3。1 The Clue of the Whole Story 13

3。2 The Propellant for the Climax 14

4。 Toby's Effect on Ghostly Atmosphere Creating 15

4。1 Incomplete Tobe 15

4。2 Weird Relationships 15

Conclusion 17

References 18

Introduction 文献综述

"A Rose for Emily" takes place in Faulkner's fictional city, Jefferson, Mississippi, in the fictional county of Yoknapatawpha County。 Opening with a brief first-person account of the funeral of Emily Grierson, an elderly Southern spinster, it then proceeds in a nonlinear fashion to the narrator's recollections of Emily's archaic and increasingly strange behavior throughout the years。 After her acceptance of her father's death, she falls in love with Homer Barron, a Northern laborer who comes to the town as a contractor to pave the sidewalks。 Homer leaves the area for a time, and one person reports seeing Homer walk in the house at night, after which he is never seen again。 Then Emily has become a recluse and her funeral becomes a large affair in this story。 After she is buried, a group of townsfolk enter her house to see what remains of her life there。 In Emily's bedroom, lies the decomposed corpse of Homer Barron on the bed; on the pillow beside him is the indentation of a head, and a single strand of Emily's gray hair。 Most researchers at home and abroad have studied this short story from many different fields while researches on Tobe remain a large part of blank。 However, he is of great significance to the story。 This thesis believes that Tobe as an overlooked black servant is of great importance in this short story。 Thus by illustrating the significance of Tobe on characters shaping, plot developing and the ghostly atmosphere, the thesis will not only provide a comprehensive understanding of the short story but also enrich the social significance of the right attitude towards black people and other humble persons。