Living in the Past
In a world constantly developing and changing, some things can never be changed, whether it’s a person, place, religion, or even society itself. Sticking to tradition is always humble beginnings, but when would one start to question tradition, or even alter it in some way? Modernity is always based off of tradition no matter what is being modernized. In William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, the main character Emily Grierson lives her entire life and style the exact same way from the beginning of it to the end. The story alternates through different eras of time spanning between forty years and despite the settings of it changing, Emily’s way of life never changes one bit. She sticks to her roots at all times, not once venturing …show more content…
As people visited her house to share their condolences, Emily simply told them her father was not dead. “She did that for three days… Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly” (518). Emily held on to her father’s dead body for half a week, the reader might guess she did it because letting go of her father would mean letting go of a piece of her past, not only that but also her father was one of the few things that had fit in with her traditional life. Losing him meant her life changing more which is obviously something she did not adjust to at all. All throughout her life her father chased away various potential lovers for Emily because he felt they were not good enough for her. When he died that left Emily all alone, besides her house Negro, Tobe. She had little family to resort to, thanks to her father for cutting off communication with them after a battle over Emily’s great aunt and the house was basically all she had. People thought she would “become humanized” and “know the old thrill of a penny more or less” (518). This did not stop her from remembering and acting like a Grierson, who were once high and mighty people. Somewhere at this point is when the reader may start questioning her sanity. Emily is trying so hard to keep her life the same yet some events like her father’s passing just completely changes life. One could go insane from denial of
In a world constantly developing and changing, some things can never be changed, whether it’s a person, place, religion, or even society itself. Sticking to tradition is always humble beginnings, but when would one start to question tradition, or even alter it in some way? Modernity is always based off of tradition no matter what is being modernized. In William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, the main character Emily Grierson lives her entire life and style the exact same way from the beginning of it to the end. The story alternates through different eras of time spanning between forty years and despite the settings of it changing, Emily’s way of life never changes one bit. She sticks to her roots at all times, not once venturing …show more content…
As people visited her house to share their condolences, Emily simply told them her father was not dead. “She did that for three days… Just as they were about to resort to law and force, she broke down, and they buried her father quickly” (518). Emily held on to her father’s dead body for half a week, the reader might guess she did it because letting go of her father would mean letting go of a piece of her past, not only that but also her father was one of the few things that had fit in with her traditional life. Losing him meant her life changing more which is obviously something she did not adjust to at all. All throughout her life her father chased away various potential lovers for Emily because he felt they were not good enough for her. When he died that left Emily all alone, besides her house Negro, Tobe. She had little family to resort to, thanks to her father for cutting off communication with them after a battle over Emily’s great aunt and the house was basically all she had. People thought she would “become humanized” and “know the old thrill of a penny more or less” (518). This did not stop her from remembering and acting like a Grierson, who were once high and mighty people. Somewhere at this point is when the reader may start questioning her sanity. Emily is trying so hard to keep her life the same yet some events like her father’s passing just completely changes life. One could go insane from denial of