The difficulty of change becomes a focal point in William Faulkner's
             short story, "A Rose for Emily." Faulkner conveys dark moods and elements
             of surprise in a seemingly simple story about an eccentric old lady who
             refuses to let go of the past. The story of Emily becomes a testament to
             the difficulty one encounters when faced with change. Faulkner combines
             imagery, symbolism, and language to illustrate the vast difference between
             the Old South that Emily lived in and the new emerging traditions following
             Faulkner utilizes the techniques of imagery to draw attention to the
             difference that exists between the past and the present in Emily. For
             example, very early in the story we are told that the men in town attended
             her funeral "through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument"
             (Faulkner 451). This image reminds represents how Emily served as a type
             of monument to the old traditions that belonged to the south before the
             Emily's house is also used as a symbol that represents a contrast
             between the past and the present. Many images embody death and decay. The
             narrator tells us that the house was once white but now tells us it smells
             of "dust and disuse--a close, dank smell" (452). In addition, many years
             ago the house was on the "most select street" (452), but now it is
             surrounded "garages and cotton gins" (452). The narrator even goes as far
             as to say the house is an "eyesore among eyesores" (452). Emily's house,
             where she spends most of her secluded life, is a symbol of how things used
             to be in Emily's world as well as a foreshadowing of things to come.
             In addition to the physical description of her house, Faulkner uses the
             color gray as a symbol of death when describing Emily. As we are told
             about Emily's appearance over they years, her hair become more and more
             gray until the narrator describes it as an "even pepper-and-salt iron-gray
             when it ceased...