since it is arsenic, my mind kept wondering on what she plans to do with those since my hunch is that it would be for a person.

The case of Homer Barron also catches my eye throughout the story. He is someone who Miss Emily is interested in the story but, he does not show his love for her due to his sexuality. However, the story indicates that she bought a set of men’s clothes and this could have meant that she was marrying him somehow, so my initial speculation is that he agreed to marry her for money, property, etc. He disappears and many assumes that he is preparing for her arrival. But, the townsfolk in the story says “And that was the last we saw of Homer Barron”. Him completely disappearing left a big hole in the story since it never foreshadows that possibility. I start to think that Miss Emily drive him away and he essentially flees from her.

A bunch of these actions keep leaving so many questions without the proper answer to them and it left my mind curious. When I finally reach the ending of the book, I didn’t realize that Homer was still in town all along dead from the arsenic that Miss Emily gave him.