This document provides a structural analysis of the short story "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. It summarizes that the story is told in five parts and uses strong contrasts between dark and light, powerful and pitiful characters. The plot follows Emily Grierson logically as she loses opportunities for marriage and connection due to her father's death and society's neglect of her. Alone and dehumanized, she kills her lover and lives with his corpse until her own death. Though her death is presented first, it is not the climax, as the story is told from the detached perspective of the townspeople who respect Emily out of duty but do not understand her.