Fallen Monument In A Rose For Emily

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Fallen Monuments Miss Emily Grierson reminds the community in which she lives of days gone by and traditions of the south. She is the last true monument to those days gone by in a community that is adapting to cultural change. “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner represents how the cultural traditions of the south are changing and in order to keep ones societal status they must adapt because, change is inevitable and will not wait for someone. The story opens discussing Miss Emily Griersons death and how “…our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house…” (Faulkner). The town in which Miss Emily Grierson lives…show more content…
Miss Emily sitting motionless reminds one of a monument, still and lost in time. Miss Emily’s choice to seclude herself is her solution to her problems “she is able to keep her untenable position only by seclusion from the ordinary world, and she has to resort to introversion and a number of defense mechanisms to survive when social pressure threatens to destroy her position” (Skei). Her monument status within the community is result of her self-seclusion. She hung on to all that was the past as a result; the community looks at her as a living monument of the past. Miss Emily is capable of the self seclusion “...because she has a reality of her own. Emily’s feeling of loss and deprivation and her fear of change—change that may take away what little she has left—account for some of her reactions.”…show more content…
The town in which Miss Emily Grierson lives is beginning to change “…the next generation, with its more modern ideas…” (Faulkner). As the town begins to change, the ways of Miss Emily Grierson represent the past. Alive “Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner). It was this type of thought that led Colonel Sartoris to remit Miss Emily’s taxes after the passing of her father. With the new generation beginning to take power, acts such as remitting Miss Emily taxes caused dissatisfaction. When they tried to collect the taxes from her she said "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" (Faulkner). After a short exchange Miss Emily asks her servant to show the men out. Colonel Sartoris at this point had been dead for almost 10 years. Miss Emily’s ability to dismiss these men trying to collect her taxes shows the status of position in the
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