“A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner is a short story about the life of the main character, Miss Emily. Some may think Miss Emily would narrate the story but it is actually the townspeople who tell it. This way the reader sees the story from an outside perspective and do not know what is going on in Miss Emily’s head. This tragic story begins with the death of Miss Emily then flashes back in time to talk about the events that led up to her death; starting with the death of her father and ending with the death of her boyfriend. The author expresses an abundance of external conflict, symbolism, and foreshadowing within the story. In part one of the story we learn that Miss Emily has lost her father, but she told many people for three days that he was not dead. This is Miss Emily’s way of not recognizing the truth. Once she said her father was dead that would mean it was the truth. After her father’s death she had no source of income and had no skills, because of this Colonel Sartoris told Miss Emily she would not have to pay any taxes. This represents the gender roles that are played throughout the story because the story is set during the civil war. Within the next generation as teleology and education had increased Miss Emily had been getting tax notices in the mail, since she would not reply to them the mayor sent a couple men to her door to ask for her taxes, but she exclaims to them that she has no taxes in Jefferson and to see Colonel Sartoris. Men where quite confused knowing that Colonel Sartoris had died 10 years ago. This would be an example of Emily living into her own reality. She does not listen to anyone but herself and only thinks that her way is the right way. Throughout this story there is no recognition of a mother figure in the life Miss Emily, and her father would drive out any relationship Emily had with a boy. So truly the only person Miss Emily had in her life was her father and when he died she only