pov

The short story, “A Rose for Emily” was narrated in a first person plural point of view. If the story was to be retold from Tobe’s point of view, the way Emily Grierson was portrayed would be completely different.

Emily was described through the eyes of the narrator, a combined voice of the townspeople. From that perspective, the reader was limited to seeing only what the others saw. But since Tobe was Emily’s personal servant, he would be able to tell Emily’s story in much greater detail. A noticeable change would be a deeper development on Emily’s character. With Tobe narrating the story, the reader would be able to understand the reason behind Emily actions, especially why she murdered Homer. Without Tobe’s inside perspective on these events, only assumptions can be made about Emily’s life.

But if Tobe was shifted to be the narrator, most of the mysteriousness and eeriness would be gone. When Emily’s life was told from the first person plural point of view, it seemed like the narrator and the townspeople were spying on her. Doing things they were not supposed to do, like peeking in her windows and monitoring her nonexistent social life. Not knowing what was really happening in Emily’s house added to the intensity of the disturbing ending.

The theme of death would remain, even if the narration shifted. Every man that Emily has ever loved always ended up dead. If Tobe narrated the story, there would be a more accurate understanding about the relationship between Homer and Emily, and why she killed him and kept his body. Nevertheless, in the end, Emily herself dies too.