A Rose For Emily Resistance To Change Analysis

In the short story A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner, readers are immersed in the narrative of a supposed town member who describes the impact that the recent death of an old woman has had upon their small community. In the narrative, readers are taken on a journey through the life of Miss Emily, an old, lonely woman who is seemingly frozen in her own timeframe. As the story unfolds, readers learn about the various tragedies Emily encountered in her lifetime such as the sudden death of her controlling father as well as her alienation from other family members that leaves her utterly alone following his death. Audiences also learn about events that happened throughout Emily’s life that both molded her as a person and aided in shaping her reputation around the town. From her controversial relationship with a construction worker named Homer Barron to her suspicious purchase of arsenic at the local drug store, there is no question that Emily lived under the constant scrutiny of her fellow townspeople. After reading the initial sentences, it can be concurred that this story doesn’t simply describe the life of an old, questionably insane woman, but also the story of the age-old battle between old and new. Through symbolism and an artful arrangement of the events described, Faulkner is able to meticulously weave a tale of the clash between newer and older generations’ views and standards.

Tradition controls the actions of both the town and Emily herself.  “A Rose for Emily” captures the importance tradition holds for her Southern community.  The Civil War was an issue of lifestyle.  Southerners hung to the lifestyle they had, with the slaves. Tradition was the reason Emily didn’t pay her taxes. Her father was aristocracy and paid no taxes , therefore , Emily refused. When the slavery era passed, the South fell, the lifestyle was torn apart and the economy changed.  Old-time families, like Emilie’s, lost their position with their

In “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses imagery and symbolism to both illustrate and strengthen the most prevalent theme; Emily’s resistance to change. William Faulkner seems to reveal this theme through multiple descriptions of Miss Grierson’s actions, appearance, and her home. Throughout the short story it is obvious that Emily has a hard time letting go of her past, she seems to be holding onto every bit of her past. Readers see this shown in several ways, some more obvious than others.

“Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 1). Emily, a member of the town’s elite class, relied upon her father when growing up and after his death, she refused to pay her taxes, stating that her father contributed much to society. But it was evident that she didn’t pay them because of a lack of maturity - financially and socially. When she was younger she pushes herself onto Homer Barron, a Northerner with no interest in marriage. Throughout the story, Emily is conflicted over societal change, and clings to her privileged manner even after finding herself in poverty. Yet, she becomes involved with a man from a lower social class, and a Northerner as well - hinting that he has different beliefs and values. The townspeople, however, believe the relationship it too modern when there is a possibility they are having physical relations despite not being serious about marriage. The community’s inability to commit to progress, contribute to the confused Emily’s decision. In A Rose for Emily, Faulkner uses the symbolism of Emily’s house and her hair to demonstrate her emotional instability and physical deterioration, illustrating the outcome of his story.

7) What is the significance of Miss Emily’s actions after the death of her father?

One of the largest cultural revolutions in history occurred after the American Civil War, completely changing the lives of those who lived in the southern United States. Despite the improvements to society these revolutions bring, some people will reject these changes by clinging to their outdated ideologies. In his short story “A Rose for Emily,” William Faulkner focuses on the life and death of Miss Emily Grierson, an aging woman who loathes all forms of change. Throughout the story, Faulkner presents Miss Grierson as the last person to embrace the antebellum culture through her rejection of posantbellum changes, references to antebellum society, and description of the town’s thoughts and feelings toward Miss Grierson. Each time Miss Grierson faces changes, she refuses to accept them, reinforcing the idea that she rejects modern ideas and retraction from reality. When the city asks Miss Grierson to pay taxes, she quickly dismisses the city’s patient pleas by telling the council at her house, “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (section I, paragraph 12). She commands the council to see a deceased mayor, reinforcing Miss Grierson’s detachment from the present. Later, Miss Grierson solely refuses to allow the post office to “fasten the metal numbers above her door and attach a mailbox” when the town receives free mail service. Since she is accustomed to the antebellum society and cannot adjust to postbellum improvements, she rejects the new mail system. After

There are many instances where Emily resists change, unable to let go of the Southern, antebellum lifestyle she grew up with. This creates a contrast between Emily and the rest of the town, which is progressing and modernizing as time goes by. Emily’s traditional nature puts an emphasis on her representation of the past. She actively resists modernization, choosing to reply to the mayor’s offer to call with a letter “on paper of an archaic shape, [written with] thin, flowing calligraphy in faded ink” (Faulkner 1). Emily’s actions represent the past and an inability to let go of it. She is stuck in the past, unwilling to accept the change that the future brings. Emily and her house are the last glimpses of the past in her town; as the town progresses, her house stood unmoving, “lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons” (Faulkner 1). The house continues to display the style of the past, despite the decay and progression of style. Emily and her house represent the past, when her house was new and in style. Emily’s resistance to change and longing for the past is appropriate, considering her age and upbringing. She is an older woman, who grew up during the Civil War era in the South. The reason the South fought in the Civil War was to protect their lifestyle at all costs. The South was unwilling to change, stubbornly clinging to the antebellum way of life. This philosophy shaped the

