The Resistance to Change

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.

She is victimized also by a lover who would leave her, and by a passion, which would murder rather than let him go. "The incestuous image of the father and daughter that suggests the corrupt nature of the new south, is a Faulknerian concern."(Pierce 1362) . When love is gone, and the lover is killed, Miss Emily clings to the illusion of love.

Miss Emily was raised in the glory days of the South when traditional ideas and customs were a part of everyday life. After the Civil War, during the Reconstruction Era, the atmosphere had changed and Miss Emily was now faced with a different social setting, one that was unfamiliar to her. As the culture of the South began to deteriorate, so did Miss Emily’s grasp on the life she once held to be true. The home of Miss Emily serves a symbol in this story, showcasing her life’s demise as well as the physical and cultural demise of the Southern lifestyle. Her “fallen

“At last they could pity Emily” (453) or at least that is what the community thought they could do when Emily lost her father and became “humanized” (453). Emily is one of the most prominent people of her time and is even recognized through a story all written about her. This analytical essay of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner without doubt, uses symbolism to portray change and decay throughout the story by using Emily’s home, Mr. Grierson, and herself.

William Faulkner uses the short story “A Rose for Emily” to depict the social attitudes of the Old South after the Civil War. The main character Miss Emily Grierson epitomizes the failure of the South to adjust to the changes inflicted on it. Prior to the Civil War, Miss Emily belonged to a prominent and wealthy family of Jefferson who was part of the Aristocratic class. The story portrays how she refused to accept her new social status and was in complete denial. An illustration of her inability to face reality was when she kept Mr. Tobe working as her man-servant, even though she had lost her fortunes and could no longer afford such luxury. Another example of Miss Emily being unable to adjust to change was during the death of her father. She acted as if it had not happened and told her neighbors “that her

Emily herself is also considered a symbol. She has a great admiration for her father for her father who have always protect her from everything, specially from men. After he passes way Emily doesn't want to accept his death and becoming completely isolated on her house refusing any kind of change around her. Emily grows older and has a "sort of tragic and serene"(227) appearance. Her obsession of keep the same life style she used to have when her father was alive makes Emily set her own rules in Town. She wants to keep a verbal agreement her father had excusing her from paying taxes, refuses the modernization on mail, and keeps her "old fashioned" world inside of her house while the world outside is changing. Emily tries to keep the same "status" of the high society group she used to belong. Her attempt to stay in the past represents the decline of this social group, the representation of an "old society" refusing the new, the modernization, the technology. The symbols help the author of " A Rose for Emily" address the message of we can't avoid the changes around us. The world is in constant changing and we have to follow it.

Society changing and progressing around us forces us to adapt, we cannot resist growth in a progressive society. Change in society spurs change in us and how we see the world. William Faulkner, the author of the short story based on a woman dealing with loss and transition in the post civil war south, “A Rose For Emily”, elaborates on the idea of how impossible it is to stay constant and prevent change in a progressive society. In the time period of the book the whole United States is working through a giant change after the abolishment of slavery, although some citizens did not know how to address that change and wanted to refuse it. In the narrative, through themes and motifs, William Faulkner claimed that, while in a progressive society

Emily’s need to control change is first evidenced through her relationship with her father. Their bond, based on a high-class aristocratic ideal system, lasted until the death of her father. A mental image of Mr. Grierson’s

In, “A Rose For Emily”, by William Faulkner, the rose symbolizes the town’s respect for Emily or can disclose the irony of Emily never receiving a rose from Homer. At the beginning of the story Faulkner talks about the death of Emily. “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral... respectful affection for a fallen monument.” Emily has, metaphorically, always been in the town and symbolizes the past for her town. Since the town respects their elders, they feel like it’s their duty to honor Emily after she passes away. She separated herself from the town, like the south separated themselves from the north in the Civil War. Once she died, like when the confederate states lost, she was welcomed back into the town, country, when everyone came to her funeral, instead of letting her be off by herself. Homer publically let people know that he was gay and that he did not feel like he would be a good husband or father. “He liked men... he was not a marrying man.” Based on this quote, Emily would never get a rose from Homer because there was no chance of him loving her the way she loved him. The second part of the quote indicates him feeling like he was not the type to marry and settle down to start a family, which is something Emily indicated that she wanted to do with him. The title revealed the way the town views Emily and shows her hope of receiving love from Homer.

The manner that Faulkner applies point of view in "A Rose for Emily" provides the readers with the idea of the dying values, traditions, and customs of the “Old South”.

Miss Emily does not care that she is setting a poor example for the younger generation because she wants companionship, and her contempt for the sexist conventions results in the insanity that, ultimately, causes her to achieve a relationship in the most grotesque

Being raised in the south, there are somethings that life teaches a person; you always hold the door, acknowledge someone as they pass you by, and always say “ya’ll”. The southern culture is something that sites in its own niche of history and drags the past into the future. In A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, the reader gets a taste of the south and the way of southern living through an outside view of Emily Grierson’s life in a strange series of events. Falkner’s character, Emily, symbolizes the conflict of the past and the future in southern heritage though the events of her life.

Emily, as an old woman, wore a gold watch around her neck when confronted about the taxes. The watch descended so low on the chain it was hidden by her belt. Although the watch was unseen its constant ticking could be clearly heard. The watch drew attention to Emily's reluctance to observe the passing of time as generations passed by and the world changed. She was also leaning on a cane with a gold head. The gold was symbolic of her belief that she was royalty in the town and above the law. The gold was also strong like the stubborn strength she showed in facing the visitors about the taxes.

The era following World War One was proliferated with imperial preference, international isolationism, and self-determination. This ideology put forth the necessity of new nation-states that provided surviving religious or ethnic minorities representation. Unbeknownst at the time, the ramifications of these population politics, with the addition of a global depression, would make for a transformative period through 1919-1945.

In the eyes of the folks who lived in Jefferson, Mississippi, Miss Emily Grierson was a very eccentric woman. She kept to herself, only employed one servant in her house, and was a shut in for the last thirty years of her life. Even before she became a recluse, the townspeople found her odd because of how she acted towards them. Emily was considered eccentric because she did things no normal woman of her station would do, and yet she still tries to hang on to her traditional ways in fear of change. Renee Curry, author of “Gender and authorial limitation in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily,’” suggests that “Faulkner designs this narrative position as a reflection of his own stance toward patriarchal and societal structures and