“That was Now, This is Then”Essay on "Bartleby the Scrivener"

Madison 1
In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner takes an unorthodox plot structure to his story. His story takes three separate time jumps between some of the sections of the story. Actually, there is only one section transition that does not also include a time transition. This unusual narrative chronology literally brings a new dimension to the effectiveness in Faulkner’s message throughout the story.
The overlying message of the story is in relation to time and whether it should progress or remain stagnant. It’s the past versus the present. It’s the high respect for social decorum and tradition versus the modern day thinking of how everything should be set down “in the books.” It’s this relation to time that Faulkner plays with and exploits throughout the story.
The one thing I enjoyed the most about his technique was that it did not overtake the story and retract from the plot or the characters. On the contrary, it helped me ...