William Faulkner's Significant Events During The Reconstruction Era
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The past is its own world but it is important for the present to live and the future to happen. History always leaves a mark behind in its own way. Literary works and ideas are created from certain, special, significant events in history. This is where authors use their literary techniques to present and discuss specific historical, economical, social, political and cultural issues within their writing as topics or support for their examples. In order to explain the reasons and effects of events in history, authors use the historical perspective to write their stories. William Faulkner is among these authors who uses the events he lives through or his personal experiences in his stories to give a better understanding of the challenges and struggles…show more content… Primarily, William Faulkner wrote, “A Rose for Emily” during the Reconstruction Era. The Reconstruction Era had a shocking effect on the Southern economy since former slaves were in charge of their plantations. The history of his family and the South had a great influence on Faulkner's imagination since he came from a family that once owned a plantations. Faulkner’s writing was published in April of 1930, a significant time period in history as it was during the Great Depression, America’s abiding economic decline in history. This is similar to the time period and circumstances of when the story was written and when the work was published, when money was a great demand for the people.
Upon reading Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” story readers were confused as to what the rose in the title actually represented or why the story was not written in sequential order. Faulkner described the title as, "an allegorical title; the meaning was, here was a woman who has had a tragedy and nothing could be done about it, and I pitied her and this was a salute ... to a woman you would hand a rose,” (Faulkner 5). After carefully analyzing the story, readers can infer why there…show more content… States collected taxes to provide more public needs such as: schools, hospitals, and asylums. In the text, “A Rose for Emily,” Miss Emily’s father already had loaned money to the town and Colonel Sartoris suspended Miss Emily’s tax payments. However, during the the Reconstruction era, the town of Jefferson, Mississippi needed money to start new projects and rebuild the South. When the officials found out Miss Emily was not paying taxes, the officials did not like it at all. Faulkner describes the displeasure as, “When the next generation, with its more modem ideas, became mayors and aldermen this arrangement created some little dissatisfaction.” (Faulkner 1). In order for it to be possible to build new schools and hospitals, the town desperately needed money and the new town officials wanted and urged Miss Emily to cooperate and help the community by starting to pay her taxes