James Belasco once wrote that “change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have – and underestimate the value of what they gain by giving that up.” The “value” one could gain, by changing, is overlooked by many people every day. While many simply overlook what could be potentially gained through some form of transformation in their lives, others are completely unable to adjust to changing ways due to a number of health reasons. In William Falkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily”, the protagonist, Miss Emily Grierson, is a victim of her own inability to adapt to the changing world around her, forcing her to not only ignore the evolving times in society, but to live her life in her own self-generating timeline. Throughout
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With her father out of the picture, she tries to finally court with a man she deems fit to change her life forever. Homer Barron, a man of much excitement among the town, is the man that begins to change Emily for a short while, but only to a degree. Emily travels out of her house, a rarity for her, with Homer on little dates, but to Emily’s misfortune, Homer does not wish to stay with her as he is “not a marrying man” and he leaves her, only to return once more a few weeks later (34). This is another form of change that Emily is not willing to partake in. Much like the loss of her father, the only “love” of her early life, she finds ways to remain in her own timeline with this new love she has found. Refusing to let the world affect her life, steadfast in her unchanging ways, she dies in her dust-filled home – the same dust that persists in her timeless home throughout her entire life. Not until after her body is resting in the ground do the townspeople barge into her house, only to find out that Emily was unable to cope with Homer leaving; she forced him to stay with her for the rest of her life, as a skeleton remaining in the tomb of their bedroom (35). Emily relapses into her stubborn, unchanging ways when Homer refuses to stay; as a result, she kills him and forces his corpse to stay with her until the day she
With her father out of the picture, she tries to finally court with a man she deems fit to change her life forever. Homer Barron, a man of much excitement among the town, is the man that begins to change Emily for a short while, but only to a degree. Emily travels out of her house, a rarity for her, with Homer on little dates, but to Emily’s misfortune, Homer does not wish to stay with her as he is “not a marrying man” and he leaves her, only to return once more a few weeks later (34). This is another form of change that Emily is not willing to partake in. Much like the loss of her father, the only “love” of her early life, she finds ways to remain in her own timeline with this new love she has found. Refusing to let the world affect her life, steadfast in her unchanging ways, she dies in her dust-filled home – the same dust that persists in her timeless home throughout her entire life. Not until after her body is resting in the ground do the townspeople barge into her house, only to find out that Emily was unable to cope with Homer leaving; she forced him to stay with her for the rest of her life, as a skeleton remaining in the tomb of their bedroom (35). Emily relapses into her stubborn, unchanging ways when Homer refuses to stay; as a result, she kills him and forces his corpse to stay with her until the day she