"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

Point of view, at its simplest definition, is who tells a story and therefore how it gets told. In the circumstance of "A Rose for Emily", the story is told in the unusual first-person plural and is from the vantage point of the townspeople observing Emily's life through the years. Because it is told from an outsider's perspective, it makes Emily all the more mysterious as a main character. Her thoughts are never revealed and the only ways the reader can get to know her are through her limited dialogue and occasional appearances made outside her home. As the story progressed, it showed a transformation in Emily from a slender and beautiful girl to an overweight and unattractive old woman. Similarly, I got the feeling that Emily grew increasingly more creepy as the story progressed. The fact that she killed Homer Barron and kept his body upstairs was absolutely disgusting to me. Even more disturbing was the fact that she was sleeping next to his rotting body. Gross! The way the story ended also bothered me a little. I wish it would have had more of a conclusion rather than just cutting off right in the middle. Then again, maybe it's better that I didn't hear any more details of her grotesque lifestyle.