The use of symbolism by Faulkner was also very important in this story. It seems as if Emily is ignoring her problems because of the relationship she had with her father, and now he is gone. The portrait of Emily and her father shows how he dominated her. "Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip" (25). Her father is the dominant figure in the portrait, holding a tool used for controlling. Emily is wearing white and is in the back of the picture probably blending in and almost unnoticeable. This gives an idea that her father was in charge and that everything went according to what he said. Even when he dies, the house does not change. To Emily, it is still her father's house. There are dark, gloomy colors associated with the interior of the house, not images that one would expect from a house owned by a woman. But now since he is gone, she does not have anyone making the decisions for her. She associates all men to be like her father and that is why she thinks that Homer is going to leave her. There is so much sympathy that you have for Emily after having to deal with her father.
An interesting feature of the story is that it starts at her funeral and then goes back to the past to tell us the events that lead to her death. This use of the plot by Faulkner is effective in building up to the climax of the story. It tells us in the beginning of the story that Emily is dead and the town has gone to her funeral. This is important because the beginning is already giving us a reason to feel sorrow towards Emily because she is dead. Then it moves on and tells us the events that lead to her decision to murder Homer. It goes back to when she was alive and tells us all the things she has had to deal with through life. It makes you feel really bad for her. Even though in the end, we find out that she has poisoned Homer but we do not look at her as a killer.