Denial is a recurring theme in both stories rendered by those who believe to be in a higher class. In “A Rose for Emily,” Emily is depicted as an isolated woman who is so attached to the customs and aristocracy of the past to the degree that she cannot accept change. Emily considers herself as a wealthy and powerful spinster, and her family’s position

Through Emily Grierson, the author tries to convey the struggle against change. Emily herself is a tradition. Over the years, Emily does not change much even though the world around her is changing every day. Emily is entirely cut off from society to the point where she does not even leave her house. No one can understand why. Emily refuses to have numbers attached to the side of her house when the town decides they will be starting mail delivery. She also has not paid taxes in years, supposedly because her father lent money to the town and forgiving Emily’s taxes is the town 's way of repaying her. When the Board of Alderman comes to Emily’s house, explaining why she needed to pay taxes, her repeated response is “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” (79). Little does she know, Colonel Sartoris died ten years prior, which is just another example of how cut off from society she is.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” the story is revolved around the character Emily Grierson. The story is told by the townspeople where Emily lives. These people are attending her funeral and pitching in memories and tales they remember from Emily’s life. It is through the collective voices and opinions of the crowd that the reader is able to interpret Emily’s struggles. With Emily Grierson’s choices the reader can tell that she is a dependant woman, with psychotic tendencies, and does not take the thought of change and rejection lightly.

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Emily Grierson is the main character who represents the old values and traditions of pre-Civil War who is faced with the new values and traditions that challenge everything she has ever known. The very first description we get of Emily is the reason people attend her funeral: “the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument” (Faulkner 168) which immediately gives the reader an idea of her being from a past time. Her family’s home is the last remaining building from the town Emily grew up in because “garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood” (Faulkner 168). The first major example of Emily’s inability to conform with the new traditions is the revoking of Colonel Sartoris’s tax deal. The old tradition pitied her after her father’s death, but the new tradition didn’t value this and sent her a tax notice every year to which she always sent back. When the sheriff visits to collect the taxes, Emily insists that he needs to talk to Colonel Sartoris who has been dead for 10 years. This delusion shows that Emily is unable to come to terms with the end of the old values. In section II of the story, Emily is trapped as being the last of the Griersons due to her father’s death before he chose a suitor for her. The town “believed that the Griersons held themselves a little too high for what they really were” (Faulkner 170) and this combined with the old tradition of the

William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” was written after the civil war and is often considered a piece of Southern Gothic literature (Davis). Southern Gothic is a subgenre of the gothic culture, which typically relies on the use of supernatural, unusual, and ironic events to drive the plot, all of which can be seen as a driving force throughout the story development of Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” (Davis). Through Faulkner’s ingenious short story, “A Rose for Emily,” he demonstrates the powerful yet internal conflict that comes with change, and the tension it creates between the realms of the past and the future. Upon further analysis, we come to see the story as a representation of the fallen south coupled with societal commentary and a depiction of the characters as spirits from the past stuck in a present time they struggle to come to peaceful terms with. We can see the powerful message Faulkner creates illustrated throughout his use of symbolism, his protagonist Emily, the community that surrounds her, and the incongruent timeline of events he depicts throughout the telling of his story.

A Rose for Emily was written by William Faulkner, the story was written to show how the South has evolved, furthermore it is about a woman named Emily who refuses to accept change, as change is happening all around her. Emily is stuck in her ways and she functions as a symbol of the Old South as the town around her becomes more civilized and developed.

In the story “A Rose for Emily” we look into the depths of the demented mind of Miss Emily Grierson. Born and raised during the mid-1800’s in the fictional city of Jefferson, Mississippi in the fictional county of Yoknapatawha. The story begins in its present time of approximately 1934 A.D. at her funeral and courses back through her life to the many points of tragedy she endured.

Pingping Yang, author of “A Road to Destruction and Self-destruction: The Same Fate of Emily and Elly,” describes her house as being representative of how the hegemonic lifestyle thrust upon her must be followed because “The noble parentage requires her to follow traditional rules with no doubts and behave as an elegant genteel lady, so she has to live in this house with different kinds of taboos, like a poor bird in a cage” (Yang 1850). Emily tries desperately to hold on to her values with a tight fist, but the ever-changing world suggests that some actions need to be taken to prevent others from taking away her traditions and lifestyle. This is evidenced when she turns away the tax collectors who come to her house after she ignores the letters being sent to her about the unpaid dues her family has in Jefferson. With her father dead and no husband to speak of, Emily handles what would normally be a male responsibility herself. She speaks over the collectors and sternly tells them “See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson” before asking her manservant to put them out (Faulkner 795). Nick Melczarek, author of “ Narrative Motivation in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily,’” suggests this is where Faulkner begins to insert the stream of consciousness, because while the narrator is “seeking to escape blame,” he is “able to admit what the townspeople found and hint at their own possible