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 William Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily" is about a "fallen monument", Miss Emily Grierson, who chooses to die with her outdated beliefs (87).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.
             After the death of her father, Miss Emily segregates herself from the evolving world around her. In her youth Miss Emily was vibrant, being the daughter of a rich aristocrat she carried herself superior because she knew she was of a high social class. Emily carries her self with dignity and people give her that respect, based from fear of what Emily could do to them. Emily denies the fact that her father dies, and resists the attempts of the town's people to proceed with the funeral. 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. Miss Emily lives for many years as a recluse, someone who has withdrawn from a community
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