A Rose for Emily

The story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner told out of chronological order. The story begins with what really is the end chronologically. The first line states, "When Miss Emily died, our whole town went to the funeral" (Faulkner, 282). The rest of the story is then an out of order flashback to the events leading up to Miss Emily's death. I think that it is told our of chrinigical order for two reasons. One reason that I think the story is told out of chronological order is to keep suspense throughout the story. If the story were told chronologically, the reader would better be able to predict the ending. Another reason that I think the story was told out of chronological order is to show mystery. Since no one ever really knows what is going on with Miss Emily or what is going on in her life, the story should be told told in a mysterious fashion. Just as the townspeople never know what Miss Emily is doing or why she is doing it, the reader should not know what is coming next!