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Emily Grierson's Resistance Of Change

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The story of Emily Grierson is a hauntingly gothic approach on the resistance of change. It starts out announcing Emily’s funeral is an obligation for the town and the process of the selfish people who would only go for their own benefit. The reader is then transported through time over decades of this southern woman's life while learning about her strange habits and how she became the conversation of many in the town. Everyone has quirks. Emily’s just aren’t the normal ones typically heard from a neighbor. Refusing to pay taxes, buying giant amounts of poison, and even having a house that radiates an odor even from the outside. After her funeral, the town discovers Emily’s dark past and how everything was much worse than they imagined. Emily was an interesting woman. Her habits drew attention from everybody in town and was the hot topic for conversation. Yet, nobody knew anything more about Emily other than the gossip spreading around. The selfishness of the commotion of a new thing to say “poor Emily” for had become very worn out by the time her funeral came around, which caused even more discussion. People poured into her abandoned house for the funeral, but not for the normal reasons. The only motivation these people had was nobody had seen the inside of her house for quite some time. Emily had shut herself out from the world …show more content…

A rose is typically a symbol for love and life, but there isn’t much love in the storyline at all, it’s actually the opposite. This gothic approach to the story wouldn’t give the reader any warm and fuzzies. If the title is said out loud, it sounds like “Arose for Emily” which is exactly what the people do at Emily’s funeral. They arose for her. In Greek legends, Roses were used to represent secrecy. Meaning, the narrator kept Emily’s secret throughout the story until the end even after all the jumping through

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