Tradition and change are two opposing ideas that have fought each other for thousands of years.

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.

William Faulkner's short story “A Rose for Emily” tells the story of an old and lonely lady stuck in her own time frame. Faulkner describes Emily Grierson as “a woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt. Her skeleton was small and spare.” Emily was a character that was portrayed as a monument, and the classic outsider. She lived in a dark and dusty house that was previously elegant and white. Emily has not had any visitors in over ten years. Her house had become one of the most hideous looking homes on a street that was once one of the most select streets in the city. The townspeople gossiped about her all the time and pitied her soul. This story passes on the battle that originates from attempting to keep up custom even with radical change through the impacts of the power of death, Emily's home and new versus old. All through the story, it additionally in a roundabout way reveals to us that if the South continues declining to acknowledge the certainty of verifiable and social change it will die lonely like

William Faulkner was a 20th Century American poet, screenwriter, and novelist who won a Nobel Peace prize in Literature in 1949 and was an author of two Pulitzer prizes. He was part of a prominent family in Mississippi that lost its prosperity and power during the Civil War. “In his works William Faulkner used the American South as a microcosm for the universal theme of time…whose reappearing characters grow older and cannot cope with the social change” (Larinde 1). “A Rose for Emily” has an accurate portrayal of the historical period it was written describing the social attitudes, moral implications, and racism of the Old South during the post-Civil War time period.

Faulkner continues his southern gothic writing style when the story goes back to an earlier time in Miss Emily’s life. Faulkner

1. Discuss the ways in which Faulkner uses Miss Emily 's house as a symbol and/or metaphor both her character 's personality and circumstances and for the narrative 's broader themes. What does the description of Emily 's house—at the beginning of the story, particularly, but also throughout the narrative—reveal about her character? About the story 's historical setting? About the narrative 's central concerns?

A suspenseful tale of tradition versus change is told with the help of literary elements in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. Foreshadowing and symbolism develop Emily’s tragic fate in a way the reader is exposed to how deeply death and sociatal change have effected Miss Emily. Faulkner displays how effective these elements are for a short story to truly have an impact on the

Resistance to change is the underlying theme of American author William Faulkner’s short story entitled “A Rose for Emily.” The critical analysis essay on A Rose for Emily is an in-depth exploration of how the main character, Emily Grierson, relates with the society. Moreover, it is also a story about a woman who had been in the shadow of the overbearing nature of her father for a very long time.

In Faulkner's story, an onlooker tells of the peculiar events that occurred during Miss Emily's life. The author never lets the reader understand Emily's side to the story. Instead, the reader is forced to guess why Emily is as strange as she is. In the story, Emily had harbored her father's dead body in her house for three days (par. 27). The reader is told of how the town looked upon what Emily had done, but the reader is never able to fully understand Emily's actions until the end of the story.

In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily Grierson holds on to the past with a grip of death. Miss Emily seems to reside in her own world, untarnished by the present time around her, maintaining her homestead as it was when her father was alive. Miss Emily’s father, the manservant, the townspeople, and even the house she lives in, shows that she remains stuck in the past incapable and perhaps reluctant to face the present.

In William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily,” protagonist Miss Emily Grierson uses the town of Jefferson’s perception of her to manipulate situations in order to get what she desires. Through the structural elements of characterization, plot, narrative, and setting, Faulkner provides an interesting look at how preconceived notions can drive a person’s motivations and how that person can utilize those notions for their own advantages. While some critics of his works may disagree, it is clear that Miss Emily is aware of her capabilities and uses them whenever she sees fit.

Throughout the short story “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, the new generation tries to enforce modern standards on Miss Emily and her contemporaries. Despite their best efforts, the older generation remains cemented in traditional values. The older generation faces a slow, tragic, rotting death similar to Miss Emily’s if they continue to adhere to tradition in a modern age.

As a person one might find that we follow a specific routine on the day to day basis. Sudden changes to these routines feels weird and out of place. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily” based in a fictional town called Jefferson taking place during the twentieth century. The time period is indeed an important factor because southern tradition was above all of the highest importance. This short story gives the audience details of life during that time in which they followed the values of southern tradition and the importance to never stray away from those traditions. The context of the story is laced with subliminal messages of humanities resistance to change.

In “A rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, resistance to change is the underlying theme throughout the story. The story begins at the funeral of Emily Grierson, a traditional old southern woman, trapped in a society where she is forced to stay on her role. She lives on Faulkner’s fictitious place, Yoknapatawpha County, where the citizens are stuck on a time after the Civil War. The story takes place in a time full of societal turmoil, where the “old south” was still predominantly conservative and segregated. Emily’s death at the end of the story, symbolizes the death of Old South. In “A rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the author comments on how the South, at its own peril, is refusing to accept the inevitability of historical and social change.

In William Faulkner’s story “ A Rose For Emily “ the setting functions as an crucial element in the development of the plot by showing how the older generation seems to be stuck in their time while the world continues to evolve and change also how even after the age of reconstruction blacks were still not treated as equals.

William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” setting is in the fictional Mississippi town of Jefferson. Events in this short story take place in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The description of the setting in the story helps the reader depict a “decaying Mississippi town in the post-Civil-War in the south” (Nichols). In this short story, Faulkner was mainly interested in exploring the ethical implications of history.