Downfall of an Archaic Society
Life is fickle and most people will be a victim of circumstance and the times. Some people choose not to let circumstance rule them and, as they say, time waits for no man. William Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily" is about a "fallen monument", Miss Emily Grierson, who chooses to die with her outdated beliefs (87). Miss Emily lives during the Post-Civil War in a town, which is changing into the New South. Miss Emily did not have the individual confidence, or maybe self-esteem and self-worth, to believe that she could stand-alone and succeed at life especially in the face of changing times. Corruption is evident throughout the entire story, but barely clings as new mayors and aldermen snip at the loose strings. With her father's death it becomes evident that Miss Emily's desire for the past is the central factor in her life. No longer does she venture out but rather isolates herself from the town, which has become an "eyesore among eyesores" as it too attempts to maintain its old image (88). Standing as the sole representative of southern heritage, Miss Emily segregates herself, preserves her values and has a desire to be rescued by a lover to uphold her traditional beliefs in a changing society.
Bibliography Works CitedFaulkner, William : "A Rose For Emily". The new generation is overwhelming for Miss Emily who can do nothing but literally hold on to past by denying her fathers death and keeping his corpse. Emily denies the fact that her father dies, and resists the attempts of the town's people to proceed with the funeral. In relation to keeping her father's body, she keeps Homer Barron's body so long because she feels that she has finally accomplished something in her life. The paper is an excellent description of Miss Emily, archaic, and fading. Everything new that comes along is yet another blow to her fading existence. Miss Emily might want seclusion, but her heart lingers for companionship. Not only is this symbolic of death, but the "invisible watch", which is hidden in her clothes, portrays her as being lost in time (91). At the time of her father's death, the mayor, Colonel Sartoris, remitted her taxes. Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing. When Miss Emily holds on to the corpse of her father, she is in essence holding on to the corruption of the Old South, and death. She is also forgotten by the new generation when they no longer go to her for china-painting lessons.
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