Monday, January 11, 2010

In the short story "A Rose for Emily," why is it broken into five sections?

Narrative structure is always important, particularly when we consider how it impacts our reading. The structure of a sentence, the choice of a word, the ordering of a paragraph can all influence what details we pay attention to when we are reading, as well as how we react to what we're reading.


The five sections that make up "A Rose for Emily" organize the nonlinear narrative in a way that allows a lot of very detailed information to be shared without overwhelming the reader. It's a good idea to read each of the five sections and determine what each is doing - what important part of Emily's story is it sharing? What foreshadowing is it employing? What bits of mystery is it unraveling?


It's also a fair point to consider that dividing the narrative, which is written from the plural first-person perspective of the townspeople, manages that collective voice as well. 

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