The South and William Faulkner
The South following the end of the civil war was a region forced into undesired rapid change and disruption. Life for every Southerner as they had once known was completely altered forever. African-Americans were granted freedom; Northern carpetbaggers migrated to the South in search of money; and the grandeur of the elite white upper-class disappeared overnight. If William Faulkner's, "A Rose for Emily," were to have taken place in any other environment then the strong symbolism binding the death of Emily Grierson to the death of the great South would be nonexistent. Faulkner uses the tragic life of Emily to depict the tragic fall of the South after the Civil War. Faulkner begins the short story with by referring to Emily Grierson as a "fallen monument." This "fallen monument" could also refer to the destruction left behind in the South at the end of the Civil War. Many homes and fixtures that had once been proud symbols of Southern heritage and grandeur were now left in shambles. Emily lived and died in a home that had been "set on what had been our most select street, " an
This once again represents her unwillingness to let go of the past. The misery, poverty, and sorrow that was evident in the South following the war makes Faulkner's short story even more tragic. " The rise and fall of Emily's life in her home also shadows the rise and fall of the South. She kept the corpse of Homer Barron in her home, and even lay next to his body well into her old age. Every great tragedy deserves an equally great tragic environment. Emily is so stubborn to change that she still refuses to pay taxes on her home despite new changes in her local government. d by the time of her death was referred to as "an eyesore among eyesores. Emil's life and the circumstances in the South during this time period greatly mirror each other. If this story had taken place elsewhere or in another time period then she may have been seen as an independent strong woman. The "confederate" mayor of Jackson forwent the taxes on her home after the death of her father. Emily's ultimate act of poisoning the man she wished to marry rather than see him leave also symbolizes the South's refusal to accept change. The confederate army was willing to kill and die to maintain tradition. The people of Jackson also help reinforcing the South's reluctance to let go of tradition. The South is commonly identified as being conservative and stagnant deeply entrenched in maintaining tradition.
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