Author William Faulkner's plot in his short story, "A Rose for Emily," basically serves to tell the life story of Miss Emily Grierson, a member of one of the venerable families in the mythical Mississippi town of Jefferson. Faulkner's story line jumps around in time, creating a somewhat confusing sequence of events. However, we learn that Emily has had a strict father who allows her little freedoms growing up, and he looks down upon most (if not all) of her suitors. Emily has few friends, and when her father died, she refuses to allow his body to be removed until forced to do so by authorities. She lives alone in the aging family home, served only by a Negro manservant. Emily eventually courts the visiting Yankee foreman, Homer Barron, spurring gossip throughout the town when it is believed that they are to be married. Homer disappears and the townspeople assume that the relationship is over. Then, a mysterious smell pervades the grounds of the Grierson house. Little is seen of Emily for years, and she retreats to the solitude of her house until her death, when authorities discover a terrible secret. ( THAT TOOK FOREVER ) but there u go!
The first passage presents factual information about the Mississippi River, while the second passage simply uses the Mississippi River for plot points and setting.
