William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily” is told through a pluralized first person point of view. The narrator is a peripheral observer, a basic representation of the entire community gossip, is in essence specifically indecipherable. Despite his ambiguity and lack of direct information, hearsay presents the facts accordingly so that the story can be followed and understood properly. The use of this omniscient narration, made up of a progressively changing town growing up with Miss Emily with changing ideas and perspectives, reflects the theme of times changing and society growing and not being able to accept it or let go of the past and traditions some are accustomed to.
Faulkner’s choice to tell the story through the eyes of the townspeople is categorized as limited omniscience. This all-knowing narration is heavily inundated with ‘we’ statements as opposed to ‘I’ statements. Another theme relation is the apparent character differences between the narrator and the main char
acter, Miss Emily. The narrator eloquently describes Miss Emily with vivid imagery making her a round character, while the narrator being so generalized remains a flat character. “When we saw Miss Emily, she had grown fat and her hair was turning gray” (96.) Another contrasting element relating to the theme is how Miss Emily is a static character that remains essentially unchanged throughout the ever-changing action of the times, as opposed to the dynamic narrator, which has been growing through the entire story. Being a flat character doesn’t automatically distinguish a static character as in the case with this dynamic narrator. The basic meaning of dynamic is in essence the underlying theme of this short story.
Faulkner chose to use this unconventional narration technique to contrast his main character and to present an unbiased insight. If Emily or any other specific character close to Emily had been used, the storyline would have been biased and a completely different sense of t
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