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Briana Rosenlieb

Professor Stalbird

English 1101

17 October 2021

Tobe: A Rose for Emily

Mrs. Emily and I lived in an outdated house that once had decorations styled like the

seventies. The street we lived on had once attracted everyone in the town, but per usual time

progressed and everything changed. The outdated house that had once looked beautiful now

stood out like a needle in a haystack. I always had the undermining label of being “Mrs. Emily's

servant,” which meant having the sole duty of cooking and gardening, but It seemed like only I

had any clue of the events that took place in Mrs. Emily's stagnant life. I, Tobe, am the only

person that had complete access to Mrs. Emily's home. I knew everything. I kept silent and

dutiful, but I always listened and observed. I knew more about Mrs. Emily than anyone else in

the world.

When Mrs. Emily passed the whole town went crazy trying to go to the funeral, but I

knew most only went out of nosiness to see the interior of the outdated house since barely

anyone had spoken or even seen her within the last 10 years, but I. Many years ago on January

1st, a tax notice came in the mail at the outdated house, which stated that Mrs. Emily didn't pay

her taxes. Many more letters also came in the mail indicating the dire need for her to make some

type of reply. Mrs. Emily strictfully ordered me to ignore them all and to not pay any attention to

it. One evening a deputation knocked on the front door. I welcomed them in and walked them

through a lusterless hallway where the dark secluded stairway with a mysterious door stood.

Now I am no maid, so the outdated house remained dusty with a distinct smell. I then led them
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into the parlor where a leather couch and a few chairs resided. When the men sat down I could

see the dust particles rise from the couch. Before Mrs. Emily entered the room I peered at the

men and saw them viewing the portrait of her father. The men began to explain their presence

and she listened until they finished. Mrs. Emily proceeded to discuss with the men that she had

no duty to pay taxes and did not intend to. She left it at that and motioned for me to walk the men

out through the lusterless hallway, and out the outdated house. This reminded me of the same

event that happened years ago after her father’s death, when men came to complain about the

smell reeking from inside. I've always noticed that anything that Mrs. Emily does, everything

always relates back to her father. That man acted like no saint. He kept such a tight leash on Mrs.

Emily. She practically had no life whatsoever; she had no permission to leave or welcome

anyone in, especially anyone of the male specimen. Of course she showed loyalty to her father

and did as told, but only because it's all she ever knew, just like me. Being a servant isn't my

favorite, but I remained loyal to Mrs. Emily because It's all I knew. Nothing ever changed in

Mrs. Emily's life. Only one thing varied in Mrs. Emily's life, the people who would come and go.

Not many people came into Mrs. Emily's life, but those who did never really got the chance to

leave.

There lurked a man, Homer Barron. He looked big, dark-skinned, loud, and the center of

attention. I saw that Mrs. Emily took a liking to him. They also began to spend a lot of time with

each other at one point. This had been the only time Mrs. Emily went anywhere else other than

staying in her secluded upstairs room. He would come and go just like her father did. She didn't

like that. When Homer left town for the last time, before returning, Mrs. Emily had me pick up

arsenic while I got groceries. She told me to use it for the rats, but I knew the truth since I had

bought it previously before. One evening at dusk I welcomed Homer in through the kitchen door.
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I had prepared dinner and Mrs. Emily topped it off by throwing some “salt” on top. Homer ate

alone since Mrs. Emily had already eaten. Homer began to express that he felt ill so Mrs. Emily

instructed me to help take Homer upstairs through the lusterless hallway and up the dark

secluded stairway, so I did. I laid him on the bed and left. Homer never left the outdated house

again and Mrs. Emily once again went back to staying in her secluded upstairs room where she

would lay all day and night while the smell increasingly got stronger. I knew Mrs. Emily feared

Homer leaving and altering her life, so she made it to where he never could leave.

Eventually old age caught up to Mrs. Emily and she passed away upstairs in her dark and

secluded room, where she laid next to the rotted body of Homer Barron. I remained in the

outdated house until Mrs. Emily's funeral. I welcomed everyone in and then took off. There was

no place for me to go, but at least I got to escape the outdated house, unlike any other men in

Mrs. Emily's life. Mrs. Emily finally faced freedom and so did I.
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Critical Analysis

The themes used in my story feel pretty much the same as the ones used in the original. I

included the themes of the past, death, secrecy, and control, which are also all included in the

original narrative. I portrayed the theme of the past by including the outdated house and talking

about how Mrs. Emily can’t move on with her life. I also indicated the theme of death and

secrecy by expressing how silent and closed-off Mrs. Emily acted and then I moved on to the

death of Homer Barron and her father. The repetitive mentioning of the stairway and hallway

also helped. Finally, I showed the theme of control by revealing to the reader how structured and

unwilling Mrs. Emily behaved, which then indicated that she never wanted to change and

therefore had to be in control. My story itself feels a little different from the original. I used the

same scene with the taxes, but the scene with Homer Barron I changed a little bit. When

foreshadowing the death of Homer I made it clear that Mrs. Emily had previously done this

before. I indicated that Mrs. Emily also killed her father, which never got revealed in the

original, so I thought I'd include it to make the story more suspenseful. The narrator in the

original story does not reveal their identity, but my story is told from the point of view of Tobe.

In telling the story from Tobes point of view I took a lot of the focus away from Mrs. Emily's

dependence on Tobe. I focused more on the emotional and loyal side Tobe had for Mrs. Emily.

Telling the story in the perspective of Tobe lessens the theme of mystery since Tobe already

knows everything that's going on. The house, the stairway, death, and taxes exemplifies huge

symbols in my story. I used foreshadowing to create suspense before the death of Homer Barron.
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A lot of the repeated phrases or objects, like the outdated house and secluded stairway, helped

form my foreshadowing.

Writing the story from Tobes perspective allowed me to broaden my perspective on Mrs.

Emily sympathizes with her. Writing from Tobes point of view made me put myself into Tobes

position, which meant paying more attention to details. It felt quite weird to write from the

perspective of someone other than myself. There wasn't much information about Tobe told in the

original story. The narrator mentioned Tobe quite frequently throughout the story, but refrained

from mentioning anything about his personal life since the story focused on Mrs. Emily, which

made writing this essay a little difficult, but overall the creative part felt easy. From writing this

essay I learned to put myself into a fictional character's perspective and broaden my attention

span to details. I learned to not just focus on the main event occurring and to listen to everything

going on as well.