What would Tobe think?

In William Faulkner’s short novel “A Rose for Emily”, the themes were seen through the events that Emily and the town’s people went through. Some themes were isolation (physically and mentally) and the reality of life. The themes would not change if for example the narrative went towards Tobe’s point of view. Tobe would still see that Emily is isolated and does not know the distinction between reality and fantasy. Though there would be big changes; like the towns people opinion, not know what Tobe is thinking so that is a big change, and the gossip that arise in town. There are changes that the audience will not notice like how Tobe sees Emily which is different from the town’s people. Also the hidden secrets in Emily’s house would be seen because Toby works there and sees everything.

            Isolation is the main theme in “A Rose for Emily”, because in any narrative the audience could tell that Emily is isolated and enclosed in her house. The other theme: reality of life also shows that the short story is intermixed with false identities and truths. For one, the villagers did not know that Homer was killed (dead) until after Emily’s funeral. This reality of life is exaggerated because of the gossip of the town’s people that the audience hears in the original narrative, but in Tobe’s narrative this would be limited. In Tobe’s narrative the audience would know about Homer’s outcome of going in Emily’s house. The audience will also be limited in the story itself, because in the original the audience gets the entire story by the town’s gossip, but in Tobe’s narrative the story itself would be limited too as he does not communicate.