Curated set · answers marked
What shocking discovery do the townspeople make when they break into the locked upstairs room of Emily Grierson's house after her death?
Rationale
The townspeople find the decayed corpse of Homer Barron — the man Emily had been romantically involved with years earlier — lying on the bed in the sealed upstairs room. Next to him, on the pillow, they discover a long strand of Emily's iron-gray hair, indicating she had been lying next to the corpse.
What shocking discovery do the townspeople make when they break open the sealed upstairs room in the Grierson house after Emily's death?
Rationale
The townspeople find Homer Barron's decayed corpse on the bed, and — most disturbingly — they also see a long strand of Emily's iron-gray hair on the pillow next to him, indicating that she had been lying beside the body. This gothic twist changes the perspective of the entire story and highlights Faulkner's themes of denial, obsession, and the decline of the Old South.
At the end of "A Rose for Emily," what shocking discovery do the townspeople make in the upstairs room of Emily Grierson's house after her death?
Rationale
After Emily's funeral, the townspeople pry open a sealed upstairs room and find the decayed body of Homer Barron on the bed. Next to him, on the pillow, is a single strand of iron-gray hair, indicating that Emily had been lying beside his corpse — a profoundly unsettling sign of her inability to confront loss or change.