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A Rose For Emily Change Analysis

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The short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, discusses the south in the 1900’s as it is rapidly changing while still trying to keep respect for long held traditions. Much of the older generation refuses the change and stands tall on their beliefs, while the young generations are heavily pushing for new traditions. This tension causes a separation between the generations, leaving some to feel pushed out and isolated; such as Emily Grierson, a complex woman who suffered many horrible losses in her life. Emily Grierson is a symbol of the old southern ways, as she holds tightly to her traditions in the quickly changing world she lives in.
Emily Grierson was a woman of the old traditions who refused to abolition her ways. She was a symbol …show more content…

She refused to pay taxes in the town, “’I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves’” (1). She was exempt from paying taxes when she was much younger but as new officials took offices they no longer respected old verbal agreements. However, Emily hold firm to her beliefs that she owed the town nothings and therefore was no going to pay taxes. Emily refused to take part in the modern mail service, “When the town got free postal delivery, Miss Emily alone refused to let them fasten the metal numbers above the door and attach a mailbox to it” (5). Emily did not want to forgo the tradition of getting your mail at the postal office, she did everything she could to no be part of the change. Faulkner uses the word “alone” to describe her refusal showing how Emily stood alone in the battle, reinforcing how she was seen as both an outsider and a burden to the town. Miss Emily held tightly to her ways and tried her hardest to prevent change and her last attempt to stop change cost a human life.
Emily spent her life trying to prevent the changes that were evident all around her, leading her to create a bridal chamber. Miss Emily was unable to prevent the change in the town but she felt she could stop it inside her home. She does the extreme to

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