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).

The town played a part in Miss Emily's delusion. There were numerous complaints of a foul stench permeating from her property. A younger membe

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. Even during their buggy rides Miss Emily sits with " her head high", representing the past and Homer sits with his "hat cocked", representing the present.

Now the little room above the stairs became the past for Miss Emily. In this room, Emily and Homer remained together as though death had not separated them. Emily had conquered the present; she was allowed to live her life in the past. The bridal room is the color of roses and symbolizes the color of love. In the room " the valence curtains of faded rose color, upon the rose-shaded lights...and the man's toilet things backed with tarnish silver, silver so tarnished that the monogram was obscured"(337). For a while Miss Emily was able to maintain her past in this rose-colored bridal room, in her rose-tinted world.

Homer must have planned to leave Miss Emily. When her father had died, she refused to acknowledge his death for three days. Her father, who had been the mainstay of her life, had left her .The father that turned away potential suito

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1075
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)