Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Faulkner uses “A Rose for Emily” to address themes of change and progress, especially as it relates to the American South. Although he describes particular individuals within Jefferson (Miss Emily, the older men and ladies, the town leaders), he seems to be using them as symbols for the larger issues that the South was facing at the turn of the twentieth century. Discuss how Faulkner addresses the themes of progress and change in the South.
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The South has changed dramatically as illustrated in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." Faulkner jumps around in the time line of Miss Emily's life, before the civil war the upperclassmen were revered with grace and elegance and after the civil war the perspective changed for the people of the south in that time period.
ReplyDeleteIn William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily” he portrays the themes of the “old” south and the “new” south. Many people after the Civil War had no clue how to survive. People invested all of their money in stocks and bonds that before the war brought them in a lot of money. After the Civil War these bonds and stocks no longer existed, so many people went flat broke. This includes Miss Emily and her father. Before the Civil War Miss Emily and her father were considered upper class citizens in their county in the south. The family had a lot of money invested in bonds and stocks, just like many other upper class citizens in the southern county. Continuing on with living after the Civil War turned close to impossible for many. When this happened Miss Emily and her father turned into low class citizens that could not afford much of anything. When Miss Emily’s father passed away she could not afford to pay for her taxes, so Colonel Sartoris excused Miss Emily from paying her taxes. This comes to show that even though Miss Emily was a “fallen monument” she was still respected in the county. The changes in the south after the Civil War left many like Miss Emily, not able to pay taxes, and some not even being able to survive. Faulkner uses the “old” south and the “new” south to shape the short story. He compares and contrasts how Miss Emily was before and after the Civil War, to how she was after the Civil War. Faulkner also shows the progress Miss Emily didn’t make compared to the progress the others were making in the south.
ReplyDeleteFaulkner portrays the changes in the south by comparing the old to the new. After the Civil War people struggled to survive and there was less of a difference between the upperclass and lower class since almost everyone was broke.
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