A rose for emily3
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is a tale of Miss Emily Grierson, whose funeral drew the attention of the entire population of Jefferson, a small southern town. There were many changes occurring in the world After World War One. Man's need to follow tradition was now being challenged by a continually changing modern world. William Faulkner aptly reflects the turmoil of the past and the present in, " A Rose for Emily". The conflict between the past and the present is symbolized in the beginning of the story by this description, " only now Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and gasoline pumps-an eyesore among eyesores" (331). It is ironic that the same description " stubborn and coquettish decay" can be a description for Miss Emily as well. And just like her house, which had once been white and on a " select street", Miss Emily had been a slim young girl dressed in white. But as the house fell into decay so had Miss Emily," she looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue"(332). Faulkner's Emily did not have the individual confidence, or maybe self-esteem and self-worth, to believe that she could stand alone and succeed at
The town played a part in Miss Emily's delusion. There were numerous complaints of a foul stench permeating from her property. A younger member of the Board of Aldermen suggested that Miss Emily be told to clean up her property. But due to the old southern ideals of honor, duty and loyalty the older, the more traditional members could not possibly confront her about this matter. So in the midnight hour they chose to " slunk about the house" and apply lime to the infected areas. Then thirty years later the Board of Aldermen allow themselves to be "vanquished" by Miss Emily as they attempted to collect the delinquent taxes owed the town. The druggist also permits her to purchase arsenic without following protocol. By law Miss Emily was required to tell the druggist what she plan to do with the arsenic. She did not. life especially in the face of changing times. She had always been ruled by, and depended on, men to protect, defend and act for her. From her Father, through the man-servant Tobe, to Homer Barron, all her life was dependent on men. The few flashes of individuality showed her ability to rise to the occasion, to overcome her dependency, when the action was the only solution available. Emily dwells in the past, there is an atmosphere of unreality created by her. And once this atmosphere of unreality is established, the reader is being prepared for " Emily's unnatural act at the end of the story". This same atmosphere allows the reader to see Miss Emily as a " tragic figure" instead of an evil monster. Miss Emily hold on the past had made her a victim of her own values. The relationship with Homer Barron is also a conflict of the past and the present. Miss Emily, a Southern aristocrat, is the ideal of past values and Homer, a northern laborer, is a part of the ever-changing present. While Miss Emily is " of moonlight and magnolias, cotton fields, faithful old family servants and Mount Vernon mansions" a quote by Joel Williamson, a historian of the south (Williamson 401). Homer is of machinery, a hearty laugh and a man's man. Miss Emily symbolizes the slow moving pace of the old south while Homer symbolizes progress of the fast moving pace of the new south. Of course, Emily, like most women dream of getting married and having a family and most of all, being loved. The gossip around town was spreading; the townspeople said "when she got to be thirty and was still single, we were not pleased, but vindi
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Approximate Word count = 1637
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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