A Rose for Emily: Revised Ending - Essay Example

A Rose for Emily: Revised Ending William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” narrates the life of Miss Emily Grierson, the daughter of a prominent doctor in the town called Jefferson. The end of the story depicts a scandal in which the people found the remains of Homer in Miss Emily’s bed, along with some of her hair strands, hence signifying necrophilia. The murder of Homer, as the ending suggests, is an injustice. Therefore, this revision will serve as a way to achieve catharsis. The ideal ending is to have Miss Emily behind prison bars, thus suffer the moral consequences of her act of murder.

However, this will be spoiling the ending and will be an insult to Faulkner and to the traditions of the town. Therefore, it will be best to retain the death of Miss Emily but the ending will also bear Miss Emily’s confession of the whole truth about her secrets so as the people broke in her house, they find the corpse of Homer in her bed, her hair strands and her diary which contains all her confessions. The first entry in the diary is when she falls in love with Homer. Naturally, this reflects how happy she is to go where Homer leads her.

Other entries recount how they spent nights together, probably her first kiss, first date, and all the first experiences she had. Then, she writes about the day Homer bids her goodbye and how sad she is upon learning the news of his leaving. The next entry imparts her need for someone to talk to, her desire for a friend, a sister or a mother who would comfort her for the times she feels bewildered until the day she decides to buy the poison for Homer. These entries reflect the dilemma she goes through, her fears of being alone, the voices she heard, etc.

because the plot of murder must have driven her insane. The final entries talk about her disappointments, her madness, her shame for the crime she committed and her willingness to die in order to be with Homer eternally. These last few entries express how afraid she is of the police every time they investigate and how unbearable it is for her to be alone in life. She sleeps beside Homer to ease her loneliness, to comfort her during the times she feels she is a disgrace to her family and for the times she feels people scorn at her for being unmarried.

The people, upon reading the diary, make their own judgments. Some sympathize with Miss Emily for her solitariness and other pity her for her insanity but many, especially the youth scorn at her for the crime she commits. Importantly, as they bury her remains, it is clear in the end that people have learned their lesson. They would no longer allow tradition to rule over justice. The end of the story will reveal that the narrator is a young sheriff who is the son of the old sheriff who tries to investigate the stinky smell in Emily’s house.

The last statement he leaves the readers is: “Next time something stinks, I will investigate the cause and break into a house no matter who the owner is.” This will confirm that Miss Emily’s tale will serve as the end to hypocrisy and wrong traditions in Jefferson. Work Cited Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” N.d. Purdue University. 8 March 2015. Web